Over 200,000 people are flooding into Pilton, Somerset, for the world's biggest Greenfield festival, Glastonbury, which opened on Wednesday.
Headliners in this 50th anniversary year are Paul McCartney – who has just turned 80 – and Billie Eilish – the festival's youngest headliner to date. Both will be taking to the Pyramid Stage across the weekend, as will Kendrick Lamar and Diana Ross, who is performing in the Legend slot.
Rumours have been circulating about which artists might play secret sets on the Park and John Peel stages on Sunday, with bets on Harry Styles (who is currently on tour but has a small gap in his schedule), as well as Green Day, The Chemical Brothers, and Florence and the Machine, who has just released an excellent new album, Dance Fever.
The Telegraph's chief music critic Neil McCormick, as well as Telegraph music journalists James Hall and Alice Vincent, and Telegraph features writer Ed Cumming are all at the farm this year and will be contributing live talking points, reviews, and Glastonbury highs and lows throughout the weekend.
If you are watching the shows from home, here are the 10 artists not to miss.
This article will be updated with the latest from Glastonbury.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss delivered an absolute masterclass of duet singing and organic lithesome groove at Glastonbury. Their early evening set beneath dreary skies and drifting rain on the Pyramid stage was not the most densely packed performance of the day, certainly not drawing a crowd of the scale that would be expected if Plant's old cohorts Led Zeppelin ever decided to pummel Glastonbury into oblivion.
At 73, the man who practically invented heavy rock singing has shifted towards something more sensuous and understated. For her part, the fifty year old Krauss established her reputation singing country and playing bluegrass fiddle, and she knows exactly where to put a harmony to make a vocal fly. The multiple Grammy award winner may be the more accomplished musician, but she grew up listening to her brother's Zeppelin albums and knows her place as the junior partner in this combo; indeed, she revels in it.
The odd couple arrived on stage as casually as a couple of old festival heads who had just wandered down from the stone circle bathed in patchouli oil. Krauss was wrapped in what looked like a flowery bedstead, Plant wore a paisley shirt and clutched a pair of maracas, his mane of grey ringlets tied back.
Superstar duo @RobertPlant and @AlisonKrauss are on the #Glastonbury Pyramid Stage until 19:30! ✨
Watch on @BBCiPlayer: https://t.co/NnP6cL9z3P pic.twitter.com/Hz3VdecVev
Backed by a fantastic band who could add piano, mandolin, banjo and violin to the swampy bass, drum and electric guitar grooves, they warmed up with some sublime roots Americana, their voices perfectly and artfully matched. But the set gathered power as they kept throwing in Zeppelin classics, including a rockabilly romp through Rock and Roll, an ethereally folky Battle of Evermore and a broody, moody When the Levee Breaks.
As the songs gathered pace, and the rhythms gained impetus, Plant would close his eyes and let out a hearty roar, voice drenched in echo, to remind us all that the old lion is still a frontman to be feared and revered. When he called out “It's gonna break!” at the end of Levee, I half expected a deluge to descend. Fortunately the rain held off, and Plant and Krauss left the stage wreathed in smiled and basking in loud applause. Neil McCormick
“Do we have any dads in the audience?” Pheobe Bridgers asked in a low, Californian drawl, to the sound of hundreds of middle-aged men awkwardly chuckling. It’s telling of the 27-year-old singer-songwriter’s appeal, which has increased stratospherically over the past couple of years, that the John Peel stage was packed out with every demographic from teenagers to boomers.
After months of performing in a child’s Halloween skeleton costume, Bridgers sported a new stage outfit: a smart black suit atop a spangly funnybones crop top, beneath her white-blonde mane. This was her Glastonbury debut and with rich pickings from two accomplished albums (Motion Sickness, in 2017, and Punisher in 2020) of dreamy yet gimlet-eyed songs, Bridgers’s set tripped along with a grounded confidence. Arlo Parks, the British singer whose star as risen alongside Bridgers’s, made an unexpected appearance to duet on Graceland Too; together, the pair made something pertinent and beautiful.
