Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has hit back at the backlash the festival has received and given her reasons for why there is a lack of rock acts – just hours after her father Sir Michael Eavis took to the stage to sing.
For the headlining acts this year, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and SZA will take to the Pyramid Stage, with country-pop icon Shania Twain taking the coveted Legends slot on Sunday.
After waiting months for the 2024 line-up, it didn’t take long for fans of the festival to express their disappointment on their social media accounts, many were underwhelmed with the lack of rock performers on the main stages.
However, after opening the doors at Worthy Farm, Eavis has spoken out on the backlash from fans and insisted that the main line-up at Glastonbury moves with the times and only reflects the current state of the music industry.
“I think the line-up reflects what’s happening in the music world at the moment – there aren’t a lot of new rock acts to choose from if I’m honest. Hopefully, that will emerge again.
“My heyday was 1995 with Pulp and Oasis and Radiohead – and that was great, but music changes all the time and right now this is where we’re at,” she told PA.
Emily opened the gates to the festival on Wednesday
PA
She added that in previous years when the festival featured a large number of rock acts, the line-up was still criticised for featuring too many, not being able to win either way.
“Every year, we’ve been criticised for being too rock, too grime, too hip hop, too pop – it’s just part of our year. Generally, it’s not from the public – everybody’s really happy and excited to be here.”
Eavis’ comments come after her father, 88, appeared on stage again to sing a series of classics, with his daughter claiming that his voice sounded “better than ever”.
As he came out on stage in his wheelchair, he was met with a rapturous cheer from the crowd of thousands and began to perform a set of just over 20 minutes, singing Frank Sinatra hits including Love’s Been Good To Me and It Was A Very Good Year, as well as Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds.
Sir Michael returned to the stage for a 20 minutes set
PA
She added to PA: “It was wonderful. It’s the best start for me to see him on the stage and his voice sounded better than ever.”
In previous years, the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival was aided by a singer who had the job of turning his pages of sheet music as he read the lyrics, something that Eavis noted was not of concern this year.
The 44-year-old explained: “No, he was raring to go. He’s had a few rehearsals and he was really up for it. It’s just so good to see him out there and receive all that love.”
Despite entering day three of the five-day spectacular, many have begun to complain about the “overkill” of coverage on BBC Radio 1 and 2, with one X user noting: “@BBCRadio2 Radio 2 is turning into the overflow channel for Radio 1. If l wanted to listen to Glastonbury l would have gone.