Glastonbury 2024: Acts to Get Excited About

So, whether you have tickets and are packing the ponchos, or are watching the BBC coverage from Northants’ own legend, Jo Whiley, here is a guide to what’s happening, with something to suit every taste.

If rock is your thing, then Coldplay (Saturday, 21:45) will be unmissable. Earlier on in the afternoon, Keane are taking to the Pyramid stage, celebrating the 20th anniversary rerelease of their seminal ‘Hopes and Fears’. It’s an incredible album, comparable with some of U2’s best material, and the set will have the capability to be both rousing (Bend and Break) and heartbreaking (Somewhere Only We Know).

The West Holts stage hosts Jessie Ware on Saturday night, who from the opening keys of Free Yourself will have earned her stripes as a true pop princess. Her late-night slot gives space for some nice torches-in-air moments, surely reserved for the swaying Say You Love Me. Pop fans can also enjoy Paloma Faith on Sunday, whose elastic vocal and joyous personality ignite classics like Stone Cold Sober yet command the heights of her ballads (Picking Up the Pieces).

Indie kids are well catered for this year too with the likes of Two Door Cinema Club, with hits like What You Know bringing sunshine to Sunday’s Other Stage regardless of the weather. Jungle are also playing this year, having found a new fan base with their retro Back on 74, and can be seen at West Holts on Friday: the cool-drenched Busy Earnin’ is a track to look out for.

For something more chilled, the brilliant Olivia Dean will be on the Pyramid on Friday. Her soulful vocal and the warm brass of tracks like Dive will turn the main stage into an intimate jazz club, not an easy challenge, but one that Olivia is sure to succeed in. Sunday’s West Holts line-up includes Jordan Rakei, whose new album ‘The Loop’ pours emphasis on his delicate vocal by injecting neat drum rudiments and gospel accompaniment to tracks like Learning and Freedom. He has moments reminiscent of Hozier, whose set was one of the highlights of last year’s festival.

At the other end of the spectrum, Peggy Gou will be transporting Saturday’s Park Stage to Ibiza, hopefully playing the infectious (It Goes Like) Nanana, a dance track for fans of ATB’s 9P.M. For a taste of the classic 90s rave, Faithless are also on this year’s line-up, with the highlight of their set surely going to be Insomnia: ghostly, poetic, then ultimately euphoric.

This is only a small selection of the hundreds of artists performing in late June, but hopefully gives an insight into the variety on offer. There is still a surprise act TBA on the Saturday, which after the Foo Fighters last year has led to much excited speculation; whomever it is and whatever the weather, Glastonbury is set to be a brilliant weekend – enjoy!