Glastonbury 2022

nick_h_nz wrote: it also occurs to me, that if one only listened to the first song of their set, one could easily get perhaps the wrong impression of the band. I found it the weakest of the set, even though it is a song I have loved hearing live in the past. Skin’s voice seemed strained, and the song suffered because of that. The remainder of the set, though, I thought was considerably better, so maybe she just needed to warm up?

With that I agree.

I did see some of Billie Eilish, which was OK; also Diana Ross, whose voice is sadly passed it these days - I winced a lot throughout.

nick_h_nz wrote: Maybe black midi’s main fanbase and the average Glasto festival goer are mutually exclusive?

I thought the same. As I wrote earlier, black midi are intellectual and demanding, not really "have a good time" music. And neither your typical angry young men & women stuff. Their emotionality just isn't very direct. And then there wasn't really a second band catering to an audience who'd like that. Even Squid, quite clearly closest to black midi in the lineup, are far more accessible to a standard festival goer, I'd say.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 were an absolute highlight for me! I've also listened to Burna Boy, who wasn't quite up there. Anyway, Nigeria's official language is English, even though it is in fact multilingual, but if British people invite somebody from Nigeria, they will still probably think of them as anglophone, and it's in the Commonwealth. My point isn't that all of them sing in English, but rather that they don't look in many places when it comes to invitations. Of course Saperlipopette has pointed out that at least one artist from a non-anglophone Asian country was there, but that's for sure not a lot. I have little doubt that Ukraine was represented in order to make a political point (their music of course still being potentially fine), otherwise I do think some ignorance shows up there on behalf of the organisers. If I remember it correctly, it wasn't really different in the past with the odd exception maybe.

Oh, and Sigrid (Norway) was there. But still...

I will be honest - I really don’t understand your concern/criticism. If Glastonbury were a world music festival, you would certainly have a point, but if anything Glasto is the exact opposite. It is the most English of UK music festivals, and almost a celebration of Englishness. You are more likely to see people moan about a headline act not being English, than to hear them moan there is not enough diversity. You are more likely to see people moan that someone is not performing in English, than wish to see more of that.

And I keep saying English, rather than British, because England seems to like to think Britain is theirs (much to the annoyance and frustration and anger of the the other British nations), and this sense of almost ownership is sort of asserted over the Commonwealth, too. So it comes as no surprise to me that if international acts are invited, they are either from Commonwealth countries, or they perform solely in English. Glasto is not WOMAD. It’s almost the opposite.

Of course, many who actually attend don’t share these sort of nationalist and xenophobic views, but as a UK festival, Glastonbury is surprisingly conservative. There is some diversity and inclusivity, but it is not what Glastonbury is particularly known for.

(Also, it is ridiculous to me, to call a country anglophone just because English is a national language. There will be plenty of Nigerians who speak no English at all, and the most common form of English spoken in Nigeria is a pidgin dialect that would be near incomprehensible to most “proper” English speakers. English is a national language of Canada, but there are plenty of people in Quebec who speak only French, and know no English at all. Māori is a national language of New Zealand, and while most Kiwis would know a smattering of words, that certainly doesn’t mean they know or understand the language.)