Lana Del Rey is an incredibly popular singer/songwriter, so when she was announced as one of the headliners alongside artists like Guns N' Roses and Elton John at the Glastonbury festival in Somerset, England, fans were beyond excited. She hadn’t played the festival in 10 years and has had quite the career amid her time away. Unfortunately, the Born to Die artist was a half an hour late for her performance, resulting in her sound being cut off at midnight and her set cut short. Fans were incredibly disappointed -- not with the artist but with the venue.
Not only was the singer’s sound cut off, but Lana Del Rey had to be escorted off of the stage after trying to continue her show this weekend at the Glastonbury Music Festival. Fans were very upset that they did not get to watch the full extent of the planned set, especially because before she was forced to stop, the “Norman F**king Rockwell” singer was giving an incredible performance. One fan tweeted:
Can’t believe they cut Lana Del Rey sound @glastonbury before finishing set, best Glasto performance I’ve seen for years. InsanityJune 24, 2023
Many were confused why "Snow on the Beach" collaborator’s set was cut off in general, as one fan alleges there were still other artists playing on the other stages at the festival:
Cannot believe @glastonbury cut off Lana Del Rey set. I know she was late, but they still have music sets playing. Lana's set was the best set at Glastonbury in years and to cut her off like that. Disgraceful @glastonbury . #LanaDelRey #glastonbury2023June 24, 2023
Another commentator echoed this sentiment, adding that she was the last show of the night, with no other artist set to follow her:
I’m sorry but using “curfews”, “fines” and “being late” as an acceptable excuse for RUDELY cutting #LanaDelRey off like that is bullshit when the other stages are still performing. There was no one after her, and her set was almost done anyway. What the fuck man. #GlastonburyJune 24, 2023
One fan pointed out that the songstress' tardiness wasn’t an isolated development, as the venue had allegedly been running late all day. In one fan's eyes, it wasn’t fair to uniquely punish the “Summertime Sadness” singer for not being punctual:
In #LanaDelRey’s defence, the whole stage has been running about 30 mins late all day. Cutting her off was very unfair.June 24, 2023
Another fan also suggested that there may have been a hint of sexism in cutting the Grammy nominee off, as this apparently hadn’t been done with male artists that ran late over the weekend:
Genuinely don’t think they would do this to a male artist. Lots of sets have run late this weekend and no one else has been cut off #Glastonbury #LanaDelRey https://t.co/clUN95hOpdJune 25, 2023
This is all just speculation, but one can see why fans are so upset, especially if the venue was truly running late all day. While a half an hour late isn’t nothing, it isn’t half as crazy as Frank Ocean being over an hour late to his Coachella performance back in April. Lana Del Ray tried to make the most of it by singing acapella until she was truely forced to leave. She apologized for her tardiness, citing her hair as a reason for the delay. While some fans may have been upset that this was her excuse, people on Twitter felt differently, saying that this was all wonderfully on-brand for Del Rey:
Lana Del Rey is too real, late cause she’s doing her hair, stops singing to have a vape and now literally won’t leave. Me af!!!June 24, 2023
While this may be one of the biggest stories coming out of Glastonbury, the music festival has had quite a week. The Arctic Monkeys originally had to pull out due to lead singer Alex Turner being sick, yet he recovered just in time and was able to hit the stage. Lizzo also reportedly killed it, attracting one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, despite not being a headliner. Guns N’ Roses surprisingly showed up on time, and John Wick 4 newcomer Rina Sawayama made headlines when she criticized Taylor Swift-ex Matty Healy on stage. It’s not Glastonbury without some drama and surprises, and 2023's iteration of the eventy did not disappoint.
When Lana Del Rey isn’t headlining music festivals, she is providing iconic movie songs for major motion pictures like The Great Gatsby, Big Eyes, and Maleficent, which is available with a Disney+ subscription. In addition, music fans wanting to see the rest of the festival can learn how to do so now by checking out our Glastonbury Festival Livestream guide.