But what could have been a bit of a low-key show – after-dinner, before headliners on a Friday can be a strangely lacklustre time at Glastonbury at the best of times, especially given Bridgers’s wistful repartee and featherlight vocals – was surprisingly muscular. Tour-ready background graphics, often playing with images of a fantastical skies, were at odds with the ferocity which which she led the crowd in a chorus of “F-ck the Supreme Court, F-ck America”, in reference to the recent overturning of Roe v Wade and a winking dedication to “Paul” – Mescal, her boyfriend and breakout star of the BBC adaptation of Normal People. But this energy was more than matched by the crowd, who drowned Bridgers out at times with their adulation. She deserved all of it. Alice Vincent
Wolf Alice almost never made it to Glastonbury. A bomb scare at LAX airport in Los Angeles scuppered their return from an American tour, necessitating a last minute scramble to Seattle and overnight flight to Heathrow, with the band only just arriving on site for their mid afternoon set. It might explain the sheer adrenalinised energy with which they attacked their set, amidst manic giggles from guitar-toting frontwoman Ellie Rowsell. Although to be fair, a slightly off kilter balance of self-conscious nervousness and swaggering exuberance is her usual stage persona.
In a flowing white dress and black boots, long fair locks pinned up, she can come across like a PreRaphaelite punk Ophelia, tipping wildly between sweet and sour. Her charisma and supple voice hold the centre of the London band's highly strung sound, which is almost spread too widely between ethereal folkiness, clubby grooves, indie whimsy and heavy metal attack. I'm not sure if Wolf Alice have a streamlined, drop dead, crossover, unstoppable banger in their set yet to reach out beyond their devoted fan base to a mainstream audience. But they are only three albums into a career that has seen them advancing in leaps and bounds. The intensity of this band and their bond with a devoted fan base will surely see them climbing higher and higher up the Pyramid stage bill for future festivals. Are they future Glastonbury headliners? I really hope so, they are a band who have so much to offer, keeping Britain at the forefront of contemporary rock. Neil McCormick
Another wildly oversubscribed crowd for TLC, with Johnny-Come-Latelys grumbling about how it would be better to watch the Nineties’ girl group on telly than from the ground at West Holts. Those who persevered were treated to a lively set from Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins (in head-to-toe silver chain mail) and Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas (trademark combat pants and mud-defying boots) now in their fifties and dancing like the Noughties never happened.
West Holts getting ready for some TLC! RB pic.twitter.com/a1y7nRkQTk
Their caramel-sweet vocals were smoothly supported by a full band complete with brass trio and MC, with bops such as Diggin’ on You, Creep and Chasing Waterfalls encouraging a heartfelt singalong out of a slightly weary tea-time crowd. What’s interesting seeing TLC serve up a set like this in 2022 is just how influential their music has been on contemporary rnb-adjacent acts – Joy Crookes; Lizzo, who played here last year; and Little Simz, who will headline this same stage in a few hours’ time. Unpretty – which got an endearingly earnest rendition - basically predicated the body positivity movement, No Scrubs #MeToo. The enormity of the largely millennial crowd speaks to TLC’s ever-presence on the airwaves 30 years ago, but their musical legacy can be seen on Glastonbury’s line-up, still. Alice Vincent
We caught up with Emily Eavis backstage at The Park. She talked to the Telegraph about the relief of holding Glastonbury following two enforced cancellations, all the Glasto rumours doing the rounds, and Paul McCartney.
James Hall: Can you describe the vibe this year?
Emily Eavis: I would describe the vibe as wonderful and joyous and probably the happiest festival we’ve had in a long time. There’s a lot of savouring every moment and detail going on. So, relief and joy. It’s a very new feeling to be appreciating it on such a deeper level after having had to cancel twice.
JH: It must have been awful having to cancel twice.
EE: The first time [in 2020], although it was difficult, there was nothing we could do about it as we all went into this lockdown. But the second one [2021], we were hopeful about it happening for a while, and then you started to question things. We obviously knew we’d get it back at some point but we were, like, ‘Will it be another couple of years?’ So then to actually be able to bring this festival back feels like a real feat. I know Covid isn’t over but we are living with it and it’s amazing to have this festival back.
JH: There seem to be loads more kids this year.
EE: There are. We don’t actually charge for kids so we’ve always had a large kids’ contingent. The Kidzfield is an incredible pull: the largest free kids’ event in Europe. Everything is free. So it’s actually a draw for kids, and I didn’t realise how good it was until I actually had kids. And I was, like, ‘Wow.’
JH: There are lots of rumours about secret sets. What can you tell us?
I can tell you that it’s not Green Day! [The US punk outfit were rumoured to be playing the BBC Introducing stage].
JH: What about Elton John playing with Paul McCartney?
EE: No, I haven’t heard that.
JH: The Chemical Brothers have pulled out of their Arcadia slot this evening, I’ve heard.
