2022 Headliners

[CaledonianGonzo]

 

[chazwwe]

Honestly, I would love the Weekdn to show up and I think in a perfect world with no Covid, him being a headliner last year would of been huge. One of the biggest artists of last year with one of the biggest hit singles in what will probably be for a few years, off the back of a Super Bowl performance. 

I can't see it being this year, unless he was already booked for last year/before things started to get cancelled for last year, unless he really wants to do it. I think stadium tour for him this year and possibility him coming next year on the end of the tour of the album.

I still have hope this year is Billie/Macca/Taylor. 

[shivroy]

Do you think that Ariana would ever play glastonbury? There's no hints that she's going to tour her latest album or anything, I'm just curious

[Matt42]

Just now, shivroy said:

Do you think that Ariana would ever play glastonbury? There's no hints that she's going to tour her latest album or anything, I'm just curious

I reckon yes but lots of people here would say no.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if pre-pandemic she was in talks to headline on her next album.

2018-2019 she was playing a lot of festivals across the world and I wouldn’t be surprised if her management wanted her to play a UK one. She’s not a stadium act in the UK so a big festival being on her list would surely be an option. 

I could really see her doing a BST and Glasto double header one year. I swear one year someone said they heard Ariana was being explored as a possibility for BST?

[jannybruck]

5 minutes ago, shivroy said:

Do you think that Ariana would ever play glastonbury? There's no hints that she's going to tour her latest album or anything, I'm just curious

Maybe on her next proper album, but festivals have never seemed like a huge part of her career yet. Like the Weeknd, Glastonbury just can't give her a big full pop production like they're used to. Combine that with a low fee and in some cases it's just not worth it for a lot of these sorts of artists.

Edited January 9, 2022 by jannybruck

[Matt42]

1 minute ago, jannybruck said:

Maybe on her next proper album, but festivals have never seemed like a huge part of her career yet. Like the Weeknd, Glastonbury just can't give her a big full pop production like they're used to. Combine that with a low fee and in some cases it's just not worth it for a lot of these sorts of artists.

She’s played loads of festivals. Coachella, Lollapalooza, Manchester Pride, etc.

She’s done more festivals than Taylor has.

[jannybruck]

Just now, Matt42 said:

She’s played loads of festivals. Coachella, Lollapalooza, Manchester Pride, etc.

Yeah, all of these will have thrown money at her too which Glastonbury won't. What I mean is that she's still pretty green when it comes to festival settings here. I think probably a BST gig would be a good move for her given the age of her fanbase.

Either way it's moot, I doubt she'll be out and about for couple of years at this point anyway.

[Matt42]

7 minutes ago, jannybruck said:

Yeah, all of these will have thrown money at her too which Glastonbury won't. What I mean is that she's still pretty green when it comes to festival settings here. I think probably a BST gig would be a good move for her given the age of her fanbase.

Either way it's moot, I doubt she'll be out and about for couple of years at this point anyway.

I really can’t imagine Manchester Pride paying nearly as much as Coachella, and I think the payment point around Glastonbury is starting to fade a bit. We’ve had loads of bookings recently of who we would consider outside of Glastonbury’s price point.

It’s all about whether them/their  management see Glastonbury as a massive career achievement. Which is why Taylor signed up to do it.

10 years ago American acts wouldn’t have cared as much about Glastonbury but something has definitely shifted. American agents know that Glastonbury is a big deal to capitalise on the UK market, and if you want to essentially maximise your reach in the UK its something you should do. It’s probably easier for Glastonbury to secure these acts (in fact I’d argue these acts are probably approaching the festival). Kendrick, Taylor, Billie, Miley, Janet, Katy Perry etc have all probably demanded much more elsewhere.

Ariana’s perfectly sized imo for Glastonbury. She’s not at stadium level and it wouldn’t be a conversation of trying to convince her away from 5 nights at Wembley (like it would be with Taylor). 

