Headliners 2023

[CaledonianGonzo]

Stronger than 2014 as well - albeit they'll be doing well to beat Dolly in the Legend Slot.

[nikkic]

1 hour ago, Matt42 said:

I know he’s in a different realm now and not one to be celebrated but Kanye alongside Foos was v strong for me back in the day. 

Agreed, Kanye was a top tier booking at the time. 

2019 trio probably felt the weakest of recent years, although they all smashed it out of the park. 

 

[Matt42]

5 minutes ago, nikkic said:

Agreed, Kanye was a top tier booking at the time. 

2019 trio probably felt the weakest of recent years, although they all smashed it out of the park. 

 

Yeah 2019 imo is the weakest set the festival has had in a while. Although Stormzy was a solid leap forward for the festival really and it should be commended. 

AM, GNR, Elton isn’t weak, it’s just not as diverse or forward thinking as previous years.

Still think 2020’s (RIP) is the best trio they’ve ever booked. Taylor, Kendrick, Macca is a masterclass in booking a trio that looks forward, back, and celebrates one of the biggest acts of this current generation. Exactly what we mean when we say we want a diverse headline trio.

Edited December 28, 2022 by Matt42

[kingcrawler]

12 minutes ago, nikkic said:

Agreed, Kanye was a top tier booking at the time. 

2019 trio probably felt the weakest of recent years, although they all smashed it out of the park. 

 

2019 was the weakest since the 2000s but as you say, all three acts nailed it. The 2017 headliners were probably one of the biggest trio’s they’ve had and yet as much as I loved that Radiohead set, it’s fair to say none of them unanimously smashed it.

I’m not a fan but if they had managed Prince as intended in 2015 then Foo Fighters, Kanye West and Prince would have been a ridiculously big set of headliners, maybe the biggest they’d ever booked. A shame The Who decided Paris wasn’t for them. 

[Matt42]

48 minutes ago, kingcrawler said:

2019 was the weakest since the 2000s but as you say, all three acts nailed it. The 2017 headliners were probably one of the biggest trio’s they’ve had and yet as much as I loved that Radiohead set, it’s fair to say none of them unanimously smashed it.

I’m not a fan but if they had managed Prince as intended in 2015 then Foo Fighters, Kanye West and Prince would have been a ridiculously big set of headliners, maybe the biggest they’d ever booked. A shame The Who decided Paris wasn’t for them. 

More of a shame that a member of Prince’s team said he was going to headline Glastonbury, only for Prince a weekend later to state he never agreed.

Emily n co tried for Prince for years and years and it ended up in a mess each time.

[Zacko]

4 hours ago, Matt42 said:

Will probably tweak a bit once Coachella drops. Thinking the below at the moment:

Friday

Pyramid: Arctic Monkeys // Lizzo // Royal Blood

Other: Sam Smith // Rosalia // Becky Hill

Saturday

Pyramid: Guns N’ Roses // Doja Cat // BLACKPINK

Other: Halsey // Paolo Nutini // Steve Lacy

Sunday

Pyramid: Elton John // Queens of the Stone Age // Lil Nas X // Pulp

Other: The Prodigy // The Black Keys // Father John Misty

Sampha ❤️ 

[august1]

I think Nutini could easily pull a decent crowd against GnR

[gfa]

3 minutes ago, august1 said:

I think Nutini could easily pull a decent crowd against GnR

They've got far better options for Other headline than him, why push him up for no reason

[Matt42]

3 minutes ago, gfa said:

They've got far better options for Other headline than him, why push him up for no reason

Think we are sleeping on Halsey as an option. She’d be a good one up against GNR and she’s in Europe at the time.

[thewayiam]

7 minutes ago, gfa said:

They've got far better options for Other headline than him, why push him up for no reason

Just don't book him at all. Absolutely awful artist.

[PGTIps]

1 minute ago, Matt42 said:

Think we are sleeping on Halsey as an option. She’d be a good one up against GNR and she’s in Europe at the time.

