The show was packed with special guests and a very excited crowd as Eilish herself had to stop the show four times and ask the crowd to calm down.

Amongst the guests was London-based rapper, singer and producer Labrinth who came out to perform their collaborative track, ‘Never Felt So Alone’ from Labrinth’s album Ends & Begins, released earlier this year.

Eilish wasn’t done with special guest appearances however as super group Boygenius took to the stage after wowing audiences at Gunnersbury Park just over a week ago (August 20) to perform ‘When the Party’s Over’, a single from Eilish’s first album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Another angle of boygenius performing When The Party’s Over with Billie Eilish at her show tonight!! pic.twitter.com/v3vO7CLSd3

— phoebe on tour (@bridgersontour) August 29, 2023

Her set comprised of huge fan-favourite singles such as ‘Bad Guy’ and ‘Happier Than Ever’ but she also performed rarities for the crowd such as ‘My Boy’ and ‘Wish You Were Gay’.

It wasn’t such a straight forward show however, as three songs into her set she stopped mid-performance during ‘Therefore I Am’ two times in order to encourage the crowd to check on the crowd amid crowd crushing, urging security to give out water to the crowd. “Can we get some water for these folks? Like where is security? Am I security now?” she frustratingly exclaimed to the audience.

The show was marred with crowd and security concerns from Eilish as she repeatedly addressed her frustration to the crowd by saying: “I haven’t played a small venue in literally six years. I’ve forgotten how to do this… I’m having an anxiety attack right now,” later following this up by adding “This felt like a good idea… Once. You guys look like you’re gonna die, take a step back.”

Her frustrations with security did not stop there as later on in the set she was still not happy as she addressed the crowd once more: “No one is answering me,”. She later had a break in the set to allow security to give out water and to provide a break for the excitable crowd, saying to the crowd: “Who needs an inhaler? I feel like I’m babysitting. Do you feel ok for me to keep going?”.

The intimate show was a surprise one that was only announced 3 days prior, in between her headlining sets at Reading and Leeds festival. Unsurprisingly, tickets for the show sold out instantly and fans were clearly fanatic about seeing a megastar such Billie Eilish at such a small venue.

Glastonbury, never shy to give free speech a microphone, has already seen many of it’s artists use their opportunity onstage to voice their anger and frustration. With Olivia Rodrigo, Lily Allen, Phoebe Bridgers and IDLES already stepping up to the plate, it’s likely that the remainder of the iconic weekend will be smattered with impassioned speeches of protest. Notably Olivia Rodrigo brought Lily Allen on stage for a fervent duet of the British singer songwriter’s 2009 song “Fuck You” addressed specifically to the 5 justices of the Supreme Court. Having invited Allen onstage, Rodrigo addressed the situation by saying “I’m devastated I’m terrified and so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this. I wanted to dedicate this song to the five members of the supreme court, who showed us that at the end of the day they truly don’t give a shit about freedom” as reported by the NME. She then introduced the hit song with “This song goes out to the justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barret, and Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you.” You can watch the moment here:

olivia rodrigo: “so many women and so many girls are gonna die because of this” no sugarcoating at all! as it SHOULD BE! and then proceeding to call out the 5 members of the Supreme Court!! pic.twitter.com/rv3R6p39Cu

— caro (@jelousyliv) June 25, 2022

Watching their feverishly brilliant set back on iPlayer, the acclaimed Bristolion band IDLES also made a stand, with frontman Joe Talbot speaking out against the overturning of Roe vs Wade during their performance yesterday on the Park Stage. Dedicating the song “Mother” from their debut album Brutalism to the open minded, Talbot said “Of course, this is for every mother and every woman and her right to choose whether she is a mother or not. Long live the open-minded, long live my mother, and long live every single one of you.”

You can catch all of the performances from Glastonbury 2022 on BBC iPlayer here.

Having already announced Echo & The Bunnymen as the openers for their Liverpool show as part of their 6oth anniversary tour, this new announcement only piles on to the excitement. The performance on June 25^th will be supported by The War On Drugs, Phoebe Bridgers, Kelly McGrath, Vista Kicks and JJ Rosa, and the July 3^rd show will be supported by Sam Fender, Courtney Barnett, The Flints, The Dinner Party and blues guitarist and singer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.

