2025 Headliners

[fraybentos1]

21 minutes ago, assorted said:

 

I’m subscribed to the fan theory that the reason 2026 is fallow is because someone huge signed on that could only do 2027

they would be mad to do that based on the high percentage of mega stars they think they almost have and then it all falls through. See Madonna or Prince for example

 

[clarkete]

45 minutes ago, fraybentos1 said:

they would be mad to do that based on the high percentage of mega stars they think they almost have and then it all falls through. See Madonna or Prince for example

 

 

Aye, I know almost nothing about her, but may she not want at some point to have a career break?  

[gfa]

1 hour ago, assorted said:

 

I’m subscribed to the fan theory that the reason 2026 is fallow is because someone huge signed on that could only do 2027, and Taylor Swift seems like the right fit for such a name. (And they moved the fallow year up versus bumping it back because they want to make some organizational changes sooner rather than later).

or because its been on for 4 years and always takes the 5th off....

 

EDIT - i'm a melt, thought it was 4/1 not 5/1 pre covid!

Edited August 21, 2024 by gfa

[Pr0paneNightm4re]

2025 is going to be a very Britpop year…

[gfa]

21 minutes ago, Pr0paneNightm4re said:

2025 is going to be a very Britpop year…

do spill

[PDAD]

No doubt, there'll be '30th anniversary of the album' tours aplenty. 

[Kalopsia]

2 hours ago, clarkete said:

 

Aye, I know almost nothing about her, but may she not want at some point to have a career break?  

I've heard that she literally has her life planned 5 years in advance so this could kinda make sense.

 

It'll be interesting to see if she does honour the original bookings of that stripped back festival tour now she's stratospheric.

 

[Simsy]

2 hours ago, gfa said:

or because its been on for 4 years and always takes the 5th off....

 

EDIT - i'm a melt, thought it was 4/1 not 5/1 pre covid!

In your defence, it did used to be 4/1.

 

'96, '01 and '06 were fallows and '11 would've been if they didn't do the old olympic switcheroo. I'm sure the '18 fallow was a surprise because we all expected it to go back to 4 on/1 off, and now it actually has.

[glimmers_of_hope]

Having seen taylor swift last week at wembley I don't think there is a chance glasto is getting her any time soon. 

I hadn't really appreciated that the stage show is so meticulously planned to the shape of the stage and the set. 

To do a stripped back set that was completely different and just for glasto would be the only way it could be done and that is a lot of effort that she doesn't need to make. 

150+ shows well over 3hours long per show. She isn't going to want to tour again for aaaages.

[stuie]

1 minute ago, glimmers_of_hope said:

Having seen taylor swift last week at wembley I don't think there is a chance glasto is getting her any time soon. 

I hadn't really appreciated that the stage show is so meticulously planned to the shape of the stage and the set. 

To do a stripped back set that was completely different and just for glasto would be the only way it could be done and that is a lot of effort that she doesn't need to make. 

150+ shows well over 3hours long per show. She isn't going to want to tour again for aaaages.

Everyone said the same thing about Madonna and then she done a stripped back show on a festival stage on a beach for free! 

[FKA SOSOTWS]

5 minutes ago, stuie said:

Everyone said the same thing about Madonna and then she done a stripped back show on a festival stage on a beach for free! 

 

That free show in Brazil wasn't stripped back at all, it was the exact same arena set she did elsewhere.

 

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/madonna/2024/praia-de-copacabana-rio-de-janeiro-brazil-33aa400d.html

[stuie]

13 minutes ago, SwallowOrSleepOnTheWetSpot said:

 

That free show in Brazil wasn't stripped back at all, it was the exact same arena set she did elsewhere.

 

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/madonna/2024/praia-de-copacabana-rio-de-janeiro-brazil-33aa400d.html

Oh wow my apologies I thought it looked much smaller production wise.

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

1 hour ago, glimmers_of_hope said:

Having seen taylor swift last week at wembley I don't think there is a chance glasto is getting her any time soon. 

I hadn't really appreciated that the stage show is so meticulously planned to the shape of the stage and the set. 

To do a stripped back set that was completely different and just for glasto would be the only way it could be done and that is a lot of effort that she doesn't need to make. 

150+ shows well over 3hours long per show. She isn't going to want to tour again for aaaages.

 

Maybe that's the sweet spot, after she stops touring, and just does a few one off shows for "shits and giggles".

[Iphigenia]

11 hours ago, GrumpyRaver said:

I’m not forgetting that in the slightest. It’s exactly why it’s not going to happen. As you say, they need to pay attention and book headliners that will be popular. An orchestra, ballet, opera, theatre, comedy or any such batshit idea is most certainly not what the audience, at the festival or at home, wants.  You seem to be conflating what you like/want with what the wider audience wants, with absolutely zero evidence to base that on.