I think a few of us on here talk down how big of a brand Glasto is now. It’s understandable though as this probably was the case in the 90s and 00s. But it’s a completely different ball park now. Surely Billie Eilish coming back to Glastonbury over virtually everything she did in Europe in 2019 is further evidence to support this too? 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Matt42

[shivroy]

20 minutes ago, jannybruck said:

Yeah, all of these will have thrown money at her too which Glastonbury won't. What I mean is that she's still pretty green when it comes to festival settings here. I think probably a BST gig would be a good move for her given the age of her fanbase.

Either way it's moot, I doubt she'll be out and about for couple of years at this point anyway.

I kind of agree that she'd rather do BST for the reasons that you said. I bet glastonbury is on her radar to some extent but she's only done the poppiest of festivals in the USA and the smaller stage of the pyramid and lower fee does feel like it would be a detractor for her.

But yeah in any case, don't see her doing it for a while. It seems like touring is still really traumatic for her, I hope when/if she ever does get back to touring it's because she wants to and not because her team is forcing her to do so.

[gfa]

44 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

I really can’t imagine Manchester Pride paying nearly as much as Coachella, and I think the payment point around Glastonbury is starting to fade a bit. We’ve had loads of bookings recently of who we would consider outside of Glastonbury’s price point.

Manchester Pride is different due to the terrorist attack I would assume. I think they are willing to cough up for some acts but can't see Ariana Grande being one of them especially given we have Dua Lipa and Taylor coming in the next few years + others no doubt.

[Matt42]

4 minutes ago, gfa said:

Manchester Pride is different due to the terrorist attack I would assume. I think they are willing to cough up for some acts but can't see Ariana Grande being one of them especially given we have Dua Lipa and Taylor coming in the next few years + others no doubt.

What I’m saying is not that they will cough up but Ariana’s team would be fine with the lower fee because they want to play.

[dentalplan]

1 hour ago, Matt42 said:

I really can’t imagine Manchester Pride paying nearly as much as Coachella, and I think the payment point around Glastonbury is starting to fade a bit. We’ve had loads of bookings recently of who we would consider outside of Glastonbury’s price point.

It’s all about whether them/their  management see Glastonbury as a massive career achievement. Which is why Taylor signed up to do it.

10 years ago American acts wouldn’t have cared as much about Glastonbury but something has definitely shifted. American agents know that Glastonbury is a big deal to capitalise on the UK market, and if you want to essentially maximise your reach in the UK its something you should do. It’s probably easier for Glastonbury to secure these acts (in fact I’d argue these acts are probably approaching the festival). Kendrick, Taylor, Billie, Miley, Janet, Katy Perry etc have all probably demanded much more elsewhere.

Ariana’s perfectly sized imo for Glastonbury. She’s not at stadium level and it wouldn’t be a conversation of trying to convince her away from 5 nights at Wembley (like it would be with Taylor). 

I think a few of us on here talk down how big of a brand Glasto is now. It’s understandable though as this probably was the case in the 90s and 00s. But it’s a completely different ball park now. Surely Billie Eilish coming back to Glastonbury over virtually everything she did in Europe in 2019 is further evidence to support this too? 

The artists have been generally ones who are either playing BST or arena dates around the time, or artists whose career needs a bit of a shot in the arm. Or a bit of both.

I agree that the agencies of big pop stars do see potential in playing Glastonbury but they know when to play the card.

The personal touch of Emily and the family-run festival type vibe also impacts the fest positively. But if an artist who doesn't really feel they need any image correction, doesn't show any warmth to the festival from past experience, is playing all their own big dates... I think agents won't steer them towards Glastonbury. After all, agencies keep the lights on by securing a percentage of artist fees.

Someone like The Weeknd, a huge act going out on their first stadium tour, seems like the wrong time. Maybe it doesn't suit Ariana Grande either, if she's still in the ascendancy. Then artists who have been at a high level for a long time like Madonna or Eminem probably won't be wooed by a Glastonbury offer either. I think the reason we were somewhat surprised about Kendrick when it was first put forward was that he seemed like he fit into the category but when a BST appearance was there alongside his other European fests, an appearance wasn't too much extra effort.

Edited January 9, 2022 by dentalplan

[Gnomicide]

The main blocker to Ariana Grande headlining is probably the fact that she's just fucking dreadful. 