For this tour, The Rolling Stones have made a necessary line-up alteration in light of the recent passing of drummer Charlie Watts. Veteran drummer Steve Jordan, who has previously performed with the likes of Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton and the John Mayer trio will perform in Watts’ stead on this tour. Jordan previously joined the Stones on their US tour last year when Watts initially stepped down from the role.

As we’ve already hammered home, the openers for these Hyde Park performances are enough to get any indie rock fan doing cartwheels. There’s a lot to discuss with the recent activity of these bands and artists, but to cover the basics; The War on Drugs released their fantastic fifth album I Don’t Live Here Anymore last year in late October, receiving widespread critical acclaim. You can check out the title track down below.

Indie sensation Phoebe Bridgers has been busy with several projects since the release of her emotionally stirring 2020 sophomore album Punisher, including a contribution to The Metallica Blacklist with a cover of “Nothing Else Matters” and an appearance on Taylor Swift’s re-recorded second album Red (Taylor’s Version) on “Nothing New”. Most recently, Bridgers released a new song entitled “Sidelines” which you can listen to below.

Sam Fender, as anyone and everyone might know by now, has been making waves with his stunning 2021 debut Seventeen Going Under, and Courtney Barnett recently released her third studio album Things Take Time, Take Time in November of last year, to largely favourable reception from critics and fans alike. You can listen to the title track from Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under, and “Rae Street” from Courtney Barnett’s Things Take Time, Take Time down
below.

https://t.co/JxJvRWrgDS pic.twitter.com/SDUySCrzwZ

— traitor joe (@phoebe_bridgers) March 7, 2022

The North American run of the Reunion Tour includes a slew of dates April to August – and makes stops in Atlanta, Washington D.C., Brooklyn, Seattle. Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Registration is open now and closes Tuesday, March 8 at 12pm EST. Verified Fan Presale begins Thursday, March 10th at 12pm local time. $1 of every headline show ticket sold will be donated to The Mariposa Fund, fiscally sponsored by The West Fund, which helps pay for undocumented people trying to obtain reproductive health services, including abortion. The UK dates however come through a little more sporadically. With a handful of festival appearances at the likes of Glastonbury, and Latitude, the headline shows have seemingly been built around them. A date at London’s Brixton Academy comes in July after Latitude, whereas the Barrowlands night comes a month earlier just preceding Glastonbury. You can look into the verified fan presale here, and check out general tour details here.

During the premiere of her latest radio show, amongst all the hype that had been generated regardless, Bridgers fans were treated to a haunting cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘when the party’s over’. Accompanied by a notably glum solo piano, and some sparse backing vocals, the cover takes Eilish’s track and does what every great cover does; maintain the original scope of the song while also adding a fundamentally unique and personal slant. The result is exactly how good as it sounds. Phoebe Bridgers taking on Billie Eilish. It’s great. Bridgers then took the performance and released it on SoundCloud for all to hear, you can check that out here.

See below the UK dates of the tour:

22/6/22 – Barrlowland – Glasgow
24/6 – Glastonbury – Somerset
26/6 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
22/7 – Latitude – Suffolk
23/7 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
26/7 – O2 Brixton Academy – London

Photo Credits: Carter Howe

Your first @cinchuk presents Latitude 2022 announcement is finally here!

We’ve got an unforgettable weekend planned for you at Henham
Park! Full details here (https://t.co/NKGTzCYnvQ)#cinchxlatitude pic.twitter.com/K6o0rT6R99

— Latitude Festival (@LatitudeFest) March 1, 2022

So far, the organizers have not revealed any information on the days each artist will perform, but I imagine all of the relevant information will come as we near the on-sale date. To get on top of all of the relevant information you can sign up here. Until then, however, we have been given the stage splits. Alongside our headliners, the Obelisk Arena (which I will refer to as the main stage) will also see the likes of American breakthrough singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, mercury prize nominee Little Simz, and Rina Sawayama whose recent collaboration with Charli XCX took fans by storm. The main stage will also see the likes of a few more… let’s say old-school bands, with Manic Street Preachers, Modest Mouse, and Shed Seven all making appearances. It’d be unreasonable to put Lewis Capaldi on a lineup and not include James Arthur, just as any festival of this calibre needs a hit-filled set of bangers from someone like Example.

