One of the biggest festivals of the year is now just months away and the Glastonbury lineup doesn’t disappoint when it comes to hosting star-studded artists and a range of amazing upcoming talent.
Ahead of the monumental event, organisers have announced the main stage headliners as Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses, and Sir Elton John. Though this will be the latter’s first appearances at the festival, Arctic Monkeys will be scoring a hat-rick playing at the Pyramid stage. The Sheffield rock band previously shared the main stage spot with the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Killers in 2007 and 2013.
However, fans have been quick to call out a lack of diversity within the headline acts - which are all 100 percent white and male, despite a 50/50 gender split promised by organiser Emily Eavis in 2019. In the last decade, only three female artists (Billie Eilish, Adele and Florence and the Machine) have headlined Glastonbury, thus calling their commitment to gender balance into serious disrepute.
Reportedly, the lack of female headliners this year was due to a previously confirmed artist pulling out due to tour date changes. But, with impressive female acts such as Lizzo, Lana Del Ray and Blondie already confirmed to be performing at the festival, it begs the question why they weren’t asked to step up and fill the headline spots.
Despite this, the general gender balance of the festival does uphold Eavis’ promises, with a 52 percent male to 48 percent female split overall. Eavis has also said that two women headline artists should be performing on the Pyramid stage next year.
Other big names playing the prestigious event include Lil Nas X, Aitch, Lewis Capaldi, Maneskin, and more. From rapper Central Cee, to rock duo Royal Blood, and even pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen, this lineup has something for everyone.
Some upcoming artists include Rina Sawayama, Mahalia, Cat Burns, and Ezra Collective. However, any of the announced acts have the potential to blow up before the festival in June this year, as we saw with last year’s act Wet Leg who ended up bringing far more fans than expected to their 2pm slot on the Park stage.
With more acts still to be announced, Glastonbury 2023 is shaping up to be a memorable and exciting event - so count yourself lucky if you were fortunate enough to bag a ticket earlier this year!
Edited by Lucy Wilcox