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Kylie Minogue has confessed that she will “absolutely” shed a tear during her set at this weekend’s Glastonbury , which marks her debut at the festival 14 years after she had to pull out of appearing after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Speaking to The Mirror , the pop icon revealed that the performance, during the “Legends slot” on Sunday afternoon, will make her “remember what happened all those years ago and my overriding feeling will just be of gratitude and how fragile life can be.”
She added, “Will there be tears? Absolutely. Let’s just say I will be wearing waterproof mascara.”
Show all 20 1 /2020 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Lauryn Hill (Friday 6pm, Pyramid Stage) Hill, who was the heart and soul of Nineties hip-hop band Fugees, is not only an accomplished rapper, but has one of the best singing voices of her generation. Live, she performs tracks from that band’s two brilliant albums, as well as from her seminal 1998 solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, a heady melange of R&P, hip hop, soul and reggae. But if you’re planning on rushing off to see another act after Hill’s set, you might want to think again – the musician is notoriously tardy, often showing up hours late to her own gigs. AP
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Georgia (Friday 2pm, Park Stage) A former footballer and drummer for Kate Tempest who grew up in a housing co-op in Baker Street, Georgia’s music is as eclectic and eccentric as her background suggests. Taking elements of house and techno and combining them with an Eighties pop sensibility, Georgia’s music is itchy and irresistible – one listen to “Started Out” and you’ll be hooked. She’s arguably better suited to a slot late at night in the woods, rather than 2pm on the Park Stage, but beggars can’t be choosers. AP
Rosie Marks
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Little Simz (Sunday 7.45pm, Park Stage) Little Simz, one of the UK’s finest rappers, is an electrifying live performer. She flips between two personas: tongue-in-cheek and deadly serious, hailing herself as “Jay-Z on a bad day, Shakespeare on my worst days” on “Offence”, a standout-track from her latest album Grey Area. As well as being a phenomenal wordsmith, she has a superb understanding of groove gleaned from her idols Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse, so rock and blues fans should get just as much of a kick out of her set as anyone. RO
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Billie Eilish (Sunday 6.45pm, Other Stage) It feels as though Eilish has gone from zero to 100 in the past few months, arriving seemingly from nowhere to become one of the biggest alt-popstars on the planet. The 17-year-old, who makes weird, dark, ASMR-triggering electropop, became the first artist born in the 21st century to have a number one album in the US when she released her debut record, When We All Fall Sleep, Where Do We Go?, back in March. How those songs – all weird sound effects and whispers – translate live remains to be seen, but it’s sure to be an intriguing set. AP
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Hot Chip (Saturday 11pm, Park Stage) Already a favourite at festivals, Hot Chip are bound to be a highlight at Glastonbury with songs from their latest album A Bath Full of Ecstasy. Expect glitchy house and techno references that work alongside the band’s remarkable ear for a great pop hook, heard on their top 10 single “Ready for the Floor” from 2008 and on their recent single “Melody of Love”. It’s hard to imagine many other sets will be as euphoric and life-affirming as this one. RO
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Janelle Monae (Sunday 9.45pm, West Holts) It wouldn’t be outrageous to suggest that you haven’t truly lived until you’ve experienced a Janelle Monae concert. A dazzling show of dramatic monologuing, pulsating funk and checkerboard patterns, Monae consistently arrives like a visitor from another world sent forth to bring peace, love and vagina pants. For this year’s Glastonbury, she will inevitably showcase the same shimmering confidence and magnetic sexuality of her mentor Prince, along with the glorious romanticism of her last record Dirty Computer. Monae is stunningly open as a performer, recognising the importance of safe, pleasurable spaces for those whose mere existence is tantamount to an act of defiance. We must protect Monae at all costs, and Glastonbury ticket holders should flock to her in droves. AW
