We’ve been hanging around the Pyramid Stage pretty much all day, because the musicians there have been so good, and also because our feet hurt from all the walking across Worthy Farm.
From Cat Stevens making us a bit weepy (it may also be the lack of sleep, but he sang so beautifully and thanked the NHS for existing) to Blondie showing us how to keep rocking into old age, it’s been a glorious Sunday so far.
Another reason to stay there has been to soak up the excitement from people beside themselves with anticipation for Elton John, who is tonight’s Pyramid Stage headliner. It’s predicted to be one of the biggest crowds in Glastonbury history.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Pyramid Stage
After a hectic couple of days getting my bearings around Glastonbury, there was something relaxing about beginning Sunday with Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her very familiar, crowd-pleasing hits.
Also, if you watched any of her kitchen discos in lockdown, you’ll know that she seems like a nice, warm person. “Can you feel my sequinned-leotard, excited-mother energy?” she asked, cajoling the crowd along with her buoyancy. We moved our knackered legs to “Murder on the Dancefloor” and “Get Over You”, two Brit classics of the 2000s. Her husband, The Feeling’s Richard Jones, was on bass guitar, and she dedicated ballad “Young Blood” to him, as today was their 18th wedding anniversary.
Ellis-Bextor didn’t do anything wild or unexpected, but she did just what the crowd wanted. In her metallic sequins, she perfectly kicked off Sunday at the biggest stage at the festival with irresistible bangers that set the tone for a gold-standard final day.
Kasia Delgado
Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Pyramid Stage
Yusuf/Cat Stevens performed what could be described as a core Glastonbury set on Sunday afternoon as he took to the Pyramid Stage for this year’s legend’s slot. It had all the markings of hippy catnip – gently furious political statements, lightly picked acoustic guitar and, of course, Stevens himself playing a rare full set in the UK and looking more dapper than possibly ever before.
For the most part, it was a stand-and-sway sort of set for an audience finding the final day of Glastonbury off to a slow start. Over and over, it was proven that you didn’t need to know a lot of Stevens’ songs to feel the good vibes and nice times of this very likeable set.
Of the recognisable hits, “Morning Has Broken” wetted a few cheeks, while the one-two closing punch of “Wild World” and “Father And Son” summed the whole thing up: it was good for an easy shimmy and very good for a little cry. It felt like core Glastonbury: good-natured, nostalgic, slightly political and enjoyed by all.
Kate Solomon
The Chicks, Pyramid Stage
The Chicks are my favourite band, so I won’t pretend they weren’t always destined to be one of my highlights this year. But I wasn’t prepared for how emotional I’d be seeing them for the first time in seven years – or how many times everyone else around me would cry during their set, too.
There’s something about these three women when they harmonise that seems to cut to your soul. This is their first time performing songs from their 2020 album Gaslighter and the title track – a screed to a toxic man – and the playful and brittle “Tights on My Boat” are as beloved now as the ones from their country heyday. But it was those – “Cowboy Take Me Away” and its romantic, delicate fiddles, their devastating cover of Stevie Nicks’s “Landslide”, the longing “Wide Open Spaces” – that seemed to unite all the women around me and make them weep. Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire are slick and at times astonishing musicians, appearing to master more and more instruments as the set grew on.
Their now-famous cover of Beyoncé’s “Daddy Lessons” was a thrill, but it was when they closed with “Goodbye Earl” – about two best friends who murder an abusive husband – that things erupted and their defiant spirit became contagious. This was divine, one of the most fun sets of the weekend and all too short. At least I don’t have to wait long for a fuller show – I’m seeing their tour three more times in the next two weeks.
Sarah Carson
Elton John, Pyramid Stage
It’s not often that you get the chance to say goodbye to a legend in the way that we got to bid farewell to Elton John on the final night of Glastonbury. On what was “probably” his final ever UK show, he blasted through the hits in a crowd-pleasing set and left us sated, thrilled and missing him already.
From the first electric notes of “Pinball Wizard” to the final strains of a “Rocket Man” jam sesh, John’s mere presence was enough to keep the crowd buzzing. He didn’t spend much time moving around, spending the majority of the set sitting behind the piano and occasionally turning to point at the crowd or grin a little grin at us.
What was undeniable was the quality of Elton John’s songs and the chemistry of the band behind him. The grand finale was, of course, “Rocket Man”, and including a long instrumental outro was a fitting final reminder that Elton John is more than just big glasses and goofy press shots: his fingers flew across the keys of the piano as if he wanted to prove that his legacy is not just singalongs and wedding songs. Elton John may not be back, but this show sent the message that every musician is essentially immortal: while we have the songs, Elton John can never really be gone.
Kate Solomon
Blondie, Pyramid Stage
Debbie Harry in a sequinned poncho? Unmissable. Harry marched onto the Pyramid Stage in mirrored sunglasses and a black CBGB -Tshirt singing “One Way Or Another” and proceeded to growl her way through her band’s back catalogue this afternoon, proving once again that her rock star spirit has not dimmed in the slightest as the decades have passed – even if she thinks some of her songs have become irrelevant. “Get the phone songs out of the way early,” she said, after “Hanging on the Telephone” and “Call Me”.
Still, they were excellent, and full of this band’s menace. Other highlights: “Atomic”, “Rapture”, and obviously “Heart of Glass”, with its irresistible, thumping opening riffs.
Sarah Carson