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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Lifestyle
El Hunt,Robbie Griffiths,Katrina Mirpuri and Vicky Jessop

Glastonbury 2024, the Sunday round-up: from Shania Twain to SZA

Once more, for a final day on Worthy Farm, here’s the final of our daily round-ups from Glastonbury: Britain’s biggest festival.

Early-doors singalongs

There aren’t many benefits to playing at 11.15am on Sunday morning, but The Zutons found one as they started the day off on the Other stage. The bars weren’t open yet, which meant charismatic frontman Dave McCabe praised the gradually swelling crowd for clapping in time – something that gets more loose later in the day as the ciders kick in. The Liverpool-born band put on a surprisingly emotional set: despite a raucous festival sound and a hits-heavy first album, they hadn’t played Glastonbury in 16 years, mostly due to various interpersonal issues – something McCabe coyly referred to. Having pulled it together for a return, they were visibly made up. Their penultimate tune, Valerie, is indelibly connected with sadly departed friend of Glasto Amy Winehouse, thanks to her classic cover. The original sounded as great as it did when it came out all those years ago. Robbie Griffiths

A milestone moment

Playing by far her most prominent festival slot yet, Rachel Chinouriri seemed visibly nervous as she played an early doors set on the Other stage – the second-biggest on Worthy Farm. The Ivor Novello-winning 25-year-old’s voice shook at first as she tried to convey her happiness, but she soon settled in, making a substantial number of the crowd cry (maybe even this rather fragile writer, who can say?) with two devastatingly beautiful songs about grief. She dedicated Robbed – originally written about her niece, who died when she was just six days old – to the Palestinian people, and followed it up with the equally raw So My Darling. Even Chinouriri ended up having a cry onstage: “This is so embarrassing,” she said, laughing. By now, she was completely at home on the huge stage, and ended on a high with a cover of Estelle’s American Boy, and her danciest song, Never Need Me. El Hunt

The (hangover) cure

Over in Woodsies, up-and-coming Irish shoegaze band NewDad played their unique brand of dreamy pop to the sleepy early afternoon crowds. If the number of personalised flags being shown are any indication, this band is going places – and, when they rounded things off with a cover of The Cure’s Just Like Heaven, we were sold. Vicky Jessop

Wool they, won’t they?

It’s a fine line between raiding the dressing-up cabinet to swaggering on stage a rockstar, and, well, looking a bit silly. Tim Booth, frontman for Nineties anthem merchants James, straddled that divide in a massive grey woolly hat and matching fur cardigan for the band’s afternoon set on the Other stage. But Booth won over the audience with his warm vocals and some crowd surfing, before playing one of Glastonbury 2024’s biggest people pleasers in Sit Down. Hands waved in the air in appreciation. The set finished with Sometimes, acting as a balm to soothe anyone feeling vulnerable from the weekend’s revelries. Robbie Griffiths

Can we kick it?

Musician and actress Janelle Monàe performs on the Pyramid Stage during day five of Glastonbury Festival (Leon Neal / Getty Images)

After Shania Twain’s legends set – read our full review of the yee-haw-filled classics set here – some music fans felt like a break to watch the England men’s football team in their nail-bitingly tense comeback win over Slovakia. It wasn’t shown on the main stages, so as not to upset the line-up, but screens were set up round the site, and enthusiasts gathered round – probably impacting Janelle Monáe’s audience. One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson was spotted watching the game with a big group, on a TV he brought in himself. When Jude Bellingham’s stunning overhead kick saved the nation’s bacon, Glastonbury did what it does best: a singalong, to The Beatles classic Hey Jude. Sadly, unlike the past two festivals, Paul McCartney wasn’t in attendance this year to lead. Robbie Griffiths

Over on the Other stage, English rock band Nothing But Thieves broke out their biggest hits for the swaying afternoon crowds. “We’ve been on the road for a few weeks,” singer Conor Mason roared as the set wrapped up, “and we’re gonna get pished!” Vicky Jessop

My Precious

Hollywood’s finest Cate Blanchett caused hearts to flutter all weekend, as she was spotted in different locations around the farm. And Blanchett was on stage at the Pilton Palais cinema on Sunday afternoon, doing a Q&A about her 2007 film I’m Not There (in which she played a slightly more feminine Bob Dylan). Blanchett revealed that she is open to returning as elf queen Galadriel in an upcoming Lord Of The Rings Gollum spin-off, if director Andy Serkis asked her. Serkis was somewhere else on the site, so may have had an opportunity to pop the question in person. Watch this space… Robbie Griffiths

Surprise, surprise!

Strummerville is clearly the place to be for secret sets this year. After Fred Again.. made a surprise appearance there on Friday, singer Olivia Dean took to the stage for a 45-minute gig where she ran through some of her biggest hits (with a rather hoarse voice) to those who had made the trek up the hill to the venue. “Did anybody come and see me on Friday?” she asked the crowd, referring to her Pyramid Stage debut earlier in the weekend. “That was f**ked-up crazy.” But good news for her faithful fans: “This is even better than Friday.” Aww. Vicky Jessop

Avril Lavigne performing on the Other Stage (PA)

Avril shuts down the Other Stage

Pop-punk royalty Avril Lavigne played the Other Stage at 6pm to an audience that was happy to bask in nostalgia. Lavigne belted out hits such as Complicated and Girlfriend while doing gleeful laps of the stage. “I can’t believe it’s taken me 22 years to play Glastonbury,” she told the huge, 70,000-strong crowd. Better late than never! The area ended up being closed off to newcomers for crowd-safety reasons. Katrina Mirpuri

Do you want it all?

It’s been a stressful day to be a steward at the Other Stage. After Avril came Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club, who kept the crowd going by belting out hit after hit after hit in the fading afternoon light. Undercover Martyn, Changing of the Seasons, I Can Talk… they were all present and correct, and we lapped up every second. Indie rock bliss. Vicky Jessop

Burna Boy performing on the Pyramid Stage (PA)

Victory for England! And Burna Boy!

After an England win in the football, Nigerian star Burna Boy hosted a victory party on the main stage, instructing everyone to take their shirts off and wave them over their heads during his tune Ye. He’d sold out the London Stadium the night before, but showed no sign of flagging as he brought the spirit of Burna’s Saloon to the farm, starting the set with Location, his hit with UK rapper Dave.

Ahead of his set, Janelle Monáe played to a sparser-than-expected crowd, numbers possibly hit by the double whammy of the footie, and Avril. At one point, the musician wore a giant flower costume, and made a speech in defence of “marginalised people”. Robbie Griffiths

A headliner misstep?

On the Pyramid stage, US R&B act SZA played to another sparse crowd, with the numbers hit by the Sunday night exodus off-site, a slim back catalogue, and more widely known acts booked at the same time elsewhere on site. El Hunt

SZA performing on the Pyramid stage (PA)

Party people

Glastonbury’s new South Asian space, Arrivals, drew in hungry party crowds after headline acts wrapped up. The Shangri-La venue scheduled the best of South Asian talent with highlights coming from DJ Anish Kumar and the renowned collective Daytimers to close out the stage on Sunday night. Katrina Mirpuri

Matt Berninger of The National performing on the Other stage (PA)

Away from the Pyramid

Across the site, there were an eclectic bunch of Sunday headliners for anyone not in the mood for SZA. Moody US rockers The National flew the flag for guitar music, as magnetic lead singer Matt Berninger wended his way around the stage, stretching his mike lead as he explored. On the West Holts stage, Justice brought out the bright lights for people who still had the energy to D.A.N.C.E., while James Blake gave a gentler offering on the Woodsies stage. Vicky Jessop

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