As per British tradition, more than 200,000 people—A-listers among them—have decamped to a dairy farm in Pilton, Somerset, for Glastonbury, headlined this year by Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and SZA. Catch up on this year’s highlights here.
Little Simz announced herself as a future headliner
The London rapper and former British Vogue cover star played the Pyramid Stage before headliners Coldplay (and later joined them onstage to debut a new track, ‘We Pray’), but it’s surely just a matter of time before Simz is topping the bill herself. With little in the way of bells and whistles (no choreo here), the star held the Glastonbury crowd transfixed for the duration of her set. “I need you to understand that you are witnessing greatness,” she said on stage. “And I don’t say that with arrogance; I say that with confidence.” Nobody is arguing with her—least of all the music press.
Michael J. Fox made the ultimate guest cameo
Thank you Michael J. Fox for making our dream come true 🩵 pic.twitter.com/ahzOzGaP5J
— Coldplay (@coldplay) June 30, 2024
Perhaps the highlight of Coldplay’s undeniably epic set on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night? An appearance from special guest Michael J. Fox, who joined the band to play guitar on ‘Fix You’. The 63-year-old star of Back to the Future, who has been battling Parkinson’s disease for more than 30 years, is key to the band’s origin story, according to frontman Chris Martin, who was inspired by watching Fox’s rendition of ‘Johnny B Goode’ in the classic 1985 film. “Thank you so much, our hero,” Martin said on stage. Even the most committed Coldplay haters couldn’t fail to be moved.
Dua Lipa scheduled in some post-Pyramid down-time
What to do after you’ve smashed the Friday night headline slot on the Pyramid Stage, clad in a “sexy, strong, cool” wardrobe of Loewe and Versace? If you’re Dua Lipa, you find boyfriend Callum Turner, spark up a cig, and set about enjoying the rest of the greatest festival on earth as a spectator. She was spied strolling around the VIP area with her beau the day after her barnstorming performance—wearing Ann Demeulemeester, no less.
Paul Mescal packed his micro-shorts
THE MOST HANDSOME MAN ON THE FESTIVAL.
📸 by nell mescal. pic.twitter.com/HGPhHogC0N
— best of paul mescal (@paulmescalfiles) June 29, 2024
After exposing maximum upper thigh on the front row at Gucci, Paul Mescal brought his signature skimpy shorts to Glastonbury. The star was snapped by his sister Nell Mescal, beaming in a pair of Adidas three-stripe shorts, a baseball cap, and a band tee.
The Irish contingent was strong
the irish holy trinity. pic.twitter.com/bkKaUaxJ8N
— best of paul mescal (@paulmescalfiles) June 29, 2024
Paul was far from the only Irish A-lister on site. As well as Daisy Edgar-Jones, Mescal’s festival crew included his compatriots (and former co-stars) Saoirse Ronan and Andrew Scott. Ronan was later spied belting out “Paradise” from her boyfriend Jack Lowden’s shoulders during Coldplay’s Saturday night set.
The crowdsurfing was a work of art
Five years after Banksy made Stormzy a stab-proof vest for his stunning headline set on the Pyramid Stage, the guerrilla artist and activist put his always-potent stamp on the 2024 festival, launching an inflatable dinghy filled with dummies dressed as migrants into the crowd during Idles’ Saturday night set. The timing was carefully chosen: not only is the UK days out from an election in which immigration will be a key issue, but the life raft also appeared as the band played ‘Danny Nedelko’, a track that celebrates diversity and takes aim at the insidious rise of nationalism.
Palestine was a persistent theme
Amongst the usual peace signs and Pride banners, it was impossible to miss the Palestinian flags fluttering in the skies over Worthy Farm this year. Nine months into Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza, several acts felt compelled to make their feelings clear—some more directly than others. There was much to-ing and fro-ing on Twitter over whether Dua (who has publicly called for a ceasefire) did or didn’t deliberately position herself close to a Palestinian flag during her set in order to get it on camera, while Coldplay invited the Chilean-Palestinian singer Elyanna to join them on stage, along with Femi Kuti, for a rendition of their track ‘Arabesque’. The Irish band Lankum, meanwhile, sang ‘The Rocks of Palestine’ on the Park Stage on Saturday afternoon, a reworking of the traditional folk song ‘The Rocks of Bawn’, with lyrics acknowledging the suffering in Gaza.
Charli XCX brought the Brat mood to Levels
Not sure if you’ve heard but… it’s a brat-girl summer. The mood’s progenitor, Charli XCX, duly pitched up to DJ at Levels in one of the most talked-about sets of the weekend. She even brought out Robyn herself when she played ‘With Every Heartbeat’. The only downside? It took place at 12:30 a.m. on a non-televised stage, so you can’t watch it back—which, let’s face it, is quite brat.
A Tom Cruise performance was not on the bill… but it did happen
Just a week after he was seen looking radiantly happy, if somewhat confused, at Taylor Swift’s Wembley gig, Tom Cruise’s musical tour of the UK continued at the festival, where he was filmed launching into a rendition of Oasis’s ‘Wonderwall’ with Simon Pegg and Gillian Anderson. Only at Glasto…
This story originally published on Vogue.com
