One of the best things about Glastonbury is its vastness; there’s something weird and wonderful happening in a single corner. It’s possibly the only place on earth where it feels completely normal to encounter sweaty cage-dancers in bondage harnesses, giant anthropomorphic trees teetering on tiny little stilts, a serene tent full of hypnotic chanting, and a group of mates in Teletubbies costumes doing the macarena within the space of a 10-minute stroll.
The only catch? It’s impossible to keep up with everything happening across Worthy Farm, and even the most intrepid explorer will miss out on something incredible like Cate Blanchett turning up as a backing dancer for Sparks, or Tilda Swinton casually doing a poetry reading with neo-classic composer Max Richter.
Whether you recreated your own Glastonbury at home in front of the telly, or you’re back home from the festival on the other side of a hot shower and kicking yourself about the highlights you missed, we have your back.
All of these highlights are on iPlayer for your viewing pleasure for the foreseeable future, with no trekking across fields necessary to secure a good spot. Grab a lukewarm can: it’s time to get stuck in from the comfort of your sofa.
Elton John
Look, even if you were one of the lucky punters in front of the Pyramid for Elton’s last ever UK gig, it’s worth firing it up on the old telly box to revisit the special guests, the plentiful fireworks, and above everything else, Elton’s parade of classic hits. Keep a special look-out for his shiny gold trainers, too; a classy touch.
Gabriels
A dedicated champion of new music, it’s perhaps no surprise that Elton John reserved majority of his special guest slots for rising talent; clad in a fuschia-pink suit and belting out Are You Ready For Love, Jacob Lusk was one of the headline set’s many highlights. The frontman of Gabriels – one of the most talked about live sensations in recent years, with good reason – also stole the show at West Holts, with Lusk throwing shapes in a bright green kilt. Just phenomenal.
Rina Sawayama
Another rising act championed by Elton John (the alt-pop star joined him on the Pyramid for duet Don’t Go Breaking My Heart) Rina played her own set at Woodsies earlier in the weekend, approaching the tent like it was Wembley Stadium. She also hit headlines when she spoke out against her Dirty Hit labelmate, The 1975’s Matty Healy, live on stage. “I wrote this next song because I was sick and tired of microaggressions. So, tonight, this song goes out to a white man who watches [pornography series] Ghetto Gaggers and mocks Asian people on a podcast. He also owns my masters. I’ve had enough,” she said.
Lizzo
Cranking out extended Mozart pieces on flute, deploying some flawless choreography, and generally bringing great vibes to the Pyramid, Lizzo was short-changed with a ’co-headliner’ slot which was really just playing second-fiddle to Guns N’ Roses with better branding. One of the most joyful sets of the weekend, it’s not hard to imagine her returning in a couple of years – perhaps with one more album under her belt – for a crack at the real thing.
Jockstrap
Where to begin with describing Jockstrap’s strange, genre-slippy music? The classically trained duo, who studied at London’s Guildhall, combine their meticulous grasp of theory with a love of all things electronic and pop, with bizarre and brilliant results. Georgia Ellery – who is also a member of Black Country, New Road – was the perfect ringleader in her gold running kit, while the hilariously nonplussed Taylor Skye tinkered away with all manner of synths, air horns, drum machines, and keyboards.
Rick Astley and Blossoms
Yes, you read that correctly - the internet’s favourite Rick-Roller really did link up with Manchester indie band Blossoms for a set of The Smiths covers at Woodies. Standing in for Morrissey, Rick Astley threw himself into the role of flamboyant frontman with aplomb. All together now: “IF A DOUBLE DECKER BUS, CRASHES INTO US...” Prepare to meet your new favourite supergroup.
Lil Nas X
Last appearing at Glastonbury as Miley Cyrus’ special guest, still riding the wave of his breakout hit Old Town Road, the quality of Lil Nas X’s visual spectacle has only continued to grow. And grabbing his Pyramid stage slot by the golden chest-plate, he delivered: gleefully courting provocation by snogging his back-up dancer, bringing out Jack Harlow, and putting on one of the best shows of the weekend. Happy Pride month!
Pretenders
Very kindly confirming their secret set a few days ahead of the festival, new wave legends the Pretenders made sure that superfans could get into position for their Park Stage set. But for anybody else who missed out, the set featured Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and The Smiths’ Johnny Marr as surprise guests. Beatles legend Paul McCartney stopped short of performing anything, but also popped out to give the crowds a wave. Catch up below.
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
This Ghent-based dance duo’s set was a Glastonbury standout, with the pair waking up the broken and bedragged masses on Sunday afternoon up the Park Stage. No surprise there: debut album Topical Dancer was one of last year’s finest, smartly exploring racism, misogyny, and colonisation atop hooky, warped electro-pop.
Phoenix
You have to feel for French pop-rockers Phoenix; plonked on at Woodsies while Elton was breaking attendance records at the Pyramid, their set flew slightly under the radar, with a fairly sparse crowd in attendence. Accordingly, frontman Thomas Mars didn’t take a single person in that tent for granted. “You have so much choice tonight…” he marvelled. “You guys are the most loyal to us, we’ll remember every single face.”
