Adele to Headline Glastonbury 2016

Adele to Headline Glastonbury 2016

Adele has announced that she will headline the Pyramid Stage at this years festival.

The pop-star revealed the news whilst performing at The O2 in London where she played six nights. "Who's going to Glastonbury this year?" she asked. "See you there. I'll be there. I'll be headlining on the Saturday night this year." 

Glastonbury organisers later confirmed the news via Twitter. Adele joins Muse and Coldplay as the third headliner at Glastonbury which takes place in June. 

Adele's latest album 25 is currently atop the UK album charts having sold 19 million copies worldwide. 

Rock Werchter 2015 Review

Rock Werchter 2015 - Review (Thursday)

After nearly 40 years of entertaining people from all over Europe, the organisers of Rock Werchter  know how to put on a good festival. And in 2015 despite various bands dropping out and having to shuffle the line-up on one of the days of the weekend, the festival delivered a fantastic spectacle. 

Arriving a day early, we set up camp for the next five days in the sweltering heat (believe it or not) and prepared for the first day. Thursday's line-up had been altered as the Foo Fighters had to pull out due to Dave Grohl falling off stage a breaking his leg. Faith No More replaced them. The festival site itself was a lot bigger than expected, and the first band of the day were British alternative rock band Marmozets. The band's debut album "Weird and Wonderful Marmozets" had been voted as Kerrang's album of the year a couple of months before, however they played in front of a half empty main stage. That didn't stop them from producing a raucous and wild set as vocalist Becca Macintyre ran around the stage frantically like she had been given electric shock treatment. Despite the hot conditions, she kept running around the stage for the majority of the set, and the performance was still excellent. Playing songs like 'Born Young and Free' and 'Why Do You Hate Me' the five-piece would have left a strong impression on the audience members who didn't know them and were the perfect opening act for Werchter 2015.

Having given Eagles of Death Metal a miss on the main stage (definitely a good move) the next band I saw were Swedish duo First Aid Kit who were bringing their latest album "Stay Gold" to Rock Werchter. They put on an extremely melodic and intricate performance in one of the indoor stages The Barn. This provided the perfect atmosphere for the duo's brand of folk-pop. It was very well received by the crowd and even caused mass sing-alongs to songs like 'My Silver Lining' and 'Emmylou' much to the shock of the duo themselves as they looked at each other in disbelief, but full of smiles. As debut performances at festival's go, First Aid Kit passed the test with flying colours with a well polished and glittering set. 

By now The Barn had turned in to a sweat-box as temperatures reached 30 degrees and with no air-conditioning it was a tad uncomfortable. But the music was sure to take your mind off the heat. Up next in The Barn was Hertfordshire-based singer-songwriter James Bay, who's debut album the chaos and the calm (released earlier in 2015) had reached the top 10 in pretty much every country in Europe. This lead to him drawing one of the biggest crowds of the day - at least 14,500 inside The Barn. Bay's performance was nothing out of the ordinary, but the crowd seemed to absolutely love his every move and listen to every word he sang. The set was good in the sense that it was well-rehearsed and very clean, but it lacked a bit of heart and the fact that he could have been any other singer-songwriter who has found fame in the past twelve months didn't give his performance any originality. But it's clear that Bay is an artist in demand and don't be surprised to see him at many festivals in the future. 

Last but by no means least, Florence and The Machine played a blinding set on the main stage. It was a performance full of energy and anthemic songs. Florence has the type of voice that most singers dream of, powerful, forceful and recognisable. However, when the song-writer addressed the crowd for the first time her voice was so soft and delicate. Which showcases how brilliant her voice actually is. She and the band won the approval of the Werchter crowd who were left disappointed after the news tat the Foo Fighters had cancelled their set, this approval was helped in part with the catalogue of great songs that Florence has to draw upon. She also looked like she really enjoyed the performance. She was beaming from ear to ear after every single song especially when her song's 'You Got The Love' and 'Dog Days Are Over' got the crowd going in a mass sing-along. She repeatedly ventured in to the crowd and put on a flower garland offered to her, and demanded that the crowd get as much people on one another's shoulders during 'Raise It Up' also asking if Werchter wanted to get high, to which a good percentage of the audience cheered. Despite being asked to perform at a later time than billed, Florence enjoyed every minute of the performance and musically the band were completely in-sync. Perfect for rounding off the first day. 