As mentioned before, Halsey just doesn't bring a crowd at UK festivals. Her other stage slot in 2017 had a crowd in the low hundreds and from all accounts her Reading set wasn't rammed either.

Whilst I can see her playing I think she'd be an Other sub as she's not gonna draw many away from any of the rumoured Pyramid headliners

[Matt42]

Just now, PGTIps said:

As mentioned before, Halsey just doesn't bring a crowd at UK festivals. Her other stage slot in 2017 had a crowd in the low hundreds and from all accounts her Reading set wasn't rammed either.

Whilst I can see her playing I think she'd be an Other sub as she's not gonna draw many away from any of the rumoured Pyramid headliners

Looking at past other headliners - Megan Thee Stallion, Christine & The Queens etc Halsey is definitely big enough. 
 

I think she fits the glove perfectly to be honest. Headlines most festivals she plays, but not quite big enough to headline the pyramid or even sub it.

[Gnomicide]

13 minutes ago, gfa said:

They've got far better options for Other headline than him, why push him up for no reason

Why is it a push up? Just completed a sold out UK tour, including arena dates, headlining other festivals throughout the UK & Europe and had his 3rd number one album.

[Matt42]

2 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

Why is it a push up? Just completed a sold out UK tour, including arena dates, headlining other festivals throughout the UK & Europe and had his 3rd number one album.

He wasn’t an other stage headliner in his prime so why now?

[nikkic]

11 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Looking at past other headliners - Megan Thee Stallion, Christine & The Queens etc Halsey is definitely big enough. 
 

I think she fits the glove perfectly to be honest. Headlines most festivals she plays, but not quite big enough to headline the pyramid or even sub it.

Can’t speak for Megan as I didn’t see, but I was at CATQ and it was too big a slot for her. 

She had a tiny crowd. 

[Gnomicide]

2 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

He wasn’t an other stage headliner in his prime so why now?

It's a head scratcher why he wasn't last time out. There are few Other Stage headliners since he subbed it in 2014 that are bigger than he is.

 

 

*Waits for Spotify stats.

[Wherethewildthingsare]

9 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

It's a head scratcher why he wasn't last time out. There are few Other Stage headliners since he subbed it in 2014 that are bigger than he is.

 

 

*Waits for Spotify stats.

I felt like he was the Other headliner as that year all the stages were late due to the storm. Skrillex needed the late night dance slot. Like him or not, he is an incredible talent with a hugely diverse back catalogue and an ability to do rock/pop/funk/acoustic. Not afraid to completely rework his classics. I think he would still get a huge crowd on the pyramid in any slot

[Matt42]

18 minutes ago, nikkic said:

Can’t speak for Megan as I didn’t see, but I was at CATQ and it was too big a slot for her. 

She had a tiny crowd. 

Exactly, which makes me think that they are a bit more lenient / willing to take a risk with an other headliner. Halsey is a solid festival headliner when she plays in Europe / the States. Can’t really see the difference between them giving Meg or Christine a chance.

halsey also has way more recognisable hits than Christine.

[Matt42]

17 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

It's a head scratcher why he wasn't last time out. There are few Other Stage headliners since he subbed it in 2014 that are bigger than he is.

 

 

*Waits for Spotify stats.

Nah. He’s not big enough to command a giant slot at glastonbury. He plays high slots at other festivals because he’s probably a cheaper recognisable name. Those sorts of things don’t work at glastonbury when everyone is playing on the cheap.

[Wherethewildthingsare]

1 minute ago, Wherethewildthingsare said:

I felt like he was the Other headliner as that year all the stages were late due to the storm. Skrillex needed the late night dance slot. Like him or not, he is an incredible talent with a hugely diverse back catalogue and an ability to do rock/pop/funk/acoustic. Not afraid to completely rework his classics. I think he would still get a huge crowd on the pyramid in any slot

And… far better live than recorded. Not sure when his “prime” is/was if you measure it by sales but he still sells out 

[Neil]

1 hour ago, august1 said:

I think Nutini could easily pull a decent crowd against GnR

i think the cheeky girls could too, any old shite could.

