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10 Acts I Urge You Not To Miss At Worthy Farm

Gigwise writer Chris Reynolds on his choice Glastonbury acts...

Glastonbury is on the horizon folks and it’s looking gigantic. This year Worthy Farm boasts more stages than you can shake a stick at and enough live entertainment for anyone to die happy so what sets shouldn’t you miss and which hidden (and less well-hidden) treasures are waiting? Here’s a list of 10 bands I won't be missing:
Mr Hudson (Other Stage – 10.50am Friday):
By now you will probably have heard of Mr Ben Hudson because Kanye West has been shamelessly promoting him at his every turn. Sure he may be on his record label but you don’t find Kanye generally peddling shit to the masses. Mr Hudson has an inspired voice and brings an electronic edge to his music. He has the potential and the hype to become not just a huge but a monster act so it’s worth nursing that Friday morning hangover at the Other Stage.
Hot 8 Brass Band (Jazz World stage – 3.50pm Friday):
So by 4 in the afternoon you’ll probably be wanting the sun to be out and some party music to set you in the right mood for the evening. Well the Hot 8 Brass Band is here to answer your prayers with a heady mix of feel-good tunes and an inspired cover of ‘Sexual Healing’ in their back catalogue. Brass bands have never been so cool.  
Lady Gaga (Other Stage – 8pm Friday:
Simply put this is a ‘marmite’ set. Our favourite finger flicking pop star will either sink or swim on the second biggest stage at the festival. Something tells me that the weather and alcohol consumed beforehand will have a big bearing on whether Lady Gaga emerges from her set triumphant or tragic.
Neil Young (Main Stage – 10pm Friday:
When Michael Eavis booked Neil Young people moaned that it was contradictory to his assertion he wants to bring the young people back to Glastonbury. Do you know what though – any young person who knows anything about music will have been influenced/listened to/heard of Neil Young. He wrote the book on guitar rock and Eavis clearly agrees because he’s booked him for a 2 and a quarter hour set. That should be enough time for classics like ‘Cortez the Killer’, ‘Rockin in the Free World’ and enough guitar solos to send your head dizzy. He may be 63 but wouldn’t you be bloody proud to be headlining the best festival in the world at that age?
Baddies (John Peel Stage – 12pm Saturday):
Here’s a band who readily admit playing Glastonbury is a life-long ambition. This set is likely to be abrupt, riotous and hectic if frontman Mike Webster’s chipped tooth is anything to go by from recent shows. You can still catch this band while they’re considered ‘new’ and ‘cool’ if you get down to the John Peel Stage early on Saturday or catch them on Sunday at the Dirty Boots stage if you like your gigs intimate.
Special Guests (Park Stage - 7.50pm Saturday):
A few weeks back Emily and Michael Eavis announced a very special guest will play the Park stage which even they’re scared to announce due to health and safety fears. Currently this 7.50pm spot remains unfilled and I’ve come up with 3 bands doing the rumour rounds.
1)      Arctic Monkeys – Reading Festival might not like this but who cares. The Monkeys embark on a European tour a few days after Glastonbury so they should be in the right area.
2)      Radiohead – yes they will headline again soon but a sneaky spot on the Park Stage might just remind Worthy Farm goers of their excellence and the band do have a soft spot for Eavis.
3)      The Libertines – OK this is a bit outlandish but the signs have been there from messers Doherty and Barat that a reunion show could be on. Pete’s already on the bill so you don’t have to worry about him failing to show up and where better to play the old classics again?
Kasabian (Pyramid Stage – 8pm Saturday):
Kasabian are a band who raise their game for the big occasion. You only need to look back to their epic Other Stage headlining spot in 2005 to know they relish all eyes on them. This penultimate spot should be no different as Serge and the gang aim to blow Bruce Springsteen off the stage before he’s even arrived. Expect a combination of older tunes like ‘L.S.F’ and ‘Empire’ mixed with the newer experimental tracks like ‘Vlad the Impaler’. Should be epic.
Enter Shikari (Other Stage – 3.45pm Sunday):
On paper this shouldn’t work and that’s why it’ll be so bloody good. Enter Shikari will try to tame a gigantic field with their mix of dance, grime, metal and dub-step. Vocalist Rou Reynolds will also do his best stage gymnastics throughout and probably end up vaulting off a stack of amps so even if you don’t like the music, don’t miss this.
Roots Manuva (Jazz World Stage – 7.15pm Sunday):
There are few more seminal UK hip-hop acts than Rodney Smith, a.k.a Roots Manuva. This set on the Jazz World stage has the ability to mesmerise your already fried brain. With enough special guests on his albums to compile a dictionary it may also be time for another surprise showing.
Blur (Main Stage – 9.50pm Sunday):
One of the biggest bands of British pop history reforms at the grand-daddy of all festivals – how can this not be memorable? Even if Albarn and co. are out of tune and out of practice this will probably spank 95% of the other acts playing at Worthy Farm for the mere spectacle. But let’s be honest they won’t be out of tune, they’ll probably have 80,000 people hanging to their every note so they can’t really lose.
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  • Lady GaGa? What planet you on? Gonna do my very best to avoid the Pyramid stage when she is on.

    ~ by Freddy 3 days 16 hours ago

    Reply to this comment

  • 24 year old journalist - who mad eyou the god of all festival knowledge? I agree with above, Lady GaGa grow up you f*** wit - the fact that my girlfrined wants to see that shit is a big enough sign for everyone to stear well clear of it

    ~ by GaGa Garbage 2 days 17 hours ago

    Reply to this comment

  • ha yeah i agree. Lady GaGa could be BRILLIANT or terrible. I'm not going to risk it.

    ~ by cats123 2 days 10 hours ago

    Reply to this comment


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