Festival Preview: Rock Werchter

Preview: Rock Werchter

Since 1976 Belgium has hosted a festival which has won the Arthur award for best festival in the world an impressive seven times. That festival is Rock Werchter. This year from the 25^th to the 28^th of June the four day festival will play host to various acts spanning many genres and nationalities. Topping the bill on Thursday night is none other than multi-award winning critically acclaimed rock five-piece Foo Fighters (pictured) who with a new album to show off will be drawing in one of the biggest crowds of the festival. Elsewhere, the headliners are Mumford and Sons, The Prodigy and Muse. On Thursday, The Chemical Brothers who have recently unveiled a new track will be bringing their spectacular live show to the fields of Belgium and they are sure to give the crowd something to remember. Florence and the Machine, Elbow, Patti Smith, Eagles of Death Metal and Brit award winner James Bay will also appear on the Thursday of Rock Werchter.

Friday sees the ever-popular Mumford and Sons (pictured) headline. The four-piece have their new album Wilder Mind to show off and as they have played at the festival before you will expect a performance that is precise and well drilled. Another band who will follow suit with their intricate and precise performances are grammy award nominated Alt-J. As the festival has the word “Rock” within its title, you might think that the festival is genre specific. You would be wrong. Friday has the likes of Pharell Williams, FKA Twigs and Roisin Murphy to appeal to a wider audience. Friday seems to have the feel of a pleasant day, Ben Howard and Of Monsters and Men will also feature creating a relaxed atmosphere around the site.

Saturday is the day of the big hitters. Another group who are out to show off their new album are The Prodigy who are Saturday’s headliners. Known for their on stage power and diversity, the trio will no doubt prove a hit at this year’s Rock Werchter and with ‘The Day is my Enemy’ added to their repertoire they are a force to reckoned with. Another big hitter is none other than multi-award winning Lenny Kravitz who will be returning to the festival after releasing his tenth album ‘Strut’ in 2014. Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds are also returning to the festival having first played there in 2012. British rock duo Royal Blood (pictured) who rose to fame after securing number one album on the UK and performing a series of storming performances in 2014 will also appear on the Saturday of Rock Werchter. The War on Drugs and Hozier are another two stand-out performers on the day.

The final day of the festival sees a celebration of musical diversity. Muse who have reignited the world of rock music take the final headline slot along with their immense live show and blistering songs. Their British counterparts Kasabian still riding high after headlining Glastonbury in 2014 join them on Sunday. Pop band The Script are another group to return to Werchter in 2015 along with Jessie J. Maxi Jazz – famous for dance group Faithless – will also be at this year’s festival along with the E Type Boys. Alabama Shakes, The Vaccines and Enter Shikari, who will also take to stage. This year’s Rock Werchter 2015 is full of diversity and range. It’s not one to be missed. 

Why Kanye West Should Be Allowed To Headline Glastonbury

Why Kanye West Should Be Allowed To Headline Glastonbury

Rock culture still seems to be obsessed with some archaic idea of what constitutes ‘real music’, while the rest of the world has stopped caring and gotten on with making exciting new sounds. The recent petition against Kanye West headlining Glastonbury is sad proof of that.

In case you missed it, Kanye West will be headlining this year’s Glastonbury festival on the Saturday night. While he may not be everybody’s cup of tea, most festival goers are excited about this as Glastonbury’s past headliners have been rather dull. They tend to be ‘heritage acts’ that are considered to be a safe bet (U2, The Rolling Stones) rather than fresh and exciting musicians who are at the top of their game. You would expect then that Glastonbury booking Kanye West, a globally recognised and exciting musician would be greeted with cheers. However, some members of the public are extremely angry about the news. So much so that one man has gone as far as to create an online petition to ban Kanye from headlining and asks festival organisers to let a "rock" band play instead. Neil Lonsdale who started the petition, wrote that the Kanye booking was not an exciting prospect but in fact a “musical injustice”.

First of all, Glastonbury festival is a festival for the contemporary arts. This does not just mean music. Glastonbury is a haven for the weird and wacky, within five seconds of arriving at the festival you could see an old man dressed as a baby. This wackiness doesn’t just describe some of the people at Glastonbury, it also describes what happens on some of the stages. Why then should a group of people or an artist be excluded from this festival where they celebrate a variety of things? Kanye West is a multi-award-winning artist and a global star who has received critical acclaim. This in itself shows that he is more than worthy to headline Glastonbury.

There are multiple stages at the festival too, it’s not like you have to watch Kanye perform. So if you along with Neil are really that bothered about Kanye and you don't want to see him, don't watch him. Just go to a different stage to witness something you may not have expected or you can simply head to your tent and attempt to settle down for the night.