Glastonbury 2022: Six of the biggest talking points from the Worthy Farm festival
US rapper Kendrick Lamar’s headline set closed an impressive weekend of live music
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The final day at Glastonbury ended with a jaw-dropping performance by American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Over the course of five days, fans had danced to performances by top artists such as Paul McCartney, Little Simz, Pet Shop Boys, Sam Fender, and Billie Eilish.
On the last day of the festival, George Ezra turned up at the John Peel stage in what was possibly the worst-kept secret set in Glastonbury history, while jazz-fusion legend Herbie Hancock delighted crowds relaxing at the Pyramid stage with a virtuosic performance.
Here’s a look back at six of the biggest talking points from the entire Glastonbury 2022 festival...
Roe v Wade
News of the US Supreme Court’s highly controversial legal ruling broke on Friday, and it was clearly on a lot of people’s minds at Glastonbury. It certainly didn’t escape the attention of the artists, many of whom were American. From Billie Eilish, to Phoebe Bridgers, to Olivia Rodrigo, to Kendrick Lamar, lots of the performers included powerful statements about abortion rights in their sets.
From the youngest ever headliner…
Eilish made history with her Friday night headline slot, delighting fans with an intimate but lively set of songs from the 20-year-old’s two albums. As the festival’s youngest ever solo headliner, the pressure was certainly on Eilish’s shoulders, but as Mark Beaumont’s five-star review attests, she pulled it off with aplomb.
…to the oldest
On the other end of the spectrum, we had Paul McCartney, who delivered an absolute barnstormer of a set on Saturday. Performing a range of hits from his Beatles and Wings repertoires, as well as his solo career (and a couple of covers), Macca delivered a Glastonbury experience for the ages. At 80 years old, he became the festival’s oldest ever headliner.
Kendrick Lamar
Closing the festival on Sunday was Kendrick Lamar, who held the Pyramid Stage in the palm of his hand from the start of his electrifying, career-spanning set to the end. The stunning climax of his set – a rendition of “saviour” performed while blood dripped from his diamond crown of thorns, before he began a furious chant about women’s rights – was pure chills-down-the-spine stuff.
Ukraine
The ongoing war in Ukraine was also a core political issue for many of the festival’s acts and attendees. Ukrainian flags were spotted commonly around the festival site, with McCartney holding one aloft in solidarity as he took the stage for his encore. The Pyramid Stage also played host to Ukrainian band Dakhabrakha on Sunday, one of several Ukrainian artists the festival championed.
A little help from my friends…
While Kendrick’s set may have been all him, many of the festival’s other acts deployed some heavyweight guest stars. McCartney brought Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl on stage towards the end. Olivia Rodrigo welcomed Lily Allen for a duet of “F*** You”. Phoebe Bridges joined forces with Arlo Parks (who had her own full set at the festival) for a couple of numbers. Pete Doherty even showed up on stage during Hak Baker’s performance, having performed with the Libertines shortly before. It was a festival chock-full of unexpected – but thoroughly enjoyed – cameos.
Look back at our live blog below:
Paul McCartney has announced a surprise warm-up show ahead of his headline set this weekend...
Paul McCartney holding surprise pre Glastonbury show in Frome
Tickets to the 800 capacity gig in Somerset sold out in under an hour
Fellow headliner Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, was seen performing a tribute to Virgil Abloh while wearing crown of thorns during a Louis Vuitton show.
Watch the video here...
Kendrick Lamar performs tribute for Virgil Abloh while wearing crown of thorns
Rapper’s performance comes before his Glastonbury headlining slot on Sunday
The big acts might not get going til tomorrow, but there’s still stuff going on in Worthy Farm.
For example...
Here’s a look at some of the secret headliners set to appear at the festival...
Glastonbury secret sets 2022: Rumours and how find out who will play
Bastille are the latest rumoured act for a secret set
Louis Tomlinson spotted at Worthy Farm amid rumours of secret Harry Styles set
One Direction fans were thrilled over the possibility of a mini band reunion at Worthy Farm, after Louis Tomlinson was spotted at Glastonbury amid rumours of a secret Harry Styles set.
