Who could headline Glastonbury 2024?

Music Tuesday October 17, 2023 By: Harry Howes

We’ve reached autumn, which can only mean one thing. No, not Halloween – it’s almost time for the mad rush for Glastonbury tickets. As hopefuls up and down the country prepare to load up five devices and cross their fingers, plans for next summer’s line-up will already be well underway.

The five-day event takes place every June and is one of the most famous music festivals in the world, with more than 200,000 people flocking to Somerset each year. That’s quite a bit more than attended the first edition way back in 1970, where a crowd of 1,500 gathered to see The Kinks and Wayne Fontana.

Last year’s festival saw Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John headline, adding to a list of incredible acts to grace the Pyramid Stage in the past, which includes Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, David Bowie, Beyonce and Bob Dylan.

And as rumours begin to circulate about who could be on the line-up in 2024, we’ve taken a look at some of the contenders to follow in their footsteps.

Liam Gallagher

While we’re all still holding out hope of a remarkable Oasis reunion, we might get halfway there at least. Next year’s festival coincides with the 30th anniversary of the iconic Manchester band’s debut album Definitely Maybe.

Liam announced this week that he’ll be playing the record in full across a UK and Ireland tour next year – and, coincidentally, he’s left the Glastonbury weekend free. It would be the third time he’s performed solo at the festival, having previously appeared in 2017 and 2019.

It’s no secret that Liam and Noel have had their differences since Oasis split up in 2009 but the imminent anniversary had sparked rumours that a long-awaited reunion could be on the cards. 2024 will also mark 20 years since Oasis last appeared at Glastonbury.

However, even if he were to perform alone, Liam would be a worthy headliner and he proved his popularity with two sell-out gigs at Knebworth last summer.

Dua Lipa

Fans of Dua Lipa were disappointed not to see her light up the Pyramid Stage this year alongside Elton John for their joint track Cold Heart. But they could be in luck next summer, with the British singer expected to have a busy year.

The 28-year-old is currently working on her third studio album, which is due to come out some time in 2024. Dua Lipa is also rumoured to be going on tour, although she’s yet to announce dates so it’s unclear whether they’ll clash with Glastonbury.

She performed at the festival way back in 2017 when she was relatively unknown but if she were to make a return in the future, she’d be in strong contention to headline.

Foo Fighters

The Foos were a surprise bonus at this year’s festival, popping up to do a secret set under the alias ‘The Churn Ups’. The band had previously cancelled their tour and taken a break following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Dave Grohl and co. now feel the time is right to return to the stage and they’ve announced a number of UK dates next year to promote their new album, with a convenient little gap during the weekend of Glastonbury, which could mean they’re in line to return.

They first performed at Glastonbury in 1998 and they famously had to pull out of their 2015 headline performance after Dave Grohl broke his leg after falling off stage during a show in Sweden.

Spice Girls

Spice Girls also celebrate their 30th anniversary next summer and, unlike Oasis, they’ve already shown they’re happy to roll back the years. The girl band got back together (minus Victoria Beckham) for a reunion tour in 2019 that sold more than 700,000 tickets.

Geri Horner has already denied speculation that they could be set for a Glastonbury appearance. But Ginger Spice did say that the girls have something planned for the anniversary, so fans could still be in for a treat.

And they have unfinished business with the festival, having been set to perform in 2020 before the pandemic put a stop to it.

Coldplay

Another band with huge world dates scheduled is Coldplay, who have been touring their latest album Music of the Spheres since last year. The four-piece have also left time in their schedule at the time of Glastonbury, so we may well see their names when the line-up is announced.

Coldplay are no strangers to the festival, having made the first of their six appearances in 1999. They’ve since headlined four times, taking to the Pyramid stage in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016.

Chris Martin and co. were also due to perform in 2021 before the festival was cancelled. Instead, they appeared on the festival livestream event, alongside George Ezra, Kano, Wolf Alice and Damon Albarn.

Who else could appear at Glastonbury?

Blur released their ninth album this summer and treated fans to sell-out shows at Wembley, so they could make a return to the festival they last appeared at in 2009.

Meanwhile, south London rapper Dave has also been rumoured to be in with a chance of headlining, having previously appeared twice.

Remarkably, Queen have never performed at Glastonbury due to political differences between Brian May and Michael Eavis. However, May says that he would consider having a conversation about a sensational festival debut.

Another debutant could be Madonna, who is currently on her world tour and has availability in June. Organiser Emily Eavis was recently at one of Madge’s gigs and has previously said that next year’s festival will feature two female headliners.

One name that won’t be on the Glasto poster is Taylor Swift. The American singer was the clear favourite to headline earlier this year but following the announcement of her The Eras world tour, she’ll be performing in Dublin that weekend instead.

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