Get in the mood for this weekend’s Glastonbury Festival with the Wales Arts Review Wales at Glastonbury 23 playlist, bringing together the diverse sounds of Welsh artists who’ll be taking the stages over the next four days at the world’s biggest music festival. Acts include veterans like Manic Street Preachers and Skindred, alongside exciting up-and-comers like Adwaith and Mace the Great. And for all the diversity of styles, genres, influences and attitudes, the playlist presents an exciting mix of music that comes together really well.
You can find full listing of this year’s Glastonbury Festival on their website.
The first Glastonbury Festival was held on the day after Jimi Hendrix died, over a two day period and before long “word had got around”. It was the Blues festival at the Bath & West Showground that had inspired Michael Eavis to begin a festival of his own although on a smaller scale. Acts to appear included Marc Bolan, Keith Christmas, Stackridge, Al Stewart, and Quintessence. The attendance was 1,500 and the price of admission was £1 which included free milk from the farm.
Last year, in 2022, after a two year Covid break, Glastonbury Festival returned at full strength. And the world’s media were out in force as Michael and daughter Emily officially opened the gates for the first time for three years at 8am on the Wednesday morning.
A run of big announcements, beginning with Little Simz to headline West Holts, followed by Bille Eilish (Friday), Diana Ross (tea time legend), Sir Paul McCartney (Saturday) and Kendrick Lamarr (Sunday) – interspersed with line up reveals from over 20 different Areas and stages – left no room for disappointment. The BBC’s most extensive year ever was launched with a major TV documentary ’50 years and Counting…’ in early June. Three years in the making Francis Whateley’s film is a social and musical history of Glastonbury, as told by its principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis, and many of the key artists who have appeared at Worthy Farm since 1970. The festival capacity last year was 210,000 and tickets went for £280.
