Stormzy- Deserving Headliner or Questionable Booking Decision?
Last week, Emily Eavis announced Glastonbury Festivals first headliner for 2019 amid speculation on various social media platforms. To many peoples delight, and also to many peoples dismay, it was confirmed that Stormzy would headline the Pyramid Stage on the Friday night at next years edition of the festival.
One can only imagine that headlining Glastonbury festival must be the most prestigious and illustrious of all occasions for a musician. A celebration of the given musicians successful career, all culminating to a headline slot at the most acclaimed festival in the world. If the rumours are correct, Stormzy will be joined by The Cure and Paul McCartney as headliners at next years festival. Both acts are ones which have had stellar musical careers spanning over decades. Numerous iconic albums and years upon years of touring has given The Cure legendary status in the industry and opting for Paul McCartney as a headliner needs no further explanation. Of course, the remaining two headlining slots are subject to change, but the aforementioned would be two very deserving additions.
You can probably see where I'm going with this. Don't get me wrong, Stormzy has had a couple of years that have been nothing short of incredible. An outstanding debut album and sheer determination has earnt Stormzy a huge following. It must also be said, Stormzy has had a hugely important part to play in the popularity surge of grime music over the last two or three years. But I can't help but think that the decision to have Stormzy headline Glastonbury in 2019 is a truly questionable one.
I'd be a fool to say that Stormzy doesn't deserve this moment, but from a logical perspective, the decision makes very little, if any sense. His debut album 'Gang Sings & Prayer' was released in 2017, with no further material being released since. To put things into perspective, both Arctic Monkeys and Oasis had to release more than one album to top the Pryamid Stage- arguably the two biggest British bands of a generation, both of whom received more mainstream interest on release of their debut albums. In fact, I distinctly remember controversy running rife when Arctic Monkeys did eventually headline off the back of their second album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'. The main talking point being that they wouldn't have enough big songs to fill a headline set, which would typically last over and hour and a half. If you were to play 'Gang Signs & Prayer' in full, it only runs for 58 minutes and 47 seconds. Not even an hour of musical content.
No argument can be made that there are no other options to chose from. You only need to look at a list of iconic acts that have never headlined Glastonbury for you to be as confused as I am at the decision to book Stormzy. The Libertines, The Strokes, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, Green Day, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Queens of the Stone Age, Pearl Jam, Eminem. The list goes on. All hugely successful acts with decades of success and dedicated fan-bases. Whether you like these acts or not, no one can honestly say that Stormzy deserves the nod over any of them. All of the aforementioned are also established headliners who have topped the bill at numerous world-renowned festivals and are well overdue a headline slot at Glastonbury. Then, there's bands like The Verve, who had to wait decades for their chance to headline. Step ahead a few years and you have the likes of Kendrick Lamar, The 1975, Foals and Bring Me The Horizon who are all more than capable to fill the slot and actually have a sufficient back catalogue of material to fill the set.
One argument I can make in Stormzy's defense is that it is, without a doubt, the perfect time for a grime headliner at Glastonbury Festival. However, that brings me onto my next point. If grime music should be given the recognition it deserves by having an act headline the biggest music festival in the world, then why not give it to someone who's paved the way in the genre for multiple years. In my opinion, the mainstream success Skepta and Boy Better Know brought the genre before Stormzy announced his arrival deserves to be recognised. There's no doubt in my mind that a Boy Better Know headline set at Glastonbury would make a bit more sense, or even Skepta on his own. They have the material to play a much longer set and are arguably regarded higher critically.
People will always criticise decisions on festival headliners, particularly attendees at Glastonbury. This was the case when both Kanye West and Jay-Z were announced as headliners in their respective years. Conceivably, perhaps, the two biggest solo acts of black origin to grace the music industry, not to mention the most successful. Festival goers were up in arms when both were announced in previous years, despite both of them being world-renowned acts worthy of any headline slot, having both been producing music for decades. So, can Stromzy be deemed a justifiable headline act after just a couple of years of success?
I regard Stromzy very highly from a musical perspective and respect him as an artist. However, I feel that opting for the MC as a headliner off the back of one year of mainstream success is a massive kick in the teeth to artists who have been waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime. Focusing more on success accrued over a long career should be prioritised over success accrued in the past two years, from a booking perspective. A sub-slot or a headline slot on the other stage would be acceptable, but the decision to have him headline the entire festival seems a ludicrous one. That's just my opinion.