[PGTIps]

1 hour ago, Matt42 said:

Exactly, which makes me think that they are a bit more lenient / willing to take a risk with an other headliner. Halsey is a solid festival headliner when she plays in Europe / the States. Can’t really see the difference between them giving Meg or Christine a chance.

halsey also has way more recognisable hits than Christine.

That's the thing right there - Europe & The States, yeah without doubt. But here in the UK she's just not a ticket shifter at festivals. Has a big dedicated fanbase of her own, with some recogniasble hits hence why she's sold out the O2 - but at Glastonbury she's never commanded a decent crowd and even as recently as last year at Reading/Leeds she didn't either.

I'm not saying she's not big enough / good enough - I'm just saying she's proven in the UK not to have the pull she does in America and Europe which is the same for many UK acts overseas such as Kasabian in their prime, Foals or even Arctic Monkeys as recent as AM. 

1 hour ago, Matt42 said:

Nah. He’s not big enough to command a giant slot at glastonbury. He plays high slots at other festivals because he’s probably a cheaper recognisable name. Those sorts of things don’t work at glastonbury when everyone is playing on the cheap.

Which brings on to Paolo who like him or not is a massive ticket seller in the UK hence his sold-out UK tour and large crowds at yes admittdley home turf of TRNSMT but also Isle Of Wight and I'm sure Latitude. 

Not saying he will or should headline the Other but its a lot safer bet to pull away crowds than Halsey would be... at Glastonbury. 

[Matt42]

Just can’t understand why Megan can headline the other but Halsey can’t. Even if she wouldn’t draw the festivals largest crowd, what metric does Megan have that Halsey doesn’t?

Halsey has headlined a major UK festival, headlined festivals in the states, headlined festivals in Europe. Has a few UK 1 singles. No one is asking her to headline the pyramid stage, but I’m surprised what she has isn’t considered enough to headline the other…

Edited December 28, 2022 by Matt42

[Suprefan]

13 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Just can’t understand why Megan can headline the other but Halsey can’t. Even if she wouldn’t draw the festivals largest crowd, what metric does Megan have that Halsey doesn’t?

Halsey has headlined a major UK festival, headlined festivals in the states, headlined festivals in Europe. Has a few UK 1 singles. No one is asking her to headline the pyramid stage, but I’m surprised what she has isn’t considered enough to headline the other…

Because according to the pundits on this forum Halsey is considered mid. And you forgot sold out Europe arena tour that ended right when covid hit in 2020. Having the Nine Inch Nails connection to the last album is what made the small minded old gits perk up and say "hey, this is kinda cool". They never want to admit they got it wrong and will keep table thumping if they ended up headlining Other. Remember that the goal posts are always moved for artist that dont fit a certain sound or look. If its too different it isnt Worthy.

Edited December 28, 2022 by Suprefan

[thewayiam]

1 hour ago, PGTIps said:

That's the thing right there - Europe & The States, yeah without doubt. But here in the UK she's just not a ticket shifter at festivals. Has a big dedicated fanbase of her own, with some recogniasble hits hence why she's sold out the O2 - but at Glastonbury she's never commanded a decent crowd and even as recently as last year at Reading/Leeds she didn't either.

I'm not saying she's not big enough / good enough - I'm just saying she's proven in the UK not to have the pull she does in America and Europe which is the same for many UK acts overseas such as Kasabian in their prime, Foals or even Arctic Monkeys as recent as AM.

Yeah I mean I wouldn't know a title of Halsey's songs except Without me but I would know the song. But then I wouldn't know MTS at all without tiktok and still can't name a song. I think she could take the Other sub that arena acts have tended to in the past or 3rd down Pyramid. Given her lesser UK status it's probably a good move.

The Black Keys subbing The Prodigy is a given for me almost.

Kasabian to sub QOTSA

Halsey to sub/3rd pyramid Sam Smith with Becky Hill 3rd down

 

Pulp, Lizzo, Doja Cat to sub Pyramid

Royal Blood, Paulo and that Halsey potential 3rd down.