FEATURE:
Headline Acts
IN THIS PHOTO: JADE
Some Contemporary Queens Who Should Be Top of the Bill at Next Year’s Biggest U.K. Festivals
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A week ago…
IN THIS PHOTO: Olivia Dean
we saw several of this country’s biggest artists vie for the Mercury Prize. Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving and Jade’s THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! went up against the winner: RAYE’s THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. All very strong albums, though RAYE’s second studio album was a deserved winner. This year’s Mercury Prize really was about established artist, whereas previous years has seen more emerging or smaller acts compete for the prize. A drawback this year, I do however think that the best album won. What it did show is that we have several festival headliners. Not that Jade, RAYE and Olivia Dean have never headlined a festival. I just feel that, at a time when most major festivals struggle to affect gender balance when it comes to the headline acts, we have a few incredible women that springs to mind that could and should headline. What would be amazing is if Glastonbury Festival, for the first time ever – which we should not be saying over fifty years since it started – should have three female artists as Pyramid Stage headliners. I don’t think it will happen. I am pretty sure a band like Fontaines D.C. will be one of the headliners. They deserve to be. However, RAYE would be an incredible headliner. Doing the Saturday night, her and Fontaines D.C. as headliners would definitely be popular. Glastonbury would have locked in their headliners a long time ago, though I think the Mercury win cements RAYE’s cements her reputation as this headline-worthy artist. Seeing THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE brought to life at Glastonbury would be incredible. RAYE performed the album in full at a show at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday (23rd). I think that the next step would be a Glastonbury headline slot.
Whilst not guaranteed, I would be very surprised if RAYE was overlooked. Maybe she has dates next year that would clash. However, there are these women in music that should be headliners. Olivia Dean would also be an incredible headliner for Glastonbury. She will definitely be on the bill, though I am not sure she will be a headliner. That is a shame. That said, I would not bet another festival booking her as a headliner, given the momentum and success of The Art of Loving. With every accolade, Dean is showing what a special artist she is. I am not sure how big her U.S. exposure is. I could see her headlining Coachella next year. Whilst Glastonbury is not going to go all-female next year I fear, having RAYE and Olivia Dean sharing the Pyramid Stage would delight so many people. I do think that JADE is going to be a headline act last year. Last year, JADE completed the all-female line-up at Mighty Hoopla. A huge Pop festival, this was the first time there had been an all-female line-up. The statistics are shocking. Isle of Wight have announced their headliners and it is male-heavy. I feel Reading & Leeds next year will balance things but we will not see all the headline slots go to women. Glastonbury will not do it. Our biggest festivals really not reflecting the way women are defining and dominating modern music. In this NME interview, JADE did reveal that she would love to headline next year’s Reading & Leeds:
“It’s been a packed year for Jade, and the last time we saw her was when she threw one hell of a party at Reading festival, pulling one of the biggest crowds of the weekend.
“It was amazing,” the singer recalled. “I’d never played Reading before, it was my first time and I think as a pop artist you’re always a little apprehensive of how the crowd is going to react – especially at Reading. But they were amazing, they were well up for it. It was one of my favourite festivals that I’ve done this year and one ticked off the bucketlist.”
Could she follow in the footsteps of Charli XCX and Raye and become one of R+L’s pop headliners for a new generation?
“I mean I’d love to, I’d absolutely love to,” she replied. “That’s definitely a dream of mine to headline more festivals, and there are no better ones that Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury.”
Asked about the chances of her appearing at Worthy Farm in 2027, she replied: “Fingers crossed, we’ll see. It was so special there last year, and it was probably one of the best shows of my life. It was so, so special. I’d love to re-live it and do it again”.
JADE has performed at huge festivals, though having her headline Reading & Leeds would be a dream for her. She also deserves a Glastonbury headline slot. I do think that they need to book at least two female artists to headline, as they have been male-focused since their inception. JADE and RAYE are two artists who are very much ready to headline. JADE should headline Reading & Leeds and maybe Glastonbury. RAYE seems destined for Glastonbury. Olivia Dean is headlining a festival in South Africa next year, though she warrants a massive headline slot in the U.K. Nia Archives was also nominated for the Mercury for Emotional Junglist, and she is worthy of headline kudos. This magnificent artist, I do not know whether next year will see improvement regarding gender imbalance. Lily Allen and Tinashe are headline names. As is Phoebe Bridgers. If festivals like Primavera Sound can affect gender balance with their headline artists, major festivals here struggle. Many think Harry Styles will headline Glastonbury, so that might mean male dominance. I don’t know. Watching the Mercury Prize and some incredible British queens, we saw spotlighted headline artists in our midst. That being rewarded and realised next year would be…
RICHLY deserve.