The final day of Glastonbury has already promised to be the sunniest one, with no rain forecast at all. This means that we’re almost completely guaranteed that the sun will shine gloriously during Dolly Parton’s mid-afternoon ‘legends’ set, as well as for Kasabian’s headline set. As Glastonbury draws to a close, we’ve seen people from all walks of life enjoying what is unarguably the greatest event in the world, as Metallica’s Lars Ulrich put it last night.
Sunday kicked off just after 11am with a raw and grungy set on the John Peel Stage from upcoming trio Darlia, whose set ended with a raucous smashing of guitars in front of a half-full tent. Despite a disappointing crowd, the trio played a very tight set with a lot of promise for the future. As they finished up their set in the tent, it was time for the Dutch Caro Emerald to bring her smooth jazz to the Pyramid Stage. After Emerald, it was time for The Subways to take to the Other Stage in a manic, punk rock filled set which culminated in a muddy crowdsurfing session. Once The Subways were done, it was nostalgia all around in the Park as Barry George’s scores for the Thunderbird series were recreated in the show Thunderbirds Are Go! The show, comprising mainly of smooth jazz and groovy funk, was described by the piece’s composer as a sort of “aural bloody Mary”. Lucy Rose followed this back on the Other Stage with a sweet and serene set to a mild crowd.
With the relaxed mood of the final day in full swing, and many people starting to leave, it was refreshing to see that the John Peel Stage was filled to the rafters for George Ezra’s mid-afternoon set. The 30-minute show, which peaked with a powerful rendition of hit single Budapest, finished with an upbeat Did You Hear the Rain? The Kooks, who were billed as To Be Announced, followed Ezra in the tent as they performed songs from their upcoming album. Opening with recent comeback single Down (showcasing a new, RnB-tinged direction), the group proceeded to play old classics She Moves In Her Own Way, Junk of the Heart and Naïve in and amongst new songs such as Settle Down. It was a memorable set, with the band completely full of energy.
As late afternoon set in, it was time for the Sunday ‘legends’ slot, this year courtesy of country music megastar Dolly Parton. With the Pyramid arena legitimately filled to the rafters, her nostalgic and memorable set included hits such as Jolene, 9 to 5 and set closer I Will Always Love You. Parton also brought Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora as a special guest for a rendition of Lay Your Love On Me. As she finished her set to massive amounts of approval, it was up to The Horrors to prove their worth back on the Other Stage. Aside from that at least 100,000 people were at the Pyramid Stage for Parton, a lot of people had already started heading for home meaning that the crowd this Faris Badwan-fronted group played for was rather on the small side. Set closer I See You made way for a set by Bombay Bicycle Club 30 minutes later, featuring megahit Shuffle as well as a guest appearance from Lucy Rose.
Following this, it was all eyes on the Pyramid Stage as blues rock duo The Black Keys played a set of just over an hour. Their set, which leaned heavily on new album Turn Blue and its predecessor El Camino, featured early highlight Gold on the Ceiling as well as set closer Little Black Submarines. This set showed that the Dan Auerbach-fronted group have exactly what it takes to be a future Pyramid Stage headliner, just like Kasabian. Leicester rockers Kasabian successfully fulfilled the hard task of not only headlining Glastonbury, but also closing it. With a pink visual screen counting down to the start of the show, the band walked onstage and went straight into new single Bumblebee from the album 48:13. With new, reworked versions of older tracks Shoot the Runner and Empire being mixed in and amongst ravey banger Eez-Eh, stadium anthem Stevie and dance track Treat, Kasabian proved exactly why they are one of the best bands in the world at the moment. Closing on L.S.F. in an encore which featured a guest appearance from Noel Fielding (dressed as Vlad the Impaler), the 80,000-strong crowd all remained in front of the stages for a long time after the show had finished, singing the single’s trademark melody. If this Glastonbury set will do anything for Kasabian, it’ll be launching the Tom Meighan-fronted group to the top of the musical stratosphere in regions they would never have expected.
And with that, Glastonbury 2014 was over. Hundreds of stages played host to thousands of fantastic performances, with the best performances coming from the likes of Arcade Fire, Kasabian, Temples, Jungle and Wolf Alice.