 

And I work for the BBC - we absolutely wouldn’t “eat up” an orchestral headliner.  We like things that people will tune into in their millions.  It wouldn’t come anywhere near the viewing figures for Coldplay or Dua. Or Billie, or Kendrick, or Macca, or Elton, or even Guns n Roses. It wouldn’t even get as many viewers as Sza.

 

Well, you saw what happened when a traditional artist with a billion streams headlined. Isn't that evidence that something isn't working? And I'm guessing you're not part of the team that splashes the Proms all over the BBC every year 😅

11 hours ago, MEGATRONICMEATWAGON said:

 

Just because SZA drew a poor crowd doesn't mean the festival should abandon their principles and do something totally out of the box. The other two nights were fine with Dua and Coldplay. All other previous headliners since the BBC started broadcasting have been fine too.

 

Plus, PJ Harvey and Janelle Monae also had tiny crowds. Should Glasto just abandon the whole Sunday and put on:

 

Macbeth > Madame Butterfly > Swan Lake > London Symphony Orchestra? 

 

Nah.

 

SZA fell flat, but I don't think it was because she was super trendy or modern - the fest has heaps of super trendy acts on and they also do just fine. I think not enough people knew who she was from the beginning, checked her out, and then still didn't like what they heard on the Spotify for their Sunday night headliner. It was a punt that went wrong, for whatever reason.

 

Next year, with all of them getting moderately good 60-70k crowds:

 

Fri: Fred                  

Sat: Rhianna           
Sun: Eminem

 

 

 

Abandon their principles? It's a festival of performing arts. What principle would they be abandoning? Glastonbury have always been at the forefront of trying something new. Who else would have Jeremy Corbyn speaking on their main stage? (Who, for the record, drew ten times the crowd SZA produced)

Edited August 21, 2024 by Iphigenia

[stuie]

9 minutes ago, Iphigenia said:

 

Well, you saw what happened when a traditional artist with a billion streams headlined. Isn't that evidence that something isn't working? And I'm guessing you're not part of the team that splashes the Proms all over the BBC every year 😅

Abandon their principles? It's a festival of performing arts. What principle would they be abandoning? Glastonbury have always been at the forefront of trying something new. Who else would have Jeremy Corbyn speaking on their main stage? (Who, for the record, drew ten times the crowd SZA produced)

it’s a festival of performing arts but the Pyramid is a music stage.  No one disagrees SZA didn’t work out but there’s no need to move away from musical artists.

Edited August 21, 2024 by stuie

[Crazyfool01]

9 minutes ago, stuie said:

it’s a festival of performing arts but the Pyramid is a music stage.  No one disagrees SZA didn’t work out but there’s no need to move away from musical artists.

the pyramid has had plenty of speakers on it over the years and that has fitted around the music 

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

17 minutes ago, Iphigenia said:

Abandon their principles? It's a festival of performing arts. What principle would they be abandoning? Glastonbury have always been at the forefront of trying something new. Who else would have Jeremy Corbyn speaking on their main stage? (Who, for the record, drew ten times the crowd SZA produced)

 

The principle of having musical artists headlining the festival, of course. There's performing arts at the festival of course, but not on the Pyramid as headliners - not since, like, forever. They also have people dressed as seagulls at the festival, but I can't see them choosing a street artist, no matter how popular, to end the night on the main stage either.

 

I remember Corbyn, I was there. He was on for ten minutes before Run the Jewels. Incidentally, the crowd didn't change much from the end of his speech to them performing. I don't know if that's ground-breaking to have a politician talking on stage for ten minutes either or equals the festival being at the forefront of any zeitgeist exactly.

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

18 minutes ago, stuie said:

it’s a festival of performing arts but the Pyramid is a music stage.  No one disagrees SZA didn’t work out but there’s no need to move away from musical artists.

 

Exactly.

[Superscally]

Fontaines are headlining next year. 

Just inserting toldyouso for easy finding. 

😘

[assorted]

7 hours ago, fraybentos1 said:

they would be mad to do that based on the high percentage of mega stars they think they almost have and then it all falls through. See Madonna or Prince for example

 

Again, this is me strictly doing uneducated fan fiction like most others here, but Swift is different than Madonna and Prince in that she was already booked once and now has a relationship with the festival and likely wants to do it when it fits - Madonna and Prince were acts the festival was chasing, not ones already caught.

 

In terms of her current show and it not fitting Glastonbury - agreed. But whatever she’s thinking in 2027 won’t be her current show, and I do believe she plans her life that far in advance, and I think she wants to to do Glastonbury at some point, so why not 2027? 

 

Regardless of if it’s because of Swift, I do think there’s a reason we don’t know yet why they pulled up the fallow year (maybe Michael health? A upcoming business deal? But something) and I assume we will eventually find out. 

