Glastonbury’s final day was one where those who like to complain about the heat had a marvellous time moaning, for it was a day where the 210,000 people on site cooked like frankfurters and the only method of copy was to do a quarter turn every ten minutes to at least burn evenly.
But there was some music! And not quite as much controversy as there was on previous days.
Snow Patrol melt hearts
You can't go wrong with a bit of crusty dad rock on a Sunday afternoon. And so it proved with Snow Patrol - the band took to the stage under a sweltering summer sun to run through some of their biggest hits to a massive crowd.
"We have not been here for 21 years," singer Gary Lightbody deadpanned to the crowd. "We've had a lot of facelifts in that time. None of them worked."
Fortunately the music still slapped. We were treated to Open Your Eyes, Just Say Yes and Crack The Shutters, plus some new material ("here are some words you don't want to hear when you've been standing in a field for three days: this is a new song").
Naturally, things closed out with a huge crowd singalong of Chasing Cars: ultimate summer euphoria, straight from their last set in 2004. The crowd bellowed; the moment felt like pure Glasto magic. - VJ
The Libs and The Legs
Over on the Pyramid Stage, The Libertines played a somewhat low-key set that meandered in their usual ramshackle way but failed to ignite. The crowd were fully bought in as they played tunes from debut Up The Bracket, but What Katie Did was dragged out to the point of tedium. It took a funny impression of Rod Stewart by Pete Doherty to bring things back up - he’d spotted a surfeit of leopard print and sequins on the front and brought out a comedy Scottish accent to deliver his take on Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? By the end, with a closing duo of Can’t Stand Me Now and Don’t Look Back Into The Sun, the slot was won, but Rod was in the air.
And when the man himself arrived... well, those fans down the front were satisfied as he crammed in hits from over his long career, from The First Cut Is The Deepest to Hot Legs to Sailing.
While not to this reviewer’s taste, he certainly gathered one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, and Stay With Me with Ronnie Wood on guitar was decent. - MR
Wolf Alice break big
Later in the afternoon, the Other Stage's run of excellent guests continued with London band Wolf Alice, who delivered one of the best sets of the entire week.
What makes a good gig great? For one, the sun was setting, giving the field a lovely golden glow. For another, the band have lost none of their magnetism: singer Ellie Rowsell strutted around the stage like a queen.
The band started slow, delivering some of their loveliest, most mellow material, such as the hazy Delicious Things from their 2021 album Blue Weekend, and Formidable Cool. We even got a cover of Fleetwood Mac's Dreams: perfect summer fodder, as was the vulnerable Safe From Heartbreak.
But they can roar when they want to - Rowsell grabbed a microphone and screamed a song through it at one point, before thrashing around the stage for Play the Greatest Hits.
And after all that there was still time for Raised By Wolves, before Don't Delete the Kisses closed it out. They've still got it: good thing their new album is out soon. - VJ
The headliners close it in style
Sunday proved to be one of the most exciting climaxes to Glastonbury there’s been in recent years, with three stellar shows for the crowds to choose from.
Olivia Rodrigo was the big Pyramid Stage headliner and more than delivered on her promise. Still only 22, she demonstrated her superstar status with a hit-laden set and also brought out one of her heroes, Robert Smith, for a couple of Cure tunes. Read our full review here.
Over on the Other Stage, The Prodigy returned to Glastonbury for a particularly poignant set, given it was their first show here since the death of Keith Flint. But there was no time for sadness, particularly since Maxim insisted, “Mr Flint is here with us tonight.” No, this was an epic, pulverising set that fully reminded everyone that they are the Sex Pistols of dance. Voodoo People opened things to cause mayhem, which continued to the final Outer Space. An absolute killer of the set.
Meanwhile, on The Park Stage, The Maccabees took to the Glastonbury stage for one of the first shows since they reunited. They asked the crowd to join them in making it “The best Maccabees show ever,” and certainly achieved that in an intense and liberating set which fully re-established them as one of the best bands in the country. Florence Welch appeared for the encore of Love You Better and then a staggering version of her Dog Days Are Over. It all closed with a storming Pelican and, well, surely they have to stay together now?
Goodbye Glastonbury
After the action on the main stages was over, of course, the fun was still raging across the site as festival-goers wrung every drop out of what remained of the festival.
In the south east corner, things drew to a close with an array of impressive electronic acts, including Malugi, the much-adored German DJ well known as “the happiest man in dance music.” The queue was heaving, the Temple was full, the mood was euphoric. Ravers went full throttle through remixes of Be My Lover by LaBouche and Crying at the Discoteque. It was an amphitheater full of party people.
He was followed by Amsterdam-born techno DJ Ki/Ki, who has become a prominent figure in the London dance scene for her thumping and unrelenting beats, despite not hailing from or living there. For want of better words, it was complete and utter “oonts oonts” from the get go and until the very end, which was 2.30am. Begrudging ravers who didn’t want the party to end weren’t going anywhere, Ben Sims was up next and curfew wasn’t until 5am.
From then? The stone circle was calling. - MM
