Last night (June 30), American singer-songwriter SZA headlined the Pyramid stage of Glastonbury. As the biggest set at one of the world’s largest festivals, with a capacity of 120,000 people, booking a slot on the Pyramid is one of the most desired jobs for many artists.

Despite being one of the most streamed and successful artists in the world right now, the crowd during her performance was seemingly sparse and, in comparison to some of the other sets during the weekend, not the most energised. As more videos have emerged from the set, many have taken to social media calling it the lowest crowd for a headline set in the festival’s history. But is shifting blame onto the artist fair?

In the 53 years since its inception, Glastonbury has acquired a fairly particular demographic – mainly British festivalgoers who lean towards indie rock heritage artists. Tickets usually go on sale before the lineup is announced, drawing more fans of the festival than of the headlining artists themselves.

Historically, the Sunday crowd are the older cult audience who can afford to stay for the entire weekend. Given the fact that the majority of SZA’s fans are of a younger demographic, it would have made more sense for her to play on Friday or switch sets with Coldplay who headlined on Saturday night. In addition to her microphone experiencing technical difficulties during the start of her performance, her set also clashed with The National on Other Stage, James Blake on Woodsies, and London Grammar on Park Stage – all of whom are popular with the general Glastonbury crowd.

Some have argued that SZA is just not a popular artist in the UK but that idea becomes defunct when considering she has a million monthly Spotify listens in London alone. Last year she sold out for nights at the O2 and less than 24 hours before her Glastonbury set, she headlined British Summertime Hyde Park festival, presented by American Express. Partnering with manifestation and affirmation expert Giselle La Pompe-Moore, during the festival American Express hosted The Amex Experience taking festival-goers through a train-inspired journey with photo experiences against iconic music backdrops, a bar offering exclusive elixir cocktails, and the chance to win prizes.

Debuting a new set and teasing her next album and era, to those who have followed her career closely over the past decade, her BST performance showed SZA at her best and most confident. With a capacity of approximately 65,000, the show was widely well-received. Some fans posted on TikTok stating they bought tickets to the British Summertime Festival because they could not afford to go to Glastonbury to see her. 

Following the bout of criticism, SZA seemingly responded by posting on X (formerly known as Twitter). “The bravery required to be alive in public is remarkable,” she wrote. “S/O to everybody doing that.” Artists are often criticised under a microscope and while those criticisms can be valid and necessary, this is not one of those times.

At the end of the day, she showed up and did her job – and well at that. Anything else is beyond her power, and any disappointment should be directed at those organising. It’s a festival’s responsibility to know its audience and plan accordingly, not the artist.