26th June 2022

Glastonbury festival goes so fast. This was already the last day. I had heard that George Ezra was doing a ‘secret set’ on the John Peel Stage. He was the third band playing. I wanted to see him and get up close, so decided to head on over there and watch the previous two bands. I did not want a repeat of Thursday where I had tried to get to see Bastille at Williams Green and failed to even get into Williams Green.

Just Mustard, John Peel 11:15 12:00

I arrived at the John Peel Stage and managed to get to the crowd barrier at the front of the stage, slightly to the right. I should get an excellent view from here. I had to watch Just Mustard play, a band from Dundalk in Ireland.

Sports Team, John Peel 12:30 13:30

The next band was Sports Team, an alternative rock band based in London. They met while they were studying at the University of Cambridge, often playing at the Portland Arms. The lead vocalist Alex Rice managed some crowd surfing and climbing the tent support. A remarkably interesting act.

George Ezra, John Peel 14:00 15:00

Now it was George Ezra. I was slightly pissed off because about 60 George Ezra groupies were herded into the photographers’ pit, with the barrier being moved towards the centre of the stage. My view was now restricted! Damn. His set was fine, I have some reasonable photographs and video of him. There must have been huge crowds outside the tent, because after the show it took me a very long time to get out of the John Peel area.

Six-minute video of the George Ezra show. This features four songs, Budapest, Listen to the Man, Shotgun and Pretty Shining People.

Search for Mary and Ed

Having escaped the mayhem of the John Peel Stage, I decided to meet up with Ed and Mary. Eventually I met them at Williams Green where we had a few drinks. Still tasteless beer, Covid has a lot to answer for. We headed to the Pyramid Stage to see the last few minutes of Elbow playing. It is remarkably easy to get reasonably close by walking down the matting track in the centre, down to the mixing booths. Must remember that for next year.

Elbow, Pyramid Stage 17:45-18:45

The Bootleg Beatles, Acoustic Stage 18:30-19:30

We all headed up to the Acoustic Stage to see the Boot Leg Beatles. After which Ed and Mary had to go to work, so I left for the West Holts stage.

Angélique Kidjo, West Holts 20:00-21:00

Angélique Kidjo is singer-songwriter, actress, and activist. Her musical influences include the Afropop, Caribbean zouk, Congolese rumba, jazz, gospel and Latin styles. This was an excellent performance, and she came into the pit, so was awfully close to me at one stage.

The rest of the evening descended into a blur, with much time spent in the theatre area, watching the walkabout theatre groups.

That was the end of Glastonbury 2022, and on Monday I headed back home with very little delay getting out of the site.