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Lizzo (Saturday 5.30pm, West Holts) If you’ve seen the recent viral footage of Lizzo having a ball on top of a giant wedding cake and playing wildly good flute at the BET Awards this weekend, you’re probably already planning to check out her Glastonbury set. If that wasn’t enough to persuade you, though, then know that her music is playful, rowdy, and so laden with personality that even the vulnerable moments are a joy to listen to. Her new album Cuz I Love You is packed with messages of unabashed self-love and more summer bangers than you can shake a stick at. AP
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Bring Me the Horizion (Sunday 3.45pm, Other Stage) They may seem out of place alongside the mainstream indie, rock and pop bands on this year’s Glastonbury lineup, but Bring Me the Horizon know how to put on a show. Whether it’s bursts of flame, dazzling light displays or frontman Oli Sykes charging around the stage – their gigs are always something of an event. Their latest album, Amo, is also their most pop-leaning to date, so don’t be put off if you don’t fancy moshing. Although there’ll definitely be opportunities for that, too. RO
Rex
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 King Princess (Friday 4.45pm, Park Stage) Few artists have hit the ground running quite like King Princess, the first ever signing to Mark Ronson’s Zelig Records. The 20-year-old’s debut single, “1950”, was an exquisite, minimalist declaration of young queer love, and earned the singer an almost immediate cult following. Since then, she’s proven her staying power with the equally sublime “Talia”, the flirty, sneering “Upper West Side”, and the unashamedly horny banger “Pussy is God”. She doesn’t even have an album out yet, and already that’s a pretty wonderful festival setlist. AP
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Sharon Van Etten (Saturday 7.30pm, John Peel) Arriving five years after her fourth record, Are We There, Van Etten’s new album Remind Me Tomorrow is perhaps the American singer-songwriter’s best – a lo-fi, synth-heavy collection of languid summer bangers (think Portishead by way of St Vincent). Expect a live rendition of her recent single “Seventeen” – a nostalgic but unsentimental ode to teenagehood – to be one of the most affecting moments of the weekend. AP
Ryan Pfluger
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Jessie Buckley (Sunday 12.45pm, Park Stage) The Irish star of HBO series Chernobyl and 2017 psychological thriller Beast plays a Scottish country singer fresh out of prison in the lovely, poignant musical drama film Wild Rose. As ambitious mother-of-two Rose-Lynn Harlan, Buckley – who first rose to prominence on BBC talent show I’d Do Anything – proves that she’s still got a brilliant singing voice, and an effortless one to boot. She’ll perform original songs from that film – including the standout track “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” – on the Park Stage on Sunday. AP
Film4 Productions
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Jade Bird (Saturday 5pm, Avalon) A hurricane in human form, Jade Bird makes fiery, sardonic Americana but has no trouble flitting between folk, blues, pop or rock as well. When she sings about the people who have wronged her, such as the former lover shacked up with another woman on “Uh Huh”, she is merciless – dealing out cutting lines with a huge, gravelly voice that belies her tiny frame. Whether she turns up at Glastonbury with a full band in tow or decides to stick to just an acoustic guitar remains to be seen – either one will be a thrill to watch. RO
The Independent/Music Box sessions
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Years & Years (Sunday 1.45pm, Pyramid Stage) Over the course of two albums, Years & Years have waved the flag for glittery dance-pop and sensual Noughties-R&B in an era when both have, by and large, declined in commercial visibility. But they’re also a band whose glorious creativity and cultural significance is most overt when seen live; backdrops, costume changes and dancers providing an immersive sense of drama that can’t entirely be accomplished through mere sound. Returning to Glastonbury for the third time, the band continue to pulse with boundless positivity and queer energy on stage, with frontman Olly Alexander a slinky pleasure to behold. AW
Redferns
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Shura (Saturday 3.15pm, John Peel) If its first few singles are anything to go by, Shura’s second album, the follow-up to 2016’s melancholic electro-pop record Nothing’s Real, will be every bit as good as her first – if a little funkier. Forevher isn’t out until the end of the summer, so the London musician’s Glastonbury set will be the perfect opportunity to get a sneak preview. With any luck, she’ll play “What’s It Gonna Be” – one of the songs of the summer back in 2016 – as well. AP
