At the end of June, the days are long in Glastonbury, England and only the biggest stars have the privilege of playing after dark at Britain’s biggest rock festival. This year it was hot and it didn’t rain, so among the outfits and costumes only a few long sleeves and raincoats could be seen: this is also a gigantic theater interpreted by the audience, about 200,000 souls drawn by lottery from more than one million requests were selected, people who want to see, be seen and be seen.
You’re nobody on the Anglo-Saxon music scene unless you’ve attended one of Glastonbury’s fifty editions (although there is one notable exception). For one more year, Movistar Plus+ presents five hours of the festival for music lovers in as many chapters, plus a summary (highlights) for those who prefer a smaller dose. There you can explore the latest trends in the British scene, as there is everything on its many stages, but the line-up for 2023 is rich with the most established names of the last few decades. Glasto prides itself on its eclecticism and cross-generational character: it’s also the place to find out “what happened to…”.
The conclusion of the three evenings on the main stage, the pyramid, this summer was Elton John on the last stop of his farewell tour on British soil; Guns N’Roses, whose guitar rock has gained acclaim over the years (and with the return of Slash); and Arctic Monkeys, the last major British indie band who, like their leader Alex Turner, have evolved from a thug sound and thug pose to a seductive crooner. They are big stars that emerged in the sixties, in the eighties and in the first two thousand years. One every two decades. Elton John’s farewell to his compatriots was a national event, watched by 7.6 million viewers on the BBC, out of a total festival viewership of 21.6 million (see how concerts work on TV?). .
Other names also pointed to the glory decades of pop rock. There was Yusuf-Cat Stevens, the singer-songwriter who went missing for 25 years after converting to Islam and being in denial about his work, but who has found a new fondness for playing his old hymns to crowds and even images of his earlier one projecting I. Three female-led bands from the 70’s and 80’s: Blondie, Texas and Pretenders. Sounds from the 80’s (Rick Astley and his eternal song that even the security guards danced to), the 90’s (the convincing Manic Street Preachers) and some of the groups that kept rock around the turn of the century: Foo Fighters (without his before one year deceased drummer, Taylor Hawkins: Show must go on) or Queens of the Stone Age.
There’s a great deal of nostalgia, but this isn’t a collection of gray or bald heads: it’s predominantly young people who not only enjoy what’s theirs, but also visit their parents’ role models (the phenomena like “Stranger Things “favoured). And of course there are also the current pop figures. A good testament to the evolution of the sector: today, singers, especially singers, triumph over groups. And rock has long lost its primacy in favor of other genres or a hybridization of styles.
Among the current stars, the loud voice and character of Lizzo stood out, who offered a hardworking and fun show, surrounded by women, with choreographies and costumes that claim a beauty outside the canon, and in the The new diva Dared Mozarts to cover the magic flute. You don’t go to Glasto and write your name in big letters when you’re performing. Unfortunately, Lizzo’s success on stage was followed by scandal when three dancers filed a complaint against her for sexual harassment and despotic treatment.
Other female voices today were those of Lana del Rey, Raye or Kelis, who moves easily between hip hop and reggae; among the male, Lewis Capaldi or Hozier. The show received critical acclaim, with an opera production by rapper Lil Nas Among the Guitar Rock Holdouts, The War On Drugs returned; Synths are more dominant at Chvrches, whose singer Lauren Mayberry came on stage like a gory bride from a horror movie to sing lyrics about her fear of death.
There was even a shirtless moment from Eva Amaral in a performance of “Christine and the Queens.” Their leader and singer, who has changed his name to Chris and is undergoing a full gender reassignment surgery, performed topless (with just a few small streaks on his nipples as a concession for a TV appearance). The Frenchman’s new male identity doesn’t prevent him from flaunting his breasts, which he often does (and strapless); His artistic project also changes in the direction of the Redcar name.
Elderly electro-pop duo Sparks starred with actress Cate Blanchett as the upbeat dancer in one of this edition’s most iconic moments. A bit of extravagance is required here. Eurovision Song Contest-born Italians Måneskin have been one of the few concessions to the rest of the world, the non-English speaking world, although some of their songs are in English; The Mongols The Hu gave the most exotic touch of all. They sing mainly in their language, in their country’s style and with traditional instruments, but the result is close to heavy metal.
In the Movistar Plus+ catalog, unfortunately, the deliveries of five chapters of the previous editions of Glastonbury are not preserved. The rights the BBC is giving up are very measured; Even most of the videos you upload to YouTube will be gone in a few weeks (many of the ones selected here will be, so my apologies to future readers). There is a film on the platform that reviews the history of the festival: 50 Years of Glastonbury, released in 2022 and tells the story of its founder Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily.
The documentary emphasizes the eclectic nature of the festival throughout this period, as it has always been open to the latest. The variety of styles is a hallmark of the house and this has been even more the case in the new century, as well as the general trend of the company. Unfortunately, this diversity does not extend to geographical location: all posters were dominated by the British or the Americans. Very few musicians from Spain took part (Rosalía was last in 2019 before Valencian Nadia Sheikh, but she is half Londoner, or flamenco guitarist Eduardo Niebla) and none of them on the main stage. Yes, this edition has room for salsa and other Latin music: Glasto Latino.
Also on Movistar, “Glastonbury The Movie” is an extensive documentary about the 1993 edition, which is more about showing us the behavior of the audience than about the artists (Stereo MC’s, The Verve or Omar, among others). There is another film, Glastonbury, directed by Julian Temple in 2006, which features emblematic performances from different editions: those of Oasis and Blur (Britpop’s great rivalry), Bowie, Björk or Coldplay. It was in filmin but it’s gone.
Glastonbury Fayre is on Netflix, a 1971 film in its second installment. The contrast between the amateurishness of this hippie community who didn’t even need tickets, who were offered milk from nearby farms and asked for help with bread knead and how professional everything is going today. It’s shocking to see how the stage crews of the time worked without helmets, harnesses and smoking joints. Now that festivals are big business, tickets are expensive (£340, costs a weekend in Glasto) and almost every province wants their own, it’s touching to relive what happened in the 1970s with the Improvisation began at Worthy Farm (County Pilton, Glastonbury is 12 km away). A modest plan at first, but in the aftermath of the great festivals of Monterrey (1967), the Isle of Wight (1968) and Woodstock (1969), which no one imagined would last half a century and reach such relevance.
“You’re nobody in Anglo-Saxon music if you haven’t been to Glastonbury,” he said, with one notable exception. The great pop phenomenon of the current decade bucks him. Taylor Swift has been announced as the 2020 headliner, the edition has been put on hold due to the pandemic. Since then, organizers have hunted her down relentlessly, but she’s moved on to a different phase. Swift has already scheduled concerts for her monumental tour (for which she bills about $13 million per night), ruling out her participation in 2024. She doesn’t need Glasto anymore, even if Glasto needs her. It had been a long time since such a figure had appeared. The rest roams through this farmhouse in South West England.
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