Sure, Glastonbury may have booked the formidable Blondie and the still brilliant The Chicks to perform before Elton John on the Pyramid Stage today. Still, it’s Lil Nas X that feels most like the Rocket Man’s successor as a future headliner. From the moment he returns to Glasto’s biggest stage and launches straight into the sleek, energetic ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’, he absolutely owns it. It’s impossible to argue with the hammering ‘Don’t Want It’ and a wonderfully over-the-top ‘Old Town Road’ but Nas knows he isn’t playing to his typical crowd, with the heaving field home to clusters of people sitting in camping chairs, waiting for the main event. Leaning into this, he includes snippets of Nirvana and Michael Jackson to help ease newcomers into his world, while a dance-heavy interlude is soundtracked by pop anthems from both Rhianna and Beyoncé. The polished performance may be heavy on choreography and otherworldly creatures, but it only adds to the carnival atmosphere that Lil Nas X creates. The party then gets taken up a notch via a guest appearance from Jack Harlow for ‘Industry Baby’. It’s an outstanding hour of music that’s impossible for anyone but a legend to follow.
We had Dork’s Patrick Gunning on hand to capture the action.
