Glastonbury 2020 cancelled - so here's the best performances from 2019 instead

So Glastonbury 2020 is cancelled, but we're not going to let that get us down. Here's some of our favourite sets from 2019 - and perhaps some of the greatest Glasto performances ever.

Date published: 18th Mar 2020

As this year's festival calendar continues to see cancellation after cancellation, it seemed inevitable that our beloved Glastonbury would eventually become another casualty of Coronavirus.

Alas, it has.

While we were all eagerly anticipating performances from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and loads more in 2020, we'll just have to, for this year at least, settle for the best of last year.

And what a year it was, from a barnstorming, era-defining set from Stormzy, to a triumphant turn from Kylie, Glastonbury 2019 was once that will live long in the memory... well, it's gonna have to until 2021.

Here's Skiddle's favourite performances from Glasto '19...

Stormzy

Without doubt, Big Mike well and truly did the business on the Pyramid Stage on the Friday night of Glastonbury 2019, with an incendiary performance high on emotion and packed with massive tunes like 'Shut Up', 'Vossi Bop' and 'Blinded By Your Grace'. Dressed in a now iconic Union Jack bulletproof vest designed by Banksy, Stormzy stole the show and the headlines, with one of the finest performances of not just that weekend, but in living memory too.

Miley Cyrus

The Tennessee teen star-turned-world conquering, twerking pop siren delivered one of the finest rock and roll shows of the entire weekend at Glastonbury 2019 - much to everyone's surprise. Covering Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Nine Inch Nails, as well as delivering a first class performance as Black Mirror alter ego Ashley O, Miley had plenty of tricks up her sleeve. She opened her set with Mark Ronson, delivering a medley of 'Nothing Breaks Like a Heart' and a cover of Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black', as well as bringing on yet more special guests in the form of her dad Billy Ray, and Lil Nas X, to bring 'Old Town Road' to Glasto for a Sunday afternoon performance that blew many others out of the water.

IDLES

The Park stage witnessed a seriously impressive set from Bristol post-punk rockers IDLES on day three. An emotional performance saw lead singer Joe Talbot briefly consoled on stage by his wife, as the singer came close to tears brought on by the crowd's response. He said: "That was my wife, she’s a nurse in the NHS,” before going on to praise immigrants in the UK, and the NHS itself. He also said that performing at Glastonbury Festival was one of the "most magnificent moments in our lives" and that it was the 'best place in the world'. A truly memorable set.

The Chemical Brothers

Saturday night at the Other Stage was simply one of the greatest places on earth to be as The Chemical Brothers delivered one of the most seismic shows in Glasto history. With visuals that blew your mind into a million pieces, an atmosphere that was untouchable, and some of the finest dance music tracks of all time, everything came together to create a seminal festival moment.

Kylie Minogue

Of course there had to be a mention for the pop princess herself, whose legend slot on Sunday afternoon came fourteen years after she was forced to turn down a 2005 headline slot due to cancer treatment. Kylie's 2019 Glasto set became the most viewed ever on the BBC, and it's not hard to see why. With a glittering performance that saw the Pyramid Stage turn into a dancefloor, the performance was full of hits loved across the globe, including special accompaniment from both Nick Cave and Chris Martin on 'The Wild Roses Grow' and 'Can't Get You out of My Head' respectively. Sheer magic.

Tame Impala

The Aussie psych giants were on fine form on the Friday night at the Other Stage, with a headline slot which saw Kevin Parker and co. bring out the lasers and confetti cannons in abundance. The set gave many fans a taste of forthcoming record The Slow Rush (which eventually dropped in February 2020), with a performance of the spine tingling 'Borderline', along with heaps of others from Innerspeaker to Lonerism and Currents. The triumphant set left a lot of fans wondering why they hadn't been asked to step up to the main stage.

Janelle Monae

With precision choreography, glorious grooves and a celebration of some the most iconic black artists of all time, including Prince, and James Brown, Janelle Monae's West Holts headline slot was a celebration, in her words, of being “young, black, wild and free”. With a 90 minute set, Monae dug deep into her critically acclaimed record Dirty Computer, whilst also denouncing Donald Trump and celebrating the lives and rights of LGBTQI+ people, the working class, disabled people and the black community.

Little Simz

Another artist showcasing an incredible 2019 album on the Park Stage to a rapturous crowd was Little Simz, who performed tracks including '101 FM', 'Selfish', 'Offence', 'Boss' and loads more from her Mercury-nominated record, Grey Area. The London rapper and Top Boy star proved why she is one of the UK's most gifted talents right now, delivering exceptional bars and basslines backed up by a live band. On the back of this performance, we're sure Simz has plenty more Glasto shows ahead of her.

The Streets

Mike Skinner and co's Sunday night headline slot on the John Peel Stage was almost impossible to witness on the day, with swarms of fans flooding the tent way in advance of The Streets entering the stage. As far as live performers go, Skinner is up there, and gently notched up the energy as the gig wore on, creating a special connection with all that were present - no matter how far back. It's clear the Brummie rapper still absolutely loves his job, popping champagne bottles aplenty throughout and giving all the ravers in attendance something to remember.  

Lewis Capaldi

2019's man of the moment Lewis Capaldi had an absolutely enormous Other Stage crowd in the palm of his hand with a Saturday afternoon set that was as sun-drenched as it was tear-jerking. Entering the stage in a parka, as an interview of Noel Gallagher slagging off the Scottish star boomed from two enormous screens either side of the stage, Capaldi then removed the coat to reveal an image of Noel in a love heart on his tshirt - it seemed like the duo's feud was won there and then. What followed was a sensational set that shoved the singer even further up in people's estimations, and added the most meme-able man of the year into Glasto folklore.

Foals

It wouldn't be Glastonbury weekend without a secret set creating fevered whispers around Worthy Farm, and in 2019 it was the turn of Foals to deliver the goods. With two part album Everything That Is Not Saved Will Be Lost dropping across 2019, the Oxford band had plenty of new tunes to go at, and made no hesitation in getting a packed out crowd dancing to their unanimously loved indie anthems past and present. It feels like the band are ready to make the step up to a headline slot on the Pyramid Stage in the coming years, and this set certainly proved both the band's popularity and stage prowess.

Main image: Wikipedia Commons