Next, we see the BBC Sounds Stage and its slightly different approach to selecting the tunes. With headlining slots by the one and only Phoebe Bridgers, dance-duo Groove Armada bring their mesmerizing energy to the tent, and Fontaines D.C. will be taking their new record Skinty Fia for a spin soon after its April release date. Appearances from Kae Tempest, Cavetown, Maximo Park, Porridge Radio, and a significant chunk of others should provide for most people with even a mild interest in music.

The Sunrise Arena will feature the likes of Let’s Eat Grandma, cktrl, and KEG to possibly introduce you to your favourite new band of the year, the Comedy tent is proud to announce its first headliner as Russel Howard; with additional appearances from The Horne Section, Rosy Jones, and David O’Doherty to name a few. And, according to the festival itself, “It wouldn’t be Latitude without an eclectic range of names from the worlds of dance, poetry, podcasts and more.”  So expect a whole host of other talks, events, meetings, and activities over the course of the weekend.

Via: @jamieoborne #the1975 pic.twitter.com/Mm3055l5oB

— The 1975 News (@the1975_mfc) January 4, 2022

However, that wasn’t all. Later that same day, The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy released a video on Instagram, which showed “black-and-white footage … [with] Healy strumming an acoustic guitar as instruments and recording equipment are set up around him“. According to NME, both Oborne and Healy’s posts seem to come from the same studio.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Matty (@trumanblack)

Rumours of a new album have been around for a while, with Healy joking about their “making another ‘classic record’” all the way back in August. Also, Healy has been teasing his audience with new material, playing two unreleased songs in an acoustic set last October, surprising fans at a Phoebe Bridgers concert in LA. One of the new songs was reportedly called “New York“.

Healy has also been releasing new artwork on his social media over the past few months alongside the band’s long-term collaborator, art director Samuel Burgess-Johnson. And The 1975 have been active in certain political arenas as well, supporting the organisation Music Declares Emergency, saying in a statement last October that “This November, the fate of the planet will be decided at COP26, The UN Climate Change Conference. We are proud to be supporting Music Declares Emergency and their #NOMUSICONADEADPLANET campaign as they fight to ensure a greener future for all. “

The band also designed and released a new charity shirt to further support the organisation. Their design came “in black and white t-shirt variations as well as on a white hoodie”, and “is based around their rectangle logo, bearing the ‘No Music On A Dead Planet’ slogan alongside the words: “The 1975 for MDE.“ Other artists that helped out with designs include Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, as well as graphic designer Peter Saville, well known for his part in designing record sleeves for the likes of Joy Division and New Order.

The band don’t seem to be doing any touring in the near future, but you can still get some of their merch on their website over here in anticipation of the new release. So, concert or no concert, there’s still something for fans of the group to look forward to in the coming months.

The festival took to Instagram to announce news of the line-up confirmations, each act was announced in separate posts. Within one of the posts, NOS Alive celebrated the return of  ‘What You Know‘ performers Two Door Cinema Club to the event.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NOS Alive (@nos_alive)

The festival will take place between 6th-9th July 2022. After two cancellations, including this year, music fans will again flock to the festival’s location Passeio Marítimo de Algés in Portgual.

The latest acts to be confirmed include English indie rockers Alt-J and Two Door Cinema Club, both acts were previously announced within the 2021 line-up and will be honouring their billing within the 2022 event. Ticket holders will get to see Mercury Prize winners Alt-J perform on the second day, 7th July 2022. The group bagged the award in 2012 for their debut album ‘An Awesome Wave’. Irish rockers and NME award nominees, Two Door Cinema Club are set to perform on the event’s last day, 9th July 2022.

Also included within the recent line-up announcement was singer St. Vincent. The Grammy award winner will perform on the Sagres Stage and her set will be on the festival’s third day, 8th July 2022. Ticketholders will be treated to the singer’s classics as well as material from her newest album ‘Daddy’s Home’, released 14^th May 2021. The artist known as Annie Erin Clark won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album for her 2014 album ‘St. Vincent’. Accelerating her accolade further, St. Vincent was the first woman to win the award in 20 years. Before her 2015 win, the last female to win the category was Sinead O’Connor in 1991 with her second album ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’.

