Five bands who could headline Glastonbury for the first time in the 2020s
By Ben Cole 28/06/2021We all accepted missing out one year of Glastonbury but two consecutive years has been heartbreaking. Nevertheless, perhaps with a couple of years off to reflect and the BBC again wonderfully providing nostalgia of memorable performances over the past 'Glastonbury weekend,' some fresh guitar based bands could rejuvenate the lineup at Worthy Farm.
Foals: The Oxford group have been bookies favourites to headline for the last few years now. 2019 saw them release two critically acclaimed albums and although nothing is confirmed, surely Yannis and the boys have been working on some fresh tunes during the pandemic. Foals were dubbed by some critics as one of the greatest bands on the planet following their last two releases, dabbling in funky dance grooves and riff-centric arena anthems all while keeping to their math-rock indie roots. Such variation is emulated in their notorious live shows which they have won awards for, with their passionate surprise set at the Park Stage in 2019 resulting in Jimmy Smith's guitar blood stained from his relentless strumming and of course Yannis crowd surfing during 'What Went Down.' Putting on a performance is not the concern for Foals.
What may hinder their deserved headline slot from coming to fruition is their status. There's a sense that their moment may have gone and they always seem to underdogs. Guitar based acts don't last long in a brutal world of streaming and lack of government support so to be in this situation coming up to their seventh LP is a success in its own right. Maybe headlining the Other Stage is more realistic but I feel Foals still have one more great album to deliver.
HAIM: Possibly the boldest selection on the list comes from three Los Angeles sisters. Supposed to be embarking on their first UK arena tour in 2021, these women are flying high after their critically acclaimed third LP Women in Music, Part III, an enthralling experimental project combining their glossy pop-rock roots with sprinkles of r&b and folk-rock. Their global recognition is only expanding, collaborating with artists as grand as Taylor Swift, Vampire Weekend and Clairo. The only thing stopping them from being household names in the UK has been the pandemic. It's exciting to see how a lockdown-free world treats them.
Potentially this is why HAIM are the most difficult to predict. Akin to Foals, has their moment gone? Will their arena tour finally grant them a breakthrough into the UK's public familiarity? There are currently too many questions regarding whether they'd suit the spectacle of a Glastonbury headliner. Give them half a decade to establish themselves and I think they will be in contention to take the UK public by storm. With their already impressive American following and their timeless but fresh sound, they have the capacity to become superstars.
Wolf Alice: We had to wait four years for their third album but my word is their first number one Blue Weekend a triumph, perhaps the album of 2021 and it's only the beginning of summer. Their latest effort only confirms what we already knew: that they don't have a bad song and a headline slot beckons. Not many bands in recent history can seamlessly transport from swaggering punk to glamorous Fleetwood Mac-infused pop to classic indie party hits but Wolf Alice do just this, all accompanied by Rowsell's heavenly vocals. This variety is evident in their three albums generating an instantly recognisable Wolf Alice ambience, a cinematic feeling of euphoric melancholy.
Playing live they rock it up even more, at the peak of Latitude's 2021 lineup and surely on the cards to headline even more festivals next summer. They would be a treat for Glastonbury, never allowing a boring moment and providing a women-based act at the top of the bill. The 2018 Mercury Prize winners will be in contention to headline in the mid to second half of the decade, just in time for their fourth or fifth album where by then they will have all the UK festival headline experience they require. Emily Eavis would be silly not to.
Tame Impala: Kevin Parker and 'genius' should become synonymous at this point. The introverted perfectionist has taken songs fashioned in his Perth bedroom and forged one of the world's leading bands, producing and playing all the instruments himself. Each album also reinvents, uniquely blending 60s psychedelic rock, contemporary pop and r&b, a breath of fresh air the 2010s desperately needed. Some argue Tame Impala would be a risky selection for headlining Glastonbury.
However, I would suggest the complete opposite. If Glastonbury is traditionally a rock festival, then no other band defines modern day rock better than Tame Impala with their universal appeal. Even mainstream pop and rap fans are drawn to Tame Impala's distinctive sound, so much so that they're one of the hottest names for worldwide festival bookers, topping the bill at Coachella in 2019 alongside Ariana Grande and Childish Gambino. In the same year they delighted a large Other Stage crowd where they headlined, raising eyebrows with a blistering light show, whilst they at the top of lineups throughout the world this year and next. Parker and his band therefore, and perhaps undesirably so, are global leaders in bringing guitar based music to the mainstream which is why they're so sought after. Even amongst my peers we all have a variety of music tastes but Tame Impala are one of the few constants which distinguishes them from the majority of acts on the planet. The Australian band would be a slightly unconventional selection but isn't that what Glastonbury is all about?
The 1975: No matter what you think of them and their music, it is inevitable Matty Healy and Co will headline Glastonbury. Healy has made many a bold claim in interviews, self-labelling his group as the band of the 2010s and egotistically declaring they will headline the festival in 2020. The band expect this prestigious slot at Worthy Farm.
Despite assuming they have some sort of divine prerogative to headline the festival, Healy's arrogant statements have weight behind them. There wasn't really an outstanding British band to breakthrough and have a drastic social impact in the 2010s in comparison to Oasis and Blur in the 90s and Arctic Monkeys in the noughties. But if you had to choose someone it would be The 1975. Their latest album Notes on a Conditional Form, released in May 2020, became their fourth consecutive UK number one album. Alongside arena tours in the UK and America, and international festival headline slots including highly impressive performances at Reading and Leeds in 2019, the three times Brit Award recipients are at the peak of their powers.
The four lads from Wilmslow are ready to crown their global success with a headline slot at Worthy Farm, perhaps in the next few years to align with the release of their fifth album. If and when they reach such heights, their electric nighttime light show, political and ecological activism and a catalogue of indie pop anthems would pleasantly surprise skeptical Glastonbury audiences. Let's just hope Healy's ego doesn't blemish what would be a deserved headline slot.
