And lo, Glastonbury announces the 2023 main stage headliners, and it’s a blokefest. After Saturday night’s female headliner (rumoured to be Taylor Swift) dropped out, the Pyramid stage headliners became Arctic Monkeys on Friday, followed by Guns N’ Roses on Saturday, with Elton John on Sunday. While it doesn’t seem feasible that anti-female prejudice is involved, at the very least, how sloppy, how slapdash, it all is.
Whatever image it pushes, it’s been some time since Glastonbury was run by a bunch of hippies with a haycart and a dream. It’s a global multimillion-pound business; the British festival brand leader. It would – or should – have back-ups in mind should artists pull out.
As part of this routine planning, and considering Glastonbury’s inclusive reputation, an eye should be kept on balancing the lineup at all levels, including the top-tier performances. If a major female headliner drops out, then get another major female headliner. With the eyes of the world on the Glastonbury festival main stage over one June weekend, optics matter.
In fairness to Glastonbury, elsewhere on the bill, there are multitudes of talented successful female performers: Lana Del Rey, Blondie, Candi Staton, Alison Goldfrapp, and more. Grammy-winning, multimillion-selling artist Lizzo will perform just before Guns N’ Roses, and Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis enthuses: “She could totally headline.” I wholeheartedly agree. So, why isn’t Lizzo doing so? Are Guns N’ Roses just too darn irresistible?
Eavis also mentions the hard work put in to secure Elton John for Sunday night (handwritten notes, the lot), but where was all this grafting when it came to securing another female headliner? Even the news that there could be two female stars headlining Glastonbury next year feels a tad patronising. As in: “Patience, little ladies, don’t get your frillies in a twist. There could be two whole women next year”.
Again to be fair to Glastonbury, at least it’s aware of the White Bloke Music festival comfort zone. Who could forget the absurd fuss when Jay-Z headlined in 2008, followed by yet more aggrieved bloke-weeping into plastic beer glasses when Beyoncé stormed the main stage three years later? The very fact that Glastonbury has form for standing its ground makes it puzzling and disappointing that it’s apparently acceptable – no biggie – for this year’s main stage to be a female-headliner-free zone.
Coming so soon after no women being nominated for Best Artist at the Brits, female performers could be forgiven for feeling a little paranoid. Just the idea that too few female acts have enough pulling power or clout is dated and bizarre. Madonna’s upcoming Celebration Tour (of greatest hits) will be one of the big-ticket items of the year. At last year’s Glastonbury, there was such immense interest in seeing the then-up-and-coming Wet Leg that the festival’s lineup rules have now been changed to be more flexible. At this year’s Glastonbury festival, who would dream of missing Blondie?
Glastonbury has also turbo-boosted amazing acts on the rise, or off the beaten track, not least Stormzy, who put on a stunning show in 2019. Another year, the popular but arty and leftfield Pulp stepped in for the Stone Roses when Roses guitarist John Squire was injured. In among the outpouring of grief and respect for Pulp’s bass player, Steve Mackey, who tragically died on Thursday, it was striking how often that night in 1995 was hailed as one of the finest-ever Glastonbury performances.
Eavis makes a great point when she says that this is partly a “pipeline problem” running deep into the music industry, involving record companies, radio play, and everything else. The music industry is riddled with sexism and misogyny. It devalues women, stereotypes women, invests less in women, gives women fewer chances. You name it, it does it to women. It always has and it probably always will. But, in this instance, so has Glastonbury.
This is not just about featuring female acts, it’s also about prioritising them. It’s not just about numbers, it’s about positioning. And, let’s face it, this is supposed to be Glastonbury’s liberal wheelhouse.
While the festival gets more pressure to be inclusive, it also reaps vast reputational benefits for doing so, whichhelps cement its commercial success. There was immense goodwill last year towards Glastonbury – people were pleased to see it (and other festivals) back after lockdown. That goodwill partly depends on Glastonbury not reflecting back the sexism of the music industry.
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