The festival, which was once ranked within the top 12 European festivals by NME, has been running for over 14 years. NOS Alive was first organised under the different name of Oeiras Alive! In 2007 with an explosive line-up of Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins and Beastie Boys. The next year, the festival’s name changed again to Optimus Alive!, the 2008 event saw a range of headline acts, Rage Against the Machine, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. The festival was named its current title of NOS Alive in 2014 and premiered the new name with a superb headline list of Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys and Indie darlings The Libertines. The event’s name is seemingly taken from the festival’s main sponsor, the telecommunications company NOS, which was also previously named Optimus

The full line-up includes Alt-J, Caribou, Da Wesel, Dino D’Santiago, Faith No More, Hobo Johnson, Imagine Dragons, Inhaler, Metallica, Manel Cruz, Parcels, Parov Stelar, Phoebe Bridgers, Royal Blood, St. Vincent, Seasick Steve, Tom Misch, The Lovemakers and Two Door Cinema Club.

Click here to purchase tickets.

The music-video stars Paul Mescal from the widely popular Irish television series Normal People airing on BBC. Bridgers makes multiple appearances throughout the music video as well, but the real savior of the short would be the small dog that moves the story forward.

The music video for “Savior Complex” by @phoebe_bridgers is here Directed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, starring @mescal_paul & Charlotte.
https://t.co/AUdOunhLCU pic.twitter.com/c0CXwoSgZj

— Dead Oceans (@DeadOceans) December 1, 2020

In keeping with Waller-Bridge’s and Bridgers’ style, the music video is indie and cryptic in all black-and-white film. The video begins with a con-man in the grip of thievery and darkness who is being stalked by a small Pomeranian dog.  

The persistence of the dog slowly begins to cleanse the con-man of corruption and brings out the humanity still left within him. By the end, the dog leaves the man behind but seemingly takes on the burden of deceit. The dog is a representation of the savior complex and is a warning of the unhealthy habits of those who take on the burdens of others.      

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Phoebe Bridgers (@_fake_nudes_)

This abstract video in not the first time Waller-Bridge has worked in the music industry. She is most known for the widely popular tv series Fleabag, which catapulted her into stardom as one of the most influential and sought after writers of the last 5 years. However, Waller-Bridge has collaborated with her sister Isobel who is a renowned composer and her brother is also a prominent figure as a music manager.

Waller-Bridge, Londoner, was named in Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2020 and has received multiple Brit Awards, Emmy’s and Golden Globes for her writing, acting and producing achievements.

Bridgers, Californian, has also received high critical acclaim for her work in music, just recently receiving 4 Grammy nominations for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Music Album. Her most recently published album Punisher was released June 18th, 2020 and has skyrocketed her popularity in the UK as it reached #6 in the UK charts this summer.

New Phoebe and @IsobelWB for the #takeamoment4mind charity pic.twitter.com/sQAbGgnLz7

— Phoebe Waller-Bridge Source (@phoebewallerbr1) November 4, 2020

Both Bridgers and Waller-Bridge are celebrated figures in the UK and their collaboration comes from the pleas made by fans to see them work together. The English writer and American singer exchanged emails over the Covid-19 isolation and decided to grant the wishes of their devotees.

Savior Complex is available on Facebook at this time, the link can be found here. Bridgers latest album Punisher is available for streaming on all platforms and Waller-Bridge has been working on contributing to the upcoming James Bond film No Time to Die which will be released in 2021.

Oh my gosh I can’t believe I’m finally saying this man, I’m tearing up a bit as I write this…can’t wait for you to hear it!!! The vid for green eyes will be out at 7pm. So much news! I’m so fkin pumped You can pre-order my album now!! https://t.co/TBcIrJT1Lu

— Arlo Parks (@arloparks) October 20, 2020

According to a press release, Parks’ album is “a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia – I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific.” When asked by Gigwise what inspires her songs, she declared “My friends, flowers, after-parties, living rooms, parks, beaches and long drives.” Somewhere in these remarkably eloquent and intentional descriptions, you have the full picture of what Parks is capable of.

Latest single ‘Green Eyes’ borrows the talented vocals of US singer and all-round legend Clairo, and their combined voices and Parks’ incredible song-writing is breath-taking at points. ‘Green Eyes’ is sort of a bit dreamy, hazy, indie, a bit beats-driven and chill, and even a bit early 2000s pop all at once. Lyrically, it is nothing short of poetic. Parks delves into her early and bittersweet romantic memories, and her experience of her sexuality growing up. “Of course I know why we lasted two months / Could not hold my hand in public” is heart-wrenching.

