GLASTONBURY

It’s been a couple of weeks since the legendary contemporary arts festival so I apologise for the delay but swapping blog sites proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought!

It was my second year attending and I have to say it was even better than last time (except for the distinct lack of Dolly, but let’s not talk about that)

Here are some of my musical highlights: 

Catfish and the Bottlemen

I’ve previously seen these guys at Leeds Festival last year so knew we were in for a treat when I spotted them on the line-up. Despite the rain messing with their instruments, it did nothing to dampen the crowd’s mood as they bounced around to the catchy rock anthems belted out by frontman Van McCann.

A little heart melting moment was created when McCann instructed someone in the audience to pass their CD to security and promised he would listen – you could feel the girls swooning across the field.

Florence and the Machine

After Dave Grohl’s minor incident with his leg, the line-up was shuffled and these guys were bumped up to top spot. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of surprise but that was soon forgotten as the goddess that is Florence Welch threw herself across the stage. It’s safe to say they were a worthy replacement to the Foos, especially with the addition of a ‘Times Like These’ cover and Flo whipping her top off for the finale.

Saint Raymond

I managed to catch the last half of this set as I ran from James Bay while downing a fruit smoothie in an attempt to restore some of the vitamins I’d lost after a week of drinking. For someone of his age and experience, he dominated the stage with enthusiasm and just pure talent. After a successful set, his luck only continued with his debut album ‘Young Blood’ reaching number 8 in the charts – rightly so, it is an absolute belter.

Prides

On straight after Saint Raymond, these Glaswegian synth-pop rockers brought a new level of energy to the stage. Having previously seen them headline the BBC Introducing stage at Leeds Festival last year, I genuinely think they’ve upped their game with a slicker performance and a more capturing stage presence. Their debut album has also just been released, and again is well worth a listen.

Jamie T

Sunday was full of amazing artists which had me running around like a headless chicken trying to catch every possible minute of every artist I could. On my lengthy list of musical loves was Jamie T and he did not disappoint. Throwing out a mixture of his new material as well as the old classics, the entire crowd went crazy for him; there’s nothing quite like a thousand-odd people screaming ‘LANDAAAAN’ in synchrony.

The first 15 minutes of Kanye West

Before you roll your eyes and scroll past this, HEAR ME OUT. I am not a big Kanye fan and I was just as disappointed as everyone else that he was playing instead of Taylor Swift. However I must give credit where it is due and opening with the Daft Punk sample on ‘Stronger’ was a genius move to get the crowd on his side - for the time being. As he blasted his way through ‘N***** in Paris’ and ‘Black Skinhead’ (feat. Lee Nelson), I was having the time of my life. We won’t talk about the rest of the set or the unnecessary murder of that classic Queen song...

If you went to Glastonbury or even watched it on TV from the comfort and cleanliness of your own home, let me know what your highlights were!