Styles and Tomlinson were part of “the internet’s first boyband” One Direction, alongwith Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik. The group went on extended hiatus in 2015, following Malik’s departure.
Styles is rumoured to perform alongside Glastonbury’s youngest-ever headliner Billie Eilish on the Pyramid Stage Friday night (24 June).
Currently on his “Love On Tour” to promote his 2019 album Fine Line, the “As It Was” singer still has the majority of the weekend free in between tour dates.
Meanwhile, Tomlinson, 30, was spotted at the Somerset venue, in a short fan video posted online. He was dressed in a loose, white T-shirt and shorts.
‘We’re a family’: Dying Glastonbury fan to travel to festival via helicopter
A terminally ill Glastonbury fan has been granted his dying wish – to make it to the festival one last time.
Nigel Stonehouse, 58, from Hartlepool, will travel to Worthy Farm via helicopter after a GoFundMe campaign raised over £18,000 to fund the journey. This will be his 19th time at the Somerset music festival.
When asked why it’s so important to Stonehouse to go to Glastonbury, he replied: “It’s always important to go to Glastonbury – we’re a family.”
Stonehouse, who is suffering from kidney cancer, first attended the festival in 1986.
Full story here:
Terminally ill festival-lover to fly to Glastonbury as public grant ‘last wish’
The University Hospital of North Tees confirmed Nigel Stonehouse will travel to Worthy Farm via helicopter after more than £18,000 was raised for him.
Glastonbury crowd chant ‘we love you Michael, we do’ to festival founder
The crowd at Glastonbury chanted “We love you Michael we do” around the Williams Green stage as festival founder Michael Eavis played with his band to a packed audience on Thursday.
The 86-year-old performed renditions of hits such as the Elvis hit “Always On My Mind” and Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”.
Eavis thanked the crowd and left the stage to huge applause before leaving in his “trademark red” Land Rover, and further cheers rang out as he passed festival-goers on the road outside the venue.
Bastille fans react to band's 'not-so-secret' set: 'I'm a bit emotional'
Bastille fans were overjoyed to watch the band play a “not-so-secret” set at the William’s Green stage Thursday, accompanied by 10-piece brass band Ol’ Dirty Brasstards.
“Tonight we are Brasstille and the Brasstards...or something,” band frontman Dan Smith joked, as fans reportedly chanted the refrain of their 2013 hit “Pompeii” while waiting for the set to begin.
Their set followed festival founder Michael Eavis’s covers performance, with Smith telling the crowd: “I can’t believe we get to play after Michael Eavis, what the f***.”
Bastille’s set list for their sixth performance at Glastonbury included hits such as “Things We Lost In The Fire”, “Survivin’” from their 2020 EP Goosebumps, “Shut Off The Lights” and, of course, “Pompeii” right at the end.
After watching their performance, one fan tweeted: “Since 2012, I have never gone more than 1.5 years without seeing Bastille, [but] because of Covid, I didn’t see them for almost three years until today at glasto. I’m a bit emotional atm, thank you @bastille.”
“I don’t care about Bastille, only Brasstille,” another joked.
‘Did you make it?’: Wolf Alice fans react to band’s travel update amid fears of cancelled set
Wolf Alice fans are keeping their “fingers crossed” that the band can make it to Glastonbury after a flight cancellation ahead of their scheduled performance left them stranded in the US.
The “Don’t Delete The Kisses” artists are due to perform on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm on Friday afternoon.
“Has anyone got a private jet in LA?” the band tweeted late on Wednesday (22 June), explaining, “Our flight’s been cancelled and we need to get to Glastonbury, not joking.”
On Thursday, the group tweeted that they were flying out to Seattle, from Los Angeles, before getting on a direct flight to London in time, hopefully, for their set.
“Did you make it?” one fan commented under their post on Twitter, with another writing: “Fingers crossed you lot, cannot wait to see you at Glasto.”
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