One can only imagine that headlining Glastonbury festival must be the most prestigious and illustrious of all occasions for a musician. A celebration of the given musicians successful career, all culminating to a headline slot at the most acclaimed festival in the world. If the rumours are correct, Stormzy will be joined by The Cure and Paul McCartney as headliners at next years festival. Both acts are ones which have had stellar musical careers spanning over decades. Numerous iconic albums and years upon years of touring has given The Cure legendary status in the industry and opting for Paul McCartney as a headliner needs no further explanation. Of course, the remaining two headlining slots are subject to change, but the aforementioned would be two very deserving additions.
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Stormzy will headline Glastonbury Festival's Friday night in 2019. |
You can probably see where I'm going with this. Don't get me wrong, Stormzy has had a couple of years that have been nothing short of incredible. An outstanding debut album and sheer determination has earnt Stormzy a huge following. It must also be said, Stormzy has had a hugely important part to play in the popularity surge of grime music over the last two or three years. But I can't help but think that the decision to have Stormzy headline Glastonbury in 2019 is a truly questionable one.
I'd be a fool to say that Stormzy doesn't deserve this moment, but from a logical perspective, the decision makes very little, if any sense. His debut album 'Gang Sings & Prayer' was released in 2017, with no further material being released since. To put things into perspective, both Arctic Monkeys and Oasis had to release more than one album to top the Pryamid Stage- arguably the two biggest British bands of a generation, both of whom received more mainstream interest on release of their debut albums. In fact, I distinctly remember controversy running rife when Arctic Monkeys did eventually headline off the back of their second album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'. The main talking point being that they wouldn't have enough big songs to fill a headline set, which would typically last over and hour and a half. If you were to play 'Gang Signs & Prayer' in full, it only runs for 58 minutes and 47 seconds. Not even an hour of musical content.
No argument can be made that there are no other options to chose from. You only need to look at a list of iconic acts that have never headlined Glastonbury for you to be as confused as I am at the decision to book Stormzy. The Libertines, The Strokes, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, Green Day, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Queens of the Stone Age, Pearl Jam, Eminem. The list goes on. All hugely successful acts with decades of success and dedicated fan-bases. Whether you like these acts or not, no one can honestly say that Stormzy deserves the nod over any of them. All of the aforementioned are also established headliners who have topped the bill at numerous world-renowned festivals and are well overdue a headline slot at Glastonbury. Then, there's bands like The Verve, who had to wait decades for their chance to headline. Step ahead a few years and you have the likes of Kendrick Lamar, The 1975, Foals and Bring Me The Horizon who are all more than capable to fill the slot and actually have a sufficient back catalogue of material to fill the set.
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Red Hot Chilli Peppers are just one of a long list of iconic bands to have never headlined Glastonbury. |
One argument I can make in Stormzy's defense is that it is, without a doubt, the perfect time for a grime headliner at Glastonbury Festival. However, that brings me onto my next point. If grime music should be given the recognition it deserves by having an act headline the biggest music festival in the world, then why not give it to someone who's paved the way in the genre for multiple years. In my opinion, the mainstream success Skepta and Boy Better Know brought the genre before Stormzy announced his arrival deserves to be recognised. There's no doubt in my mind that a Boy Better Know headline set at Glastonbury would make a bit more sense, or even Skepta on his own. They have the material to play a much longer set and are arguably regarded higher critically.
 |
Boy Better Know could arguably be a more logical choice. |
People will always criticise decisions on festival headliners, particularly attendees at Glastonbury. This was the case when both Kanye West and Jay-Z were announced as headliners in their respective years. Conceivably, perhaps, the two biggest solo acts of black origin to grace the music industry, not to mention the most successful. Festival goers were up in arms when both were announced in previous years, despite both of them being world-renowned acts worthy of any headline slot, having both been producing music for decades. So, can Stromzy be deemed a justifiable headline act after just a couple of years of success?
I regard Stromzy very highly from a musical perspective and respect him as an artist. However, I feel that opting for the MC as a headliner off the back of one year of mainstream success is a massive kick in the teeth to artists who have been waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime. Focusing more on success accrued over a long career should be prioritised over success accrued in the past two years, from a booking perspective. A sub-slot or a headline slot on the other stage would be acceptable, but the decision to have him headline the entire festival seems a ludicrous one. That's just my opinion.
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