10 acts you should see at Glastonbury
Photography by Kamil Kustosz
Spoiler: none of them are Guns N’ Roses.
If you’re reading this, you’re presumably lucky enough to have acquired a ticket for Glastonbury festival. Yes, it’s hard to get over the rumoured Rhianna drop out, but as ever the line-up is deep and dense with class acts. So here are a few tips for your itinerary.
DJ Absolutely Shit
When/Where? Thursday, 01.30 – 03.00, The Wow
OK, so the name doesn’t promise a lot, but this Manchester duo (yep, there’s two of them) are legit DJs and producers who specialise in brash, euphoric rave flavours, and they’re part of a wider trend of cringe artist names in underground club music. If you’re up past 1am on the Thursday night, you’re probably looking for a silly night anyway.
Meekz
When/Where? Friday, 20.30 – 21.00, The Lonely Hearts Club
Everyone always bangs on about Block9, but the Silver Hayes area – which is always packed with the hottest up-and-coming DJs and UK rappers – often draws the most energetic crowds. The Lonely Hearts Club is arguably the best stage in Silver Hayes and Respect the Come Up – the debut mixtape by Masked Mancunian Meekz – is the most solid UK rap project in recent memory.
Yung Singh
When/Where? Friday, 02.50 – 04.20, IIcon
Yung Singh played his first ever DJ set as recently as 2018. But since the Boiler Room with his Daytimers crew went viral last year, he’s been one of the hottest names on the club circuit, known to mix Punjabi folk with UK garage, funky, drill and drum’n’bass in his fun-first sets. Th DJ booth at the dystopian-themed IIcon stage, which was introduced to the Block9 area in 2019, is inside a giant head sculpture which blasts out lasers. Impressive.
Pxssy Palace takeover
When/Where? Friday, 00.00 – 06.00, Nomad
Last year, Pxssy Palace took over The Lonely Hearts Club stage, and it absolutely went off. The London crew, who are revered for parties for PoC and LGBTQ communities, are back for a six hour sesh this time, which will see DJs sets from Nadine Noor, Ryan Lovell, one-to-watch Mya Mehmi and a bunch of guests from the wider network.
Jockstrap
When/where? Saturday, 15.15 – 16.15, Park Stage
Jockstrap’s debut album, I Love You Jennifer B, was one of the best of 2022; a weird blend of breezy pop, glitchy IDM, twisted classical music and sepia-toned balladry. It’s a bit of a slow-burner though, so make sure you give it a few listens before you climb up to the Park Stage to see the duo perform their tongue-in-cheek art pop anthems live.
Central Cee
When/where? Saturday, 20.45 – 21.45, Other Stage
There was a point where it felt like Central Cee couldn’t possibly top Doja: the insanely catchy hit that made him a global sensation. But then, the former THE FACE cover star teamed up with Dave to smash a bunch of records with their summer single Splinter. This is your chance to catch one of the most successful UK rappers of all time, in his prime, rise to the occasion for his Glastonbury debut.
Lana Del Rey
After Cench, you can just stick around the Other Stage for Lana, one of the greatest songwriters of our time, who should be headlining the Pyramid instead of Guns N’ Roses.
When/where? Saturday, 22.30 – 23.45, Other Stage
VTSS
When/where? Saturday, 02.00 – 03.00, Arcadia
You haven’t done Glastonbury properly unless you’ve raved underneath the giant flame-throwing robotic spider. A highlight on the Acardia programme is FACE fave VTSS, who sugarcoats brutal techno with pop and rap edits.
Karen Nyame KG
When/where Sunday,16.00 – 17.10, Glade
Ask anyone who’s deeply into London club music and they’ll probably speak highly of Karen Nyame KG, an industry veteran who earned the nickname “Goddess of Riddim”. If the sun is shining on Sunday afternoon (fingers crossed), there’ll be nothing better than soundtracking it with her slick blends of amapiano, afro-house and afrobeat.
Lil Nas X
When/where? Sunday, 19.00 – 20.00, Pyramid Stage
Many years from now, we’ll look back at Lil Nas X as one of the greatest pop provocateurs of this era. You just know he’s going to pull out the stops when he warms up the Pyarmid Stage for Uncle Elton.