Parks is not exactly known for shying away from complicated and potentially heavy subject matter. ‘Black Dog’, the first single from the album now known as Collapsed In Sunbeams, presents the realities of mental illness with stark and tragic honesty. She has been called the “voice of a generation” multiple times, a description which Parks takes seriously. Without becoming hung up on the term ‘gen-z’, it’s true that Parks, like many of her contemporaries, carries a weight in her song-writing that seems to derive from any combination of social media, mental health awareness and the specific experience of being a teenager in the last decade.

Arlo Parks has had a crazy busy year. Some highlights include: putting out three amazing singles and a string of moving covers, embarking on her first headline tour, winning the AIM Independent Music Award for One to Watch, winning over almost every radio DJ and working on some incredible collaborations. The latest of these include her recent appearance on Glass Animals’ live stream for a new version of ‘Tangerine’, and her Radio 1 Live Session with Phoebe Bridgers, recorded in a church. Just recently, she shared her first cover in French for Deezer’s InVersions mixtape (Park’s mother is French, so she considered it a special moment).

When Parks embarked on 2020, she was fresh out of her A-Levels, ready to headline a tour and generally right on the edge of something great. Despite, well, everything, this year has truly been hers. When New Year rolls around, she will be set to release her debut album and we can expect her to well and truly take off.

In addition to ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, Bridgers and Parks produced a beautiful performance of ‘Kyoto’, one of the lead singles from Punisher, which was released earlier this year. It has become a firm fan favourite, and Bridgers is cultivating something of a cult following.

Bridgers predominantly leads the vocals in these two covers, while Parks accompanies on the piano, but the occasional harmonisation of their two voices is completely ethereal. The collaboration has been described as everything from “tender” to “fragile”. Parks herself tweeted that she had loved working with Bridgers and that she was in awe of her “angel voice”. The church venue only contributes to the incredible atmosphere that the two create, with nothing more than two voices, a piano and a skeleton onesie.

In fact, Parks and Bridgers have been running in the same circles for a while now; just recently, Parks covered ‘Moon Song’ from Punisher for her ‘Lo-Fi Lounge’ Series. You can watch her rendition below. A further circularity: this is not even Parks’ first high-profile Radiohead cover. She recorded and released ‘Creep’ for the soundtrack of the film Shy Radicals, which will screen at film festivals later this year. Although she doesn’t sing much of ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, her unique, beautiful voice completely reinvigorates ‘Creep’, the one Radiohead song that you might have thought you’d heard every variation of by now!

Parks talked about choosing ‘Creep’, calling the song “a simultaneously delicate and brutal exploration of inner turmoil and human relationships. This song has acted as a refuge for me, during times of self-reflection and low mood, for many years and Radiohead as a band has deeply influenced my music.”

She talks about all of her work with the same invaluable insight. Describing her latest single, ‘Hurt’, she told NME: “‘Hurt’ surrounds the possibility of healing from pain and the temporary nature of suffering … it is supposed to uplift and comfort those going through hard times.”

Generally, Arlo Parks has had a busy summer. When ‘Hurt’ was released last month, it premiered as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record.  Earlier today she shared a post online about how grateful she was for the enthusiastic reception of it; this came in the wake of it being named Greg James’ song of the week this week, as well as occupying a spot on the 6 Music B-list.

The reaction to Hurt has been so completely uplifting and honestly made me feel so special – I’m excited to announce that it is king @gregjames‘s tune of the week PLUS on the B list @BBC6Music – thank u to everyone for believing in me and my work. pic.twitter.com/97IoZ5BRAu

— Arlo Parks (@arloparks) September 7, 2020

These two special covers, ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ and ‘Kyoto’ feel somehow hopeful, after a summer of postponed album releases and digital festivals. Although we’re all desperate for those things to get back to normal, Parks and Bridgers, amongst others, have spent this time showing us a different way to enjoy music, through covers and collaborations and live streams. As listeners and fans, it feels like there is no greater pleasure than having the music world dominated by artists who are so in love with their jobs that they talk this eloquently and produce music of this quality and completely refresh the songs we love most.