From Dr Wigflex to Felix Dickinson, a round-up of the best electronic acts to grace Worthy Farm this year
The cultural seam that runs through Glastonbury, as we all know, runs deep. A festival built on music and community for over 30 years, it’s long been a stalwart of British culture.
This year, Worthy Farm played host to over 200,000 festival-goers. Across the weekend revellers shed tears at a sun-down Elton John performance, swooned at Alex Turner’s hybrid Nashville-Sheffield accent, and took part in early-morning Stone Circle sessions and Piano Bar spin-outs.
While the BBC had you fully covered for all the usual main stage business from the weekend, we want to reflect on the seriously elite league of electronic artists who absolutely shelled it at their sets over various areas and stages from Thursday through to Sunday.
LUKAS WIGLFEX B2B DR BANANA – WOW STAGE, SILVER HAYES
Setting the tone for the mighty weekend ahead, chieftains of that wonky UK sound, Dr Wigflex (AKA Dr Banana and Lukas Wigflex) took to the Silver Hayes WOW stage on Thursday night to do what they do best – get a crowd riled up and dancing from pillar to post. Keeping the pace going with some the most interesting electro sounds we’ve heard in a while, Dr Wigflex’s Glastonbury debut was instantly one for the books and a festival highlight for sure.
SHANTI CELESTE B2B DANIELLE – LEVELS, SILVER HAYES
A new addition to the Silver Hayes area this year, Team Love introduced ‘The Levels’, one of the biggest venues at the festival. On Thursday evening, two top-tier Bristolian huns give us all a crash course in ‘how to pack out a stage in 60 seconds flat’. Shanti Celeste & Danielle eased themselves into an hour and a half of beefy-bangers with “Bread, Butter, Noodles, Spice” by Boulderhead ft Overnight Oates. They went on to deliver a blinder of a set, filled with the kind of bouncy energy you’d expect from them, taking us into the first evening of the festival with a bang.
MIDLAND – NYC DOWNLOW, BLOCK 9
As darkness transcended across the festival, over in the South-East corner, mischief beckoned. Block9, the spawn of two masterminds Gideon Berger and Steven Gallagher, is the beating heart of the festival’s ‘naughty corner’ – and for good reason.
Nestled in the corner of this queer utopia is none other than NYC Downlow: a thing of unadulterated escapism-fuelled beauty. For one weekend only, this legendary institution is the best (and sweatiest) club on the planet. Midland brings to the infamous ‘Meat Rack’ exactly what the queers ordered for a Friday evening of dance and debauchery. With wonky loved-up folk everywhere, this once-a-year phenomenon is a sacred place that should be experienced by all.
Ending a set of biblical proportions with John Rocca’s “I Want It To Be Real (Farley’s House House Piano Mix)”, Midland rounded off the stunning sweat-fest perfectly.
EMERALD B2B OTIK – PLATFORM 23, SHANGRI LA
I’ve still got that reggae edit of Dizzee Rascal’s “Stand Up Tall” in my head. Longstanding Rinse FM resident and presenter Emerald and Bristol-born badman Otik brought the heat while effortlessly treading the line between fun and filth at Platform 23, a relatively new area dedicated to celebrating all things underground.
HODGE – IICON, BLOCK 9
The IICON stage really does need to be seen to be believed. If the sculptural artwork of this stage alone doesn’t take your breath away – never mind the fact that it sounds unreal from all angles and distances – it’s probably time to hang your boots up.
The 65-foot-tall stage that debuted back in 2019 is at the heart of the Block9 area. Following on from IICON icons Batu and Adam Shelton, Hodge came in with relentless bangers from start to finish. With roots in the Bristol dub and garage scene, pure sleaze was on the menu for the evening – with a side order of gun-fingers-in-the-air.
FELIX DICKINSON – GENOSYS, BLOCK 9
I will always see the festival out by watching Felix Dickinson doing what he does best at Genosys on Sunday night and into Monday morning. Cutting his teeth at illegal raves and free parties, it’s quite fitting that Dickinson smashed out his set from the window of a repurposed bus to the last soldiers standing at the festival.
Known for his eclectic music taste, Dickinson certainly met the brief of a weekend-ender set. Delivering squelchy acid aplenty, with a sea of people nearly touching the doors of the Downlow, he saw us all out of the festival in style.