McCartney dropped a cheeky hint about the announcement in a tweet posted hours before the official confirmation.
Former member of The Beatles and prolific solo artist Paul McCartney is the first act to be confirmed as a headliner for the Pyramid Stage on Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary. On November 18, he posted an image of composer Philip Glass, actor Emma Stone and rock’n’roller Chuck Berry; hinting at Glass-Stone-Berry, or Glastonbury. The festival’s co-organizer Emily Eavis said McCartney headlining for the festival’s 50th anniversary is a “dream come true.”
“There really was no one that we wanted more for the 50th anniversary.”
Emily Eavis
This won’t be McCartney’s first Glastonbury performance. In 2004, he headlined the festival and arguably saved the show from a less-than-fabulous Oasis performance the previous night. Last year, Stormzy headlined the Pyramid Stage on Friday, which many applauded as a progressive choice due to the fact he is an artist relatively new to the music scene. Comparably, McCartney headlining is a safe bet, but it has some wondering if younger talent should continue to take centre stage.
Booking a rock legend like McCarthy is an incredible feat, yet it may be one that youthful festival goers cannot recognise as such. Giving a headline spot to a popular new artist may be seen as more exciting, exposing the act to a wide audience and giving them a global platform. Those on the other side of the debate might claim that older, more established acts seem like surefire crowd-pleasers that make for reliable choices.
When it comes to programming music festivals, the team at MN2S understand all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into putting together the perfect line-up. Recently we programmed a fantastic winter line-up for Dubai’s Barasti Beach, and in the summer of 2019 we booked Vengaboys, A Guy Called Gerald, and DJ duo Utah Saints for Bestival’s sister festival, Camp Bestival.