EE: They’ve cancelled, which is a shame. There are all kinds of changes. But we’re living in a world where we are adapting to change quicker. It’s more fluid and there are a lot of changes. And with the festival, we thought ‘It’s not going to be exactly the same as the poster.’ Everyone is kind of accepting that.
JH: What are you looking forward to most?
EE: I can’t answer that. But Paul McCartney on Saturday night is significant in such a major way for all of us. To be able to come back with that, rolling over from our 50th anniversary… [The former Beatle was due to headline the abandoned 2020 anniversary festival]. This has been five years in the planning. I’ve been planning this for five years. I’m so excited. It’s such a major, major moment.
this is your sign to stop scrolling and join us in a little bit of scream-therapy with @wetlegband and the glastonbury crowd 😌 pic.twitter.com/93qQAqdvCT
Wet Leg are one this year’s hottest bands, and you could tell. The crowd was the biggest I’ve seen at The Park stage since Pulp’s secret set in 2011, stretching up the top of the hill past those famous seven-feet tall Glastonbury letters. The Isle of Wight duo’s ascent has been lightening quick – they only released their debut single a year ago – but this set suggested the hype was justified.
Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers took to the stage in long-sleeved grey layered lace dresses, looking like ghostly Victorian apparitions. The shade matched the sky. But the music was anything but dull: their brand of smart punk-pop was spiky and colourful, crackling with irony and sharp put-downs. Wet Leg’s lyrics embrace youth, rubbish boyfriends and pointless parties. Songs such as Wet Dream (“I was in your wet dream/ Driving in my car”) were rapturously greeted.
The sun even came out for final song Chaise Longue. “Is your muffin buttered? Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?” may not be the most profound lyrics ever sung at Glastonbury. But the vast crowd went bananas. It was a tremendously fun set from one of our most promising bands. James Hall
Before Glastonbury's opening act The Libertines took to the Other stage, a message from Zelensky was played on the big screens, asking everyone to put pressure on their politicians to keep supporting Ukraine.
A message from President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was just played on the big screens at The Other Stage, shortly before The Libertines’ stage-opening set. #Glastonbury2022 pic.twitter.com/LuXf2FfEBf
"Glastonbury is the greatest concentration of freedom these days," he said "and I ask you to share this feeling with everyone whose freedom is under attack." It’s the first time the crowd has been asked - indirectly - for artillery. They cheered and whooped.
The Libertines were a surprising act to open the festival proper, playing at 11.30am on the other stage. Perhaps lead singer Pete Doherty, 2022’s most surprising body positivity model, had a lunch reservation. Whatever the reasoning, it worked: they have left behind all their Albion pretensions and red army jackets, and embraced a new era as crooners for nostalgic millennials. There weren't any new songs, just classics. Up The Bracket, Boys in the Band, Don't Look Back into the Sun: these are singalongs now, mostly played at a slightly slower, jauntier tempo than on record.
At the end, Pete Doherty tried to instigate a Vlodymr Zelensky singalong to the tune of Seven Nation Army. It didn’t work. There is going to be a lot of Ukraine stuff this weekend. Ed Cumming
Being woken on a cloudy morning by Primal Scream sound checking was a perfectly Glastonbury way to start a festival. A rush of clattering drums, reverby guitars, earth shaking bass and wordless Bobby Gillespie vocals floated down from the John Peel marquee at 10 am, whilst an echoing voice repeatedly counted from one to six. The disembodied numbers floated in a psychedelic haze over the sprawling city of tents, where groggy campers stirred from the warm up drinking and dancing of the night before, comparing sunburn and hangovers. Rays of sunshine peaking at the edge of clouds amidst light showers and a sampled choir of Screamadelica "Hallelujah's"... I may have déjà vu but it's honestly good to be back. Neil McCormick
So those Met Office yellow warnings were a little overzealous: yesterday there was barely a drizzle, which was just as well as Thursday is traditionally the night of hyped-up roaming and queuing. The one place everyone wanted to be last night was The Rabbit Hole, where MC trio Bad Boy Chiller Crew were playing before Four Tet took to the decks at the venue’s Funkingham Palace – for those who managed to elude or conquer the two-hour queue into the venue’s inner sanctum. Those inside, it seemed, were largely convinced it was worth it: a drag cabaret, bar staff dressed as white rabbits serving cocktails and yes, a long loo queue, awaited. Alice Vincent
What's your favourite Glastonbury memory of 2022 so far? How about your favourite Glastonbury memory all of time? Tell us in the comments below
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