[Superscally]

18 minutes ago, assorted said:

Again, this is me strictly doing uneducated fan fiction like most others here, but Swift is different than Madonna and Prince in that she was already booked once and now has a relationship with the festival and likely wants to do it when it fits - Madonna and Prince were acts the festival was chasing, not ones already caught.

 

In terms of her current show and it not fitting Glastonbury - agreed. But whatever she’s thinking in 2027 won’t be her current show, and I do believe she plans her life that far in advance, and I think she wants to to do Glastonbury at some point, so why not 2027? 

 

Regardless of if it’s because of Swift, I do think there’s a reason we don’t know yet why they pulled up the fallow year (maybe Michael health? A upcoming business deal? But something) and I assume we will eventually find out. 

This. Taylor WILL play unless weird stars collide.

[FKA SOSOTWS]

33 minutes ago, assorted said:

Again, this is me strictly doing uneducated fan fiction like most others here, but Swift is different than Madonna and Prince in that she was already booked once and now has a relationship with the festival and likely wants to do it when it fits - Madonna and Prince were acts the festival was chasing, not ones already caught.

 

In terms of her current show and it not fitting Glastonbury - agreed. But whatever she’s thinking in 2027 won’t be her current show, and I do believe she plans her life that far in advance, and I think she wants to to do Glastonbury at some point, so why not 2027? 

 

Regardless of if it’s because of Swift, I do think there’s a reason we don’t know yet why they pulled up the fallow year (maybe Michael health? A upcoming business deal? But something) and I assume we will eventually find out. 

 

But Taylor was also booked by a bunch of other European fests in 2020; would we argue that she'll likely want to play something like Roskilde or NOS Alive as well when it fits? I'm sure her team is still on good terms with Glasto but I wouldn't assume she'll make it a priority going forward.

 

 

[incident]

4 minutes ago, SwallowOrSleepOnTheWetSpot said:

But Taylor was also booked by a bunch of other European fests in 2020; would we argue that she'll likely want to play something like Roskilde or NOS Alive as well when it fits?

 

In short, yes.

 

Would definitely expect that other festivals will also be on the cards when she does choose to do something stripped back.

Edited August 21, 2024 by incident

[Suprefan]

4 minutes ago, incident said:

 

In short, yes.

 

Would definitely expect that other festivals will also be on the cards when she does choose to do something stripped back.

except the swifties are gonna hate the next show because it wont be 3 1/2 hours and only be 20 songs. Thats the corner she put herself into now. Nobody should really be doing that unless its your last tour or youve been doing it your entire career. And that production was pretty stripped back anyway. Compare it to the prior one and its not that elaborate. You couldnt have big elements because of the time constraints, costume changes and long setlist. If it was a big thing then its probably an extra 30 minutes in there with big production pieces.

 

Beyonce was 2 hours and 45 minutes if the full setlist was done during Renaissance for example. And that had insane production values.  If she cut the 3 song section its just under 2 1/2. 
 

Even Madonna's show had crazier production than Taylor's. She had a stadium show inside an arena. 
 

If she decided to hit up every festival at one point its gonna be a tipping point for some. Cause if her fees is ridiculous then prices will have to reflect. Obviously with Glasto itll have to be reduced but by whatever year it happens the ticket cost will have risen a bit anyway. At least there will be zero concern over region locking the stream of  the performance. Unless bbc decides to go full pay per view finally.

[Suprefan]

On 8/20/2024 at 12:33 AM, GrumpyRaver said:

Would be a great way to kill off the festival.

cant kill off a festival if its sold out before you book even one artist. Only way to see if the festival would struggle is if you announced a line up and then ticket sales afterwards. No blind sale at all. And have an open resale market for tickets too. The festival is going to keep moving into the direction of the dua's and sza's anyway because theyll have to. If they kept on going with just the old hat at the top of the line up youll have made sure the future wasnt going to go as well. Why should younger attendees go if all theyre gonna get is  the Billy Joels,  Guns N Roses and Foos every year. That gets boring. And sure, they could try an orchestra type thing on the Pyramid if they wanted to. They could try anything, but they wont. Somebody like them can only take a "risk" every few years when they know they have a Coldplay in their pocket.  If next year was Rihanna, Fred and Olivia youre gonna see the general public be pissed off til kingdom come. The "what happened to glastonbury" op ed's will be raining down  even more than what happened with Sza. Youre never going to make the core audience of the fest "happy" anyway. Only thing that will keep the complainers  at bay is Oasis right now. Emily shouldnt have to sit there and defend what was done anyway. Also, this year was a down year FOR EVERYONE. Nobody was immune from talent issues or oversaturation or costs and the like. Be grateful your favorite events still exist. Everyone only cares about the optics anyway.