Music

Glastonbury 2024: Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Shania Twain and SZA to headline the festival

Diverse spread of A-list artists and strong supporting lineup includes Camila Cabello, Burna Boy and more

Singer Chris Martin and drummer Will Champion of Coldplay perform on the main stage during Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photograph: Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty

Thu Mar 14 2024 - 08:53

Singer Dua Lipa, country pop superstar Shania Twain, rock band Coldplay and American singer SZA are among the first major acts announced for Glastonbury 2024.

Canadian singer Twain, known for hits including Man I Feel Like A Woman, You’re Still The One and That Don’t Impress Me Much, will perform on the Pyramid stage at the Worthy Farm festival in Somerset, which is being held from June 26th to 30th.

The five-time Grammy-award winner has sold more than 100 million records in her career, making her one of the most successful musicians.

Shania Twain at 3Arena Dublin last September. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis previously revealed she had booked a major female artist for the coveted Sunday afternoon legends’ slot.

READ MORE

Much loved by Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis who once said they can “call in and do the milking any time” on his Worthy Farm site, Coldplay continue their long-standing relationship with the festival, becoming the first act to headline the Pyramid stage five times. They launched themselves into pop-rock’s big leagues with their first headline performance in 2002 when they had only released one album, and have since headlined in 2005, 2011 and 2016, as well as doing a live-streamed performance to an empty Pyramid stage field in lieu of a 2021 festival cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Coldplay’s 2024 performance is a European festival exclusive, and continues their Music of the Spheres world tour which began in March 2022 – already the third-highest grossing tour of all time behind Taylor Swift and Elton John.

Dua Lipa’s billing comes a day after the announcement of her third album Radical Optimism, which is off to a strong start with the singles Houdini and Training Season becoming global hits. She has said it was inspired by “the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm” – perhaps including Glastonbury’s unpredictable weather – and informed by “the music history of psychedelia, trip hop, and Britpop”.

She has played Glastonbury once before, in 2017: a star-making set on the John Peel stage (now Woodsies) which saw audiences spilling out of the sides of the tent in the rain. The booking is a rare dance-pop Pyramid headliner, but continues Glastonbury’s broader championing of pop in recent years with the likes of Beyoncé, Adele, Billie Eilish and Elton John.

Elton John performing on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival, 2023. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

Versatile R&B singer SZA plays Glastonbury for the first time, and her elevation straight to Pyramid headliner status is the latest rung of a remarkable rise. Songs from her 2022 album SOS – an instant R&B classic that charts relationship strife with remarkable detail and depth of feeling – won three Grammys and she was also nominated for song, record, and album of the year; SOS reached No 1 in the US and No 2 in the UK.

Brightening up Sunday teatime will be Shania Twain, playing the “legend” slot occupied in recent years by the likes of Diana Ross, Kylie Minogue and fellow country music hero Dolly Parton. A recent UK arena tour by Twain was much acclaimed, with the Guardian heralding “two full hours stacked with hits, zany cowboys and aliens staging, and towering self-confidence”.

The Pyramid Stage last year at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Other Pyramid performers include Little Simz in a plum spot preceding Coldplay, plus LCD Soundsystem, Burna Boy, PJ Harvey, Cyndi Lauper, Janelle Monáe and Michael Kiwanuka. Thirteen-member boy band Seventeen become the first K-pop band to perform on the Pyramid stage.

On the second-biggest Other stage, Idles follow the chart-topping success of recent album Tangk with a headline slot, joined by Disclosure and the National. UK rap is represented by D-Block Europe – who recently played four nights at London’s O2 Arena – plus Headie One and the Streets; bands include the Last Dinner Party and Two Door Cinema Club; and there’s a broad spread of pop encompassed by Camila Cabello, Anne-Marie and Avril Lavigne.

Recent winners of the Brit award for best group, Jungle, headline West Holts with Justice and Jessie Ware taking the other slots, while James Blake, Gossip and Jamie xx headline Woodsies. Up the hill on the Park stage, Fontaines DC, Peggy Gou and London Grammar headline, with Glastonbury stalwarts Orbital preceding the latter.

It ends months of speculation about the line-up, which has been announced later than usual, with no places for the rumoured likes of Madonna and Bruce Springsteen. The rumour mill will now turn to the fabled unannounced secret sets, with notable holes in the touring schedules of Glastonbury favourites such as the Killers and Kings of Leon.

Organisers will announce more acts in the coming weeks.

The Glastonbury 2024 line-up so far

Pyramid stage
  • Dua Lipa
  • Coldplay
  • SZA
  • Shania Twain
  • LCD Soundsystem
  • Little Simz
  • Burna Boy
  • PJ Harvey
  • Cyndi Lauper
  • Michael Kiwanuka
  • Janelle Monáe
  • Seventeen
  • Paul Heaton
  • Keane
  • Paloma Faith
  • Olivia Dean
  • Ayra Starr
Other stage
  • Idles
  • Disclosure
  • The National
  • D-Block Europe
  • The Streets
  • Two Door Cinema Club
  • Anne-Marie
  • Camila Cabello
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Bombay Bicycle Club
  • Bloc Party
  • The Last Dinner Party
  • Nothing But Thieves
  • Confidence Man
  • Headie One
West Holts stage
  • Jungle
  • Jessie Ware
  • Justice
  • Heilung
  • Masego
  • Nia Archives
  • Danny Brown
  • Black Pumas
  • Brittany Howard
  • Sugababes
  • Nitin Sawhney
  • Jordan Rakei
  • Asha Puthli
  • Noname
  • Corinne Bailey Rae
  • Steel Pulse
  • Squid
  • Sofia Kourtesis
Woodsies stage
  • Jamie xx
  • Gossip
  • James Blake
  • Sampha
  • Sleaford Mods
  • Romy
  • Declan McKenna
  • Yard Act
  • Arlo Parks
  • Alvvays
  • Fat White Family
  • Blondshell
  • Kenya Grace
  • Soccer Mommy
  • Remi Wolf
  • Mannequin Pussy
  • Newdad
  • High Vis
  • Kneecap
The Park stage
  • Fontaines DC
  • Peggy Gou
  • London Grammar
  • King Krule
  • Orbital
  • Ghetts
  • Aurora
  • The Breeders
  • Mount Kimbie
  • Dexys
  • Lankum
  • Baxter Dury
  • This is the Kit
  • Arooj Aftab
  • Mdou Moctar
  • The Mary Wallopers
  • Otoboke Beaver
  • Barry Can’t Swim
  • Bar Italia
Also announced
  • Honey Dijon
  • DJ Spen
  • Eliza Rose
  • Bonobo
  • Skream & Benga
  • Faithless
  • Flowerovlove

- Guardian and PA

LATEST STORIES