What artists surprised you in 2022

[efcfanwirral]

This could be an act you thought would be poor but ended up being good, one you'd never heard of that you took a punt on or perhaps one you just discovered randomly walking past. 

Mine were Piri and Tommy at the Lonely Hearts Club on Thursday night. I'd heard one song as far as I was aware beforehand, but didn't really expect much live - turns out they're actually really good and have some catchy tracks. I'd also heard at least two others before on top of the one I definitely knew. Cool new outdoor stage too.

Also I was walking past Bread and Roses on Thursday night and came across Smooth Sailors doing 90s/00s dance covers. That was excellent - we ended up sticking around for the rest of the set. Great atmosphere in there and its one of the things I love about Glastonbury, just stumbling across something you end up loving

[maelzoid]

Probably Skunk Anansie surprised me the most. I'm not a major fan and thought they would be good, but they far exceeded this. Skin is such a charismatic singer, and really went all in for giving good show. The songs were better than I remember too.

[balti-pie]

Confidence Man. I had absolutely no idea what theyre about at all, genre, anything - and i typically like heavy stuff, of which there were very slim pickings this year. Happened along the side of Confidence Man and thought id give em a song, and they were superb 😊 they're very far from what i would normally be interested in, but the enthusiasm and the dancing and just basically everything made it ace. Perfect for festival daytime! 

[circus92]

Easy one - my daughter wanted to see Olivia Rodrigo and we went along to check her out.  I only knew a few tunes, and thought she would be okay, but she knocked it out of the park.  We all had great fun and were really impressed with her energy and connection with the crowd.  Even thought Drivers Licence sounded great live even though I normally find it boring.  By the end I found myself thinking she will be back headlining the Pyramid one day.  Surprise of the weekend for me.

[efcfanwirral]

3 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

Confidence Man. I had absolutely no idea what theyre about at all, genre, anything - and i typically like heavy stuff, of which there were very slim pickings this year. Happened along the side of Confidence Man and thought id give em a song, and they were superb 😊 they're very far from what i would normally be interested in, but the enthusiasm and the dancing and just basically everything made it ace. Perfect for festival daytime! 

Good to hear - I really wanted a good spot for Wolf Alice so didn't go to this, but on the strength of that one song on Jools Holland the other week and reviews like this we're going to buy tickets whenever they next tour. 

[Space Shanty]

I was surprised at just how good St Vincent was. I've seen her before with David Byrne but this was very different and I really enjoyed it. 

It added to what was an epic run on Friday from Confidence Man to Foals via Supergrass, Idles, St Vincent and Khruangbin.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Space Shanty

[NorthernSoul52]

Beabadoobee, on the box, took me by surprise. Another one of the Dirty Hit chain, which might put plenty off her, but some of the tunes were rather enjoyable.

[Dazmandingo96]

Jamie Webster, i had never seen him before that. i thought he would be good, but he blew the roof off that leftfield tent.

[Mr Cake]

Nova Twins - caught them whilst wandering past truth stage on thursday night really kicked off the music side of the festival for me.

[drunk pumpkin]

1 hour ago, balti-pie said:

Confidence Man. I had absolutely no idea what theyre about at all, genre, anything - and i typically like heavy stuff, of which there were very slim pickings this year. Happened along the side of Confidence Man and thought id give em a song, and they were superb 😊 they're very far from what i would normally be interested in, but the enthusiasm and the dancing and just basically everything made it ace. Perfect for festival daytime! 

2nd shout out for Confidence man. I'd listened to them prior to the festival but had no idea how good they are live. Real highlight of the festival for me.

 

Someone else that were fantastic were the Rumble-os   on the bandstand Friday night at 10.40pm

What a noise! they had a trumpet/keyboard player and she was amazing. Will definitely look out for them in Liverpool

[gfa]

Phoebe Bridgers, knew she'd be good but not quite as good as she was! Really enjoyed Mel C's dj set too - was expecting cheese not aphex twin 😂

[efcfanwirral]

3 hours ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

Beabadoobee, on the box, took me by surprise. Another one of the Dirty Hit chain, which might put plenty off her, but some of the tunes were rather enjoyable.

She's excellent, been listening to her for a couple of years now and that John Peel show was great. New songs are sounding really good and getting some radio play so she's on the up hopefully. 

[blue6field]

Joy Crookes, only knew one song but did she not half knock it out of the park!

one of the sets of the weekend !

Also Metronomy, having never caught them live I was keen to see them, they were fabulous!!

[Talcroft]

Self Esteem on JP. Was absolutely hanging and ready to hate it but she absolutely nailed it.

[MrZigster]

Sugababes were phenomenally classy and well rehearsed.

5 hours ago, balti-pie said:

Confidence Man. I had absolutely no idea what theyre about at all, genre, anything - and i typically like heavy stuff, of which there were very slim pickings this year. Happened along the side of Confidence Man and thought id give em a song, and they were superb 😊 they're very far from what i would normally be interested in, but the enthusiasm and the dancing and just basically everything made it ace. Perfect for festival daytime! 

Saw them support NGHFB a fortnight before the festival. Also more of a rock fan than anything and I loved them. What a great act. Not sure if I'd dig them so much if I'd only heard them. So possibly one of those "better live" bands. Had no idea who they were and had to ask four different groups of people before I found anyone who knew.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Joy Crookes probably deserves her own thread given how well she sealed the deal on her slot.

[Obiginnaw]

The War and Treaty in Avalon on the Friday(?) afternoon. What a welcome bit of Americana that was. chemistry in the band was the best I saw all weekend. 

[balti-pie]

13 minutes ago, MrZigster said:

Sugababes were phenomenally classy and well rehearsed.

Saw them support NGHFB a fortnight before the festival. Also more of a rock fan than anything and I loved them. What a great act. Not sure if I'd dig them so much if I'd only heard them. So possibly one of those "better live" bands. Had no idea who they were and had to ask four different groups of people before I found anyone who knew.

Definitely better live than on record - they’d have been on the pre-festival playlist and most definitely didn’t stand out even a little bit to me. Not a surprise considering the genre etc - but things are always better live 

[guypjfreak]

Plastic mermaids 

Olivia ridrigus 

Beadobedobe..... John peel stage 

[BackpackFullOfWarmBeer]

Definitely girl in red.  Knew a few of her songs from the radio.  Always kind figured it would be a low key performance, and did not expect the full on rock spectacle.  One of my favourites from the weekend.