Festival Season 2024: another unforgettable summer
The speakers were loud, the flags were flying, the airbeds were… flat. As Summer 2024 draws to a close, sadly, so does another spellbinding festival season.
Thousands journeyed into the fields, lugging on their backs their tents, sleeping bags, 18-packs of Carling, and hopes and dreams of witnessing a legendary performance under the stars.
But were such hopes met? With rising costs, competition, and a particularly wet British summer reportedly seeing 60 festivals postponed or cancelled, could the season live up to its year-long anticipation?
From the Shania Twain singalong on the Pyramid stage to Stormzy raising the roof at Boardmasters, and fans literally being blown away in Leeds, let’s take a look at the most memorable moments from the 2024 festival season in the UK.
Golden Glastonbury
In June, the UK’s biggest festival returned to Worthy Farm with a bang. Explosive sets from headliners Dua Lipa and Coldplay lit up the Pyramid Stage, with both acts sprinkling in several surprises that will live forever in Glastonbury history.
Lipa played out a childhood dream to headline the Friday night at Glastonbury with an iconic set packed to the punch with outfit changes and immaculate choreography. There were multiple standout moments, including a duet with Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker for a rendition of ‘The Less I Know The Better’, and a touching singalong with the crowd for her single ‘Be The One’. It was truly the perfect start to the party in Somerset.
The night after, it was Coldplay’s turn to party – and their electrifying set was just that. Complete with confetti canons, power-punching pyrotechnics, and illuminated wristbands, to say the show was a spectacle is an understatement. Belting out classic bangers ‘Yellow’, ‘Viva La Vida’, and ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’, Chris Martin had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he fed them exactly what they were after – unadulterated, bombastic fun. That’s without mentioning the star-studded line-up of guests the band invited onto the stage, including Laura Mvula, Little Simz, and none other than Marty McFly (Michael J Fox), who assisted the band on guitar for their epic ‘Fix You’ finale.
Elsewhere on the farm, history was made as SEVENTEEN became the first K-pop group to perform on the Pyramid Stage, whilst Avril Lavigne and the Sugababes brought their stages to a standstill with incredibly popular performances. Country icon Shania Twain delivered a suitably camp and glamorous show to fill the ‘legends’ slot’. Meanwhile, Kasabian made their Glastonbury return with an awesome secret set that dazzled the crowd at Woodsies. An honourable mention also goes to Charli XCX’s party girl DJ set – one which locked off The Levels stage and whetted our appetites for the brat summer to come – more on that later.
BST and All Points East light up London
Moving away from the fields of Somerset to the capital now, where some sensational performances left the London crowd awestruck.
BST gifted us hard-hitting headliners, ranging from Kings of Leon to Kylie Minogue, but it was the enchanting magic of music legend Stevie Nicks which truly dazzled Hyde Park. Delivering an emotional, meaningful, and career-spanning set, Nicks enraptured the crowd with solo hits like the immortal ‘Edge of Seventeen’, as well as Fleetwood Mac favourites ‘Dreams’ and ‘Gold Dust Woman’. Finishing the night with a touching tribute to the late Christine McVie on what would have been her 81st birthday, Nicks left many misty-eyed as Harry Styles joined her for a whimsical duet of ‘Landslide’.
All Points East treated us to more memorable weekends, with Mitski making her festival headline debut on a dreamy Sunday in Victoria Park, which also included sets from beabadoobee and TV Girl.
Wet Leg go brat and Boardmasters bring it to the beach
Shall I compare thee to a brat summer’s day?
This year, our favourite festivals coincided with a very special summer, something some acts paid homage to during their sets. Wet Leg, one of the headliners for this year’s Truck Festival in Oxfordshire, delivered an impactful and charismatic performance, packed full with the band’s hits from their debut 2022 album – but with one very special nod to Charli XCX. A punky and groovy rendition of ‘360’, one of the lead singles of brat, got the angels in the crowd bouncing, delighting them with a funky reimagining of one of the songs of the summer. There are few things better than a crowd-pleasing cover at a festival and Wet Leg knocked it out of the park with this one.
Sticking with the brat theme, what’s more brat than a festival on a beach? Once again, Boardmasters brought it to the Cornish coast, making waves with pulse-raising sets from the likes of Nia Archives and Chase & Status, in addition to a notable performance from the 2024 Mercury Prize winner, English Teacher. But it was Stormzy who made the biggest splash of the weekend with a show stopping display filled with the energy, passion, and dynamism he has become known for.
Boardmasters is one of the fastest-growing festivals in the UK, and with another glittering weekend played out in front of the unique Newquay backdrop, only looks set to go from strength to strength in the years to come.
Boomtown and Lost Village pass the vibe check
Ravers were again spoiled this summer, with both Boomtown and Lost Village continuing to push the boundaries of what festivals can offer. Beyond the world-class selection of dance music and techno, including sets from the likes of Ross from Friends and The Blessed Madonna, these festivals go the extra mile to create an atmosphere that stretches far further than the stage. With mind-bending set design, breathtaking lighting, and emphasis on building an immersive experience, both serve as examples of how festivals can create their own unique worlds and redefine the very realms of escapism.
Storm Lilian steals the show
The late August bank holiday weekend is probably the biggest weekend in the British festival calendar. This year, campers were pitching their tents at Reading and Leeds, Creamfields, and Lost Village, but unfortunately for them, a certain Lilian also had that weekend dated in her calendar…
Registering 70mph winds, the storm made mincemeat of tents both big and small, closing stages and even sending some festival goers packing. Reading in particular was plagued with sound and tech issues as a result, affecting sets by Lana Del Rey and Catfish And The Bottlemen, but most disruptive to a beleaguered Reneé Rapp who battled against a leak on the stage which ultimately forced her to cut her set short.
Aside from the weather, it was perhaps Liam Gallagher who made the biggest impression of the weekend, closing out the Sunday at Reading before teasing his long-awaited Oasis reunion with brother Noel, which was confirmed the following week.
As the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, it’s safe to say we’ll look back to a summer truly stacked full of iconic festival moments. We’ll reminisce about the days spent dancing under the sun – or rain, with no care in the world but setting the grass on fire with our gas cookers or our tents blowing away in the wind – and look forward to a 2025 season filled with just the same. Bring it on!
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