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Miley Cyrus (Sunday 5.45pm, Pyramid Stage) It’s nigh-on impossible to predict which Miley Cyrus we’ll be getting at Glastonbury: the brash, brazen, Bangerz-era Miley? The weird, low-key Dead Petz-era Miley? Perhaps even Miley’s Black Mirror alter-ego Ashley O, whose so-bad-it’s-good fictitious single “On a Roll” has racked up nearly nine million YouTube views. But any one of those options promises to make for a riveting watch. And she might even sing her recent Mark Ronson collaboration “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart”, which is one of the best songs of the year. AP
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Janet Jackson (Saturday 5.45pm, Pyramid Stage) If you are able to look past her familial ties, and it’d certainly be understandable if you can’t, Janet Jackson will undoubtedly be a highlight of this weekend’s festivities. A pioneering performer of staggering range, Jackson has spent more than 30 years exploring different sounds, different genres and the deepest recesses of her soul, and has never truly received the acclaim such a canvas of wildly disparate output deserves. And her Glastonbury set, likely lifting the choreography and breakneck hit ratio of her recent greatest hits tour, is guaranteed to be the weekend’s most exciting set. AW
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Koffee (Sunday 2pm, Park Stage) Little is known about the specifics of Rihanna’s forthcoming reggae album, but she would be smart to seek sonic inspiration from Koffee, a prodigiously talented 19-year-old who matches radio-friendly hooks with transcendent flow, smart social commentary and tender introspection. Making her Glastonbury debut, Koffee arrives on a wave of buzz from her native Jamaica, where viral fame courtesy of a 2017 tribute to Usain Bolt saw her quickly poached by Columbia Records. She has since emerged as one of the most exciting new voices in the island’s creative distancing from the digitalised bravado of dancehall and return to its lush reggae roots. AW
Frank Fleber
20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Dave (Sunday 8.15pm, Other Stage) In 2019, rapper Dave’s tracks about institutional racism and identity feel like the perfect fit for Glastonbury, a festival renowned around the world for its atmosphere of love and unity. This politically conscious young man is also a talented musician who went to painstaking efforts to make his debut album, 2019’s Psychodrama, the exquisite piece of work it is. At his headline show in Brixton this year he brought out Stormzy; it’s highly possible he might bring out a few friends at his Glastonbury set too. RO
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Sheryl Crow (Friday 2.30pm, Pyramid Stage) One of music’s true workhorses, Sheryl Crow has bobbed around in the background of pop, folk and soft-rock for 25 years, rarely at its very centre but defiantly refusing to languish on its fringes either. Like much of Crow’s career, it is unlikely that her Glastonbury set will provoke mass attention, but it will undoubtedly be a minor pleasure, built on SoCal breeziness and low-key charm. And, considering the names in Crow’s Rolodex, perhaps a surprise cameo or two. AW
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20 performances you shouldn't miss at Glastonbury 2019 Rosalia (Friday 6pm, John Peel) One of the shortlisted artists for the BBC’s Sound of 2019, the Spanish singer puts a modern spin on old-school flamenco, singing almost entirely in Spanish and bringing the ancient sound of her homeland to a global, 21st-century audience. Having worked with the likes of J Balvin, Pharrell and James Blake, the 25-year-old is destined for very big things indeed. Catch her before she blows up. AP
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Minogue was originally scheduled to headline the festival in 2005, becoming one of only a few female headliners at Glastonbury in the process, before her cancer diagnosis meant that all performances and professional appearances were axed.
She told the newspaper that the decision to back out weighed on her for years, even when she was undergoing chemotherapy.
“My memory’s so strong of so much around that time and while my focus had moved on from Glastonbury, I was watching and going, ‘I’m meant to be there’,” she said. “It would have been pretty mega at the time to headline – the next woman to do it was Beyonce .”
She continued, “I really thought I missed my opportunity and, as the years went by, I said to myself, ‘Well this just isn’t going to happen’.”
Minogue is the latest music icon to play the Glastonbury “Legends slot”, following in the footsteps of acts including Dolly Parton , Johnny Cash and Barry Gibb .
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