dentalplan

It’s always an outside chance but it’s great to see that they’re playing elsewhere on Saturday limiting their chances of headlining again considerably. That would be rotten but they do return to festivals with some level of speed and frequency.

Maybe every headline sized act touring around the time will play a secret set.

Word we've had here is that their rate is enough that they knock Glastonbury back every few years. The interest is there from the festival but not from the band at the moment. We're due a Depeche Mode tour next year (it'll even be one year late by their standards) but we would have to hope that they're happy to play for the prestige.

I thought Boring George would be playing Wembley Stadium next album. Maybe that’ll be the back end of the tour.

It’s not just Kings of Leon specifically, it’s many acts who people say wouldn’t headline anymore despite their big slots at other festivals. The twin forces of there being fewer dinosaur headline acts on the road every year and fewer gambles being taken on new bands in headline positions means that, when they need a rock band, those in between have a lot of runway. It’s sad I guess but it’s already in effect. Mumford and Sons have more chance of headlining again than Wolf Alice ever do.

The Killers were a January replacement for McCartney for 2019. This is the most likely scenario that KOL would be booked, as it was The Killers. Every argument against KOL appears kinda subjective based on their songs being not as good or being less personable or whatever. The main thing is that they’re still a chart-topping band playing arenas, parks, stadiums and festivals around the world in headline slots.

They are a heritage act already, which is why they are headlining stadiums and other festivals without a major hit in 13 years. Although barely any rock band has had a major hit in that timeframe. Sub at best? They’re not doing that anywhere. I know you’ve prefaced this by saying The Killers are different but exactly the same thing was said about them before headlining - and now that they’ve headlined again, the consensus has been revised.

It’s tough to figure out ‘demand’ at a sold out festival though. They don’t need to sell tickets - they need to appease those who already have them. Kings of Leon are pretty safe, if unfashionable, and the general Glastonbury crowd is pretty au fait with them. Whether it be belting out Sex on Fire or holding a candle for the first few albums. Sad as it is, no new rock band is likely to be a more appealing option to the festival than a household name like theirs still doing arenas and unceremonious headline slots.

Might be a new album by next May, going off what they’ve said to date.

Quite a lot of it, I reckon. It’s more understated than their usual songs, but their songs are usually very overstated. Tracks like Cody, West Hills and Quiet Town still have that fist in the air anthemic quality.

It would be foolish to rule them out of headlining the Pyramid ever again. The fact they're still doing it now means that the Kings of Leon are going to continue to headline festivals in the UK and around Europe for a long time. And Glastonbury will continue to be a festival for a long time. I struggle to believe the worlds won't meet again as they move into heritage headliner status.

Nice support choices. Emily's favourite Courtney B locked and loaded for another slot at G then.

Nah. They were recording their next album at a monastery in Suffolk earlier this summer and it hit the news the other day, so naturally the conversation here turned to whether the Arctic Monks were gonna incorporate Glastonbury into the next tour, possibly next year. We haven't got a lot to talk about right now.

It's a new year. Can't hold the festival to their bookings from 2020. They'll try and have as many acts back as possible, naturally, but it's not entirely in their hands.

All jokes aside, Arctic Monkeys are the only act in the 'safe' massive contemporary rock band headliner pile who are still pretty vital and can break the internet (in the UK) with a new song Taking past disappointments out of the equation (as they clearly are doing with Billie Eilish supposedly down to headline) then I think they'd be a good booking if the festival was in a position where they needed to turn to someone safe. It beats having fucking Muse back.

I did actually check with all the people who were bored and chatting to each other and fighting and throwing piss and ask if they were on eFestivals. They all were.

I waited there all day in my leather jacket, hair slicked back, white rose tattoo on my inner forearm and honestly I thought it was fantastic. Did not disappoint. My friends and I set off straight home afterwards (took ages to get back to the car park because of the sodding inconsiderate crowd moving so slowly) and watched the BBC coverage straight after and honestly it was mindblowing. Alex just looked amazing.

The coverage was much nicer. But it was certainly more set up for the TV cameras than the shitmunchers who went along to see them. The screens in the field had this dodgy effect on them that made them useless, and they went heavy on the smoke machine so you couldn’t see much other than the AM sign backlit thru the fog. They didn’t seem to get the crowd going much at all. Big dead silences, shite patter, workmanlike performances. Just came across tepid and unenthused. They seemed to lose the crowd in a fairly big way towards the end of the main set. Some people here did enjoy it so it’s more ‘divisive’ than ‘panned’. The Stones the very next night didn’t put on a show for the BBC cameras and it actually came across quite poorly on playback. Yet that set is almost universally revered as one of the great Glastonbury moments.

Because we were there.

Patience

It’s the same source as in the replies to the initial Evening Standard find. The new South Bank beer garden sounds more interesting if you ask me.

Foo Fighters are back - but which one are you?

That's good to hear. They are a top band and could do with finally nailing a headline set.

Billie Eilish and Arctic Monkeys would be a kick in the teeth for fans of live music performances.