After two years away, Glastonbury Festival was finally able to open its gates to celebrate its 50th anniversary last week and what a celebration it was.
From Billie Eilish becoming Glastonbury’s youngest ever Pyramid Stage headliner at just twenty, to Pet Shop Boys closing the Other Stage with a life-affirming, era-straddling set, it’s no surprise that five-day event was watched by a record number of people on the BBC’s digital platforms across the course of the weekend.
Now we’ve settled back into normal life, we’ve composed a roundup of some of our favourite acts that we saw at Worthy Farm this year.
Halloweens
While most people were at The Libertines, we kicked off our Friday in the intimate surroundings of the Williams Green tent with Halloweens – the pure pop side project of The Vaccines’ Justin Young and Timothy Lanham. The set was the duo’s first show and though nerves were high, they impressed with a set of irresistibly catchy tracks from their EP, including ‘Hannah You’re Amazing’ and ‘Ur Kinda Man’.
Crowded House
Crowded House took to the Pyramid Stage to deliver some of their pop rock classics and from ‘Weather With You’ to ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, it was singalongs galore. Whilst their setlist was more than worthy of a later set, their wholesome vibe was perfect for a Friday afternoon.
Girl In Red
Girl In Red has been making waves over the last few years with her bedroom pop sound and is currently on tour with Billie Eilish. She took to the John Peel stage on Friday with the perfect combination of melancholic and uplifting tracks that all received a rapturous response from the crowd – most notably ‘Girls’, which was recently featured on the ‘Heartstopper’ soundtrack. Impressively, she ditched her guitar and continued without to conquer technical issues and made several trips into the crowd – one of which was to start a wall of death that she bravely placed herself at the centre of.
Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers had a jam-packed Glastonbury – making her debut appearance on the John Peel Stage and later joining The Jesus and Mary Chain for ‘Just Like Honey’. Accompanied by a backdrop illuminated with gorgeous storybook style illustrations, the Los Angeles singer-songwriter’s melodious voice captivated the crowd from start to finish as she worked through a perfectly orchestrated setlist that included the breathtaking ‘Motion Sickness’ and a beautiful rendition of ‘Scott Street’.
Alfie Templeman
Following the release of his debut album Mellow Moon in May, Alfie Templeman played a lively set at Williams Green on Friday night. The bedroom-pop artist has set himself up to be one of most prevalent faces on the indie scene and his live show certainly lived up to the hype as he spanned genres effortlessly with a selection of tracks old and new – including the shimmering ‘Film Scene Daydream’, ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’ and ‘Candyfloss’. The chemistry onstage was evidence and with unity being such a huge part of Glastonbury, it was wonderful to see how frequently Alfie thanked and sang the praises of his band mates.
Foals
When it came to Friday night headliners, the clashes were tear inducing. We caught Foals on the Other Stage, who delivered a charged set of bangers alongside a light show that rivalled that of the Pyramid Stage. From the pop infused ‘2am’ and ‘2001’ to the more gnarly tracks such as ‘Wake Me Up’ and ‘Inhaler’, crowd participation was at its max and the band certainly proved themselves as both the perfect festival band and worthy headliners.
Holly Humberstone
One artist that we were particularly looking forward to was Holly Humberstone, who won the BRITs Rising Star award back in February. Visibly overcome with nerves, the Grantham singer-songwriter pushed through and delivered a moving set that saw her cross several genres – from the synth-laced ‘The Walls Are Way To Thin’ to to the intricate piano of ‘Drop Dead’. Lifted by the energy of the adoring crowd, by the time that Holly performed the impactful ‘Deep End’, she’d well and truly found her feet and we couldn’t be surer that she’s on a journey to much bigger stages.
Self Esteem
As far as we’re concerned, Saturday was Self Esteem day and it started bright and early with Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s in conversation at Williams Green, where she chatted to the Guardian’s Alexis Petridis – reflecting on her journey from one half of indie outfit Slow Club to red-hot pop phenomenon.
Draped in a cape and wearing bra cups that paid homage to Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre, Self Esteem later delivered a set that was nothing short of biblical over on the John Peel stage. Taylor and her powerhouse of a band stormed through an empowering set of tracks that address difficult topics such as consent, putting yourself first and the objectification of women – including ‘I’m Fine’, ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ and ‘The 345’. With the crowd hanging on her every word, Taylor was visibly overcome with emotion and as she ended on the unparalleled ‘I Do This All The Time’, it truly felt like we’d witnessed something special.
Lastly, Self Esteem played an intimate set on the Greenpeace stage. Though ever so slightly inebriated, Taylor and co impressed once again with a solid set that featured Compliments Please track, ‘The Best’, which was absent from her earlier set. With an incredibly relaxed atmosphere both onstage and off, the picturesque surroundings of the Greenpeace field offered the inclusive, empowering environment that we’ve come to associated with Self Esteem’s shows.
Metronomy
Metronomy – the brainchild of multi-talented songwriter, producer, musician and vocalist Joseph Mount – recently released their new album Small World, which is one of their best albums to date, so there was no way that we were missing their set. Basked in glorious sunshine, Metronomy played a buoyant set to a jam-packed crowd – with highlights including ‘The Bay’, ‘Things Will Be Fine’ and ‘The Look’.
Jamie T
With the release of his new album The Theory of Whatever just around the corner, it’s an exciting time to be a Jamie T fan. Only his second show in five years, the singer songwriter took his rightful place as a headliner on the John Peel stage on the Saturday night – performing a rowdy set that with the exception of new tracks ‘The Old Style Raiders’ and the gentle ‘St George Wharf Tower’, was predominantly focused on the past. The indie national treasure ripped through a rowdy set of classics including ‘Sheila’, ‘Dragon Heart’ and ‘Back In The Game’ before introducing The Maccebees’ guitarist Hugo White for the final two songs – ‘Sticks ‘n’ Stones’ and ‘Zombie’.
Sea Girls
There’s always an uncertainty over whether people are going to make it for the lunchtime sets on the final day of a festival, but that wasn’t the case with Sea Girls’ Glastonbury debut. Though on for just 45 minutes – criminal, we know – the indie four piece delivered good vibes galore as they ploughed through a set of shimmering indie tracks; including ‘All I Want To Hear You Say’, ‘Lonely’ and ‘Do You Really Wanna Know?’
McFly
OK, hear us out here – what could be better on a Sunday evening than hearing a string of hits that *everybody* knows the words too? McFly delivered exactly that over on the Avalon stage – in fact, their set was so popular that the majority of the crowd weren’t even in the tent and the field itself had to be closed off. The four-piece made their Glastonbury debut with a setlist of tracks that covered all areas of their career – from ‘Five Colours In Her Hair’ and ‘Obviously’ to the more recently released ‘Happiness’.
