Glastonbury festival ends in Somerset

In the British county of Somerset, the Glastonbury festival, which is considered the main review of popular music in its concert version in the Old World, has ended. I thought about what to expect from the festival in the future Igor Gavrilov.

The biggest star of this year’s Glastonbury Festival is a man who hasn’t played a single note all weekend. Nevertheless, the cameras accurately recorded his facial expressions when he watched the performances of his colleagues. Fans hoped to the last that this man would take the stage during the performance of The Pretenders, which he closely watched from behind the scenes. He took the stage, but only to hug The Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde and wave to the audience. His solo concert at Glastonbury took place last year, and a year later he allowed himself the luxury of spending three days here as a spectator. His name was Paul McCartney.

This was symbolic completion. The likelihood that Paul McCartney will ever headline Glastonbury again is very slim. He is 81 years old. And the ex-Beatle, who said goodbye to Glastonbury, came to watch his friends and fans, many of whom are over seventy, say goodbye to the stage.

Wearing sunglasses, he watched Elton John, also a knight, perform in England for the last time in his career. Many spectators hoped that the duet of Elton John and Britney Spears “Hold Me Closer” would sound from the stage, but the American singer did not appear at Glastonbury. But Elton John sang “Tiny Dancer” with Brandon Flowers of The Killers and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with Rina Sawayama. Elton John dedicated the song “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” to the memory of George Michael, who could have turned 60 on June 25. Once they together visited with her at the top of all the charts.

Is it safe to assume that Debbie Harry will ever perform at Glastonbury again? Blondie offered the audience a powerful set of the best songs, it was noted in all reports. But there is little hope of their return. The vocalist of the group is 77 years old. Blondie’s 1970s punk bandmates, who formed the supergroup Generation Sex led by Billy Idol, are also unlikely to perform again. It’s not just about age, it’s also about the fact that few supergroups live long.

Yusuf Islam, also known as Cat Stevens, was called “bewitching” by NME magazine. The great British singer-songwriter has just released a new album, but it is unlikely that he will again be offered a solo set on the main stage of the festival – the Pyramid Stage – in the foreseeable future. He is 74 years old.

It is unlikely that Guns N’ Roses will be called again, although the musicians are only about sixty. The Los Angeles-based band were among the festival’s headliners, along with Elton John and the Arctic Monkeys. They even took the stage on time, despite the image of “making you wait” that has stuck with them. The performance of Guns N’ Roses was met with a lot of negative reviews and posts in social networks. It wasn’t just that frontman Axl Rose hadn’t been able to pull off his best and hardest parts for a long time. It was just that it was generally “not their” festival.

In their European tour, the group gives solo concerts and performs at more “heavy” festivals, everywhere – with success. But to be a Glastonbury headliner, you have to be part of a British cultural myth, and Guns N’ Roses, with their Sunset Strip hooligan image and long career breaks, doesn’t live up to it. They don’t live by the rules at all, unlike Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl, who manages his career masterfully. So in Glastonbury, he not only played with his band, but also went on stage with Guns N’ Roses and The Pretenders.

Part of the British myth is, for example, the handsome Rick Astley, who first sang his best songs, and then, towards Saturday evening, performed a whole program of The Smiths songs, accompanied by the Blossoms. This is a 100% national treasure.

Nearly two-thirds of the various lists, such as the “Top 10 Glasto Moments” published in various media and blogs after the festival, consist of the names of older generation musicians or refer to the glorious past. Of course, the matter is not limited to them. The festival featured memorable sets by Rina Sawayama and Maneskin, as well as brand new stars Nova Twins, Billy Nomates, Maggie Rogers, DYLAN and Sudan Archives. And among the spectacular debutants, girls prevailed, while the headliners were men – the festival, even before its start, was rake in full from the zealots of gender equality. In any case, memorable moments were more often given to the public by “live classics” or their followers with an evergreen repertoire.

In fact, the leitmotif of the current Glastonbury has become a farewell to classic pop and rock music. Despite the grandiose sets of Arctic Monkeys and Queens Of The Stone Age, as well as Lana Del Rey’s almost flawless, albeit shortened, performance, there was a feeling that with the departure of the titans, the festival might run out of headliners. It is clear that U2, Blur and Coldplay remain in the ranks, and the reunion of Oasis looks quite real. But for the festival to continue to feel like an adventure within a legend, more is needed. And the pop stars of today, like the stars of hip-hop, have a hard time providing this feeling.