[dentalplan]

5 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

The main blocker to Ariana Grande headlining is probably the fact that she's just fucking dreadful. 

That's never been a blocker to headlining Glastonbury.

[JoeyT]

Must say I’ve a feeling in my bones that the next announcement is this week.

Call it a hunch 👀

[Sorcha17]

Just been watching Hans Zimmer's Coachella set from 2017, Glasto should definitely try to book him in the next couple of years, that set is absolutely incredible, would also be a very different booking.

[Crazyfool01]

16 minutes ago, JoeyT said:

Must say I’ve a feeling in my bones that the next announcement is this week.

Call it a hunch 👀

If it’s not next week it’s not soon in my eyes … although Emily might have been stretching things slightly 

[PolygonWindow]

Been off for a while - is kendrick now confirmed to be ruled out or is this speculation ?

[Matt42]

40 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

The main blocker to Ariana Grande headlining is probably the fact that she's just fucking dreadful. 

There’s always a post like this whenever a female solo headliner is mooted. Look at the beginning of the Taylor Swift and Billie threads.

[dentalplan]

33 minutes ago, JoeyT said:

Must say I’ve a feeling in my bones that the next announcement is this week.

Call it a hunch 👀

If you've got a feeling in your bones and you're calling it a hunch, forget the announcement and go see a doctor.

[Gnomicide]

10 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

There’s always a post like this whenever a female solo headliner is mooted. Look at the beginning of the Taylor Swift and Billie threads.

There's always a post like this when someone has a negative opinion of a solo female act. It has nothing to do with her being female, I hold the same view whenever someone touts The 1975 as possible headliners.

I have no truck with either Eilish or Swift headlining but neither of them has an incredibly annoying, indecipherable, whiny voice and records consistently shite songs, at least those I've heard.

[henry bear]

44 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

There’s always a post like this whenever a female solo headliner is mooted. Look at the beginning of the Taylor Swift and Billie threads.

Are they exempt from criticism because of their gender?

[shivroy]

1 hour ago, Sorcha17 said:

Just been watching Hans Zimmer's Coachella set from 2017, Glasto should definitely try to book him in the next couple of years, that set is absolutely incredible, would also be a very different booking.

Agreed! I cried at that set, I'd love him at glasto

[shivroy]

1 hour ago, dentalplan said:

The artists have been generally ones who are either playing BST or arena dates around the time, or artists whose career needs a bit of a shot in the arm. Or a bit of both.

I agree that the agencies of big pop stars do see potential in playing Glastonbury but they know when to play the card.

The personal touch of Emily and the family-run festival type vibe also impacts the fest positively. But if an artist who doesn't really feel they need any image correction, doesn't show any warmth to the festival from past experience, is playing all their own big dates... I think agents won't steer them towards Glastonbury. After all, agencies keep the lights on by securing a percentage of artist fees.

Someone like The Weeknd, a huge act going out on their first stadium tour, seems like the wrong time. Maybe it doesn't suit Ariana Grande either, if she's still in the ascendancy. Then artists who have been at a high level for a long time like Madonna or Eminem probably won't be wooed by a Glastonbury offer either. I think the reason we were somewhat surprised about Kendrick when it was first put forward was that he seemed like he fit into the category but when a BST appearance was there alongside his other European fests, an appearance wasn't too much extra effort.

Yeah I think he was just planning to do a big run of festivals, same with Taylor. So that's why I didn't question it either, at the time. I wonder where McCartney fits into this (thinking back to 2020 McCartney), was he looking for a bump in his career or had they just been courting him for a long time?

[Matt42]

20 minutes ago, henry bear said:

Are they exempt from criticism because of their gender?

Not at all. I’m only referring to what people post on here. It does look like female acts have a higher bar to climb to be seen as credible headline options. People are very confident to just outright dismiss what they do as being awful too.

People here spoke about Taylor and Billie with much more vitriol than other options. Saying someone can’t headline because she is fucking dreadful isn’t criticism either. More of a personal attack.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Matt42