Elton! Arctic Monkeys! Rick Astley! Glastonbury 2023’s most magical moments on Worthy Farm

Have you had a good night’s sleep yet? Had a shower and opted for a cuppa first thing in the morning instead of a warm cider? Those Glasto habits die hard, after all…

This weekend’s Glastonbury 2023 was suitably bursting at the seams with huge moments: Elton gave us a farewell to remember, the Monkeys made their show and Rick Astley made his pitch to be elected mayor of Worthy Farm. NME was there until the bitter end, and these were our favourite moments…

Words: Jeremy Abbott, Liberty Dunworth, Thomas Smith, Andrew Trendell, Sophie Williams

Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl couldn’t keep away

“You guys fuckin’ knew it was us this whole time,” joked Dave Grohl to the packed-out audience at Pyramid Stage. Maybe so, but that didn’t prevent the cheers from erupting when the identity of mystery band The Churnups was finally revealed.

Despite only being granted an hour-long set, Foo Fighters managed to make the show one of their most memorable performances in recent years. Not only did they deliver blistering renditions of fan favourites ‘All My Life’ and ‘The Pretender’, but they also perfectly balanced it with moments of sentiment, as it marked their first full UK gig since the passing of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins. Grohl would then appear with Pretenders and Guns N’Roses during their sets. (LD)

Arctic Monkeys made the show

“The Monkeys back on the farm. Wow!” It was a miracle, indeed. Just days before their Friday night headline set, frontman Alex Turner was battling acute laryngitis and had cancelled a show in Dublin. The best headliner sets are usually fraught, unknowable in many ways, and even when their stage was being set-up on Friday morning there was still a bit of a question mark over the booking. Dave Grohl was sniffing blood…

Their set was suitably risque and unknowable; they opened with moody rock ballad ‘Sculptures of Anything Goes’ from ‘The Car’, and Turner’s stage presence befuddled the newbies, including a bit of air-bowling during ‘Pretty Visitors’. Social media was divided by Turner’s singing pace (slow, admittedly) and the similarities of the show to their recent UK stadium tour. But when the classics hit – ‘R U Mine?’ and ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ did the tricks – we didn’t witness much mardyness from the Pyramid stage crowd. (TS)

The Chemical Brothers remained Glasto kings

The Chems at Glasto just works. Having been so ingrained in the history of the festival and in its dance music evolution, seeing them in any form here feels special. Already Other Stage heroes, Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands were due to play Arcadia in 2022 before Ed got hit by Covid and they pulled out. Fast forward to 2023 and the brothers came to work it out with a ferocious DJ set atop an even more ferocious spider.

Their DJing felt seamless like the live shows, acid-tinged, Ed dancing while Tom mixed away and worked in samples and screeches from start to finish. New album tracks ‘No Reason’ and ‘All Of A Sudden’ got a workout on the big rig while remixes of their classics like ‘Hey Boy, Hey Girl’ and a teasing of ‘Star Guitar’ got the crowd that skipped the Monkeys, all riled up. Long live the Chems; back on the Pyramid? Let’s not bet against it… (JA)

The perfect musical hangover cures

There are endless possibilities for where Worthy Farm’s late nights can take you – all of them epic, with painful results the next morning when you awake in your baking, fetid tent.

We felt it too, so on Saturday morning we eased the inner hatred away with a blissed-out performance of Max Richter’s ‘The Blue Notebooks’ on The Park Stage featuring readings from Tilda Swinton. Later that night more mistakes were made, so we purified ourselves on Sunday morning by letting Sophie Ellis-Bextor “take us to church” with her banger-filled Kitchen Disco celebration on the Pyramid Stage. Demons, be gone! (AT)

Manic Street Preachers built a bypass straight to our hearts

Considering bassist Nicky Wire once infamously joked that someone should “build a bypass over this shithole” when they first played in 1994, they sure do love coming back. The seventh appearance from the former Pyramid headliners saw them charm the pants off the early evening Saturday Other Stage crowd with classics and curios – from the summer-ready festival anthem ‘A Design For Life’ to the snotty punk of ‘You Love Us’, the European art-rock of ‘Walk Me To The Bridge’, three now-rarely outed cuts from post-punk masterpiece ‘The Holy Bible’ and a surprise appearance of ‘Lifeblood’s lushly sombre ‘1985’ – all they had do was throw some striking duets from The Anchoress, and the day was won. (AT)

Lana was late – but brilliant, too

In the days that have followed Lana Del Rey’s Saturday headline slot on the Other Stage, her sublime performance has been marred around discourse surrounding the fact she was 30 minutes late, and consequently had her set cut short. Yet for fans, being a little messy and untouchable has always been part of Del Rey’s appeal; explaining her tardiness, she said simply that her “hair takes so long”. Bemusing and frustrating in equal measure, it felt like a power move.

But look, it was never going to be easy! We’re talking about an artist that, in a decade-long career, has never even toured the UK. Stepping out of her more controlled public persona, Del Rey’s performance was refreshingly human: she vaped on stage, laughed, forgot the words to the soaring ‘Blue Jeans’, and shared an intense intimacy with the crowd. After her mic was cut at midnight, she ran to the barrier to sing ‘Video Games’ acapella, understanding what she needed to do for the fans to whom these songs mean everything to. (SW)

Despite the headlines, future female stage-toppers shone through

The festival’s male-heavy weighting at the top of the bill came under some heat this year, but it was the rising female acts that truly left their mark, with Lizzo, Nova Twins, The Last Dinner Party, Billy Nomates, CMAT, Maggie Rogers, Carly Rae Jepsen, Weyes Blood, and Becky Hill all among the weekend’s most talked about sets. There are two female headliners already booked for 2024, and expect to see many of these names rise up the line-up in years to come.

As Texas icon Sharleen Spiteri told her Pyramid Stage crowd, organiser Emily Eavis is “a massive supporter” of female talent, “not because she’s ticking a fucking box to have them on the stages,” but “because she thinks we’re fucking amazing”. (AT)

Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul proved alt-pop future stars

The Park has long been a home for the sound of pop that doesn’t play by the rules (and 6 Music Dads, too). A fitting spot for the Belgian-based duo, whose debut album ‘Topical Dancer’ refuses to be boxed-in by what you can or can’t say. Such was the giddiness from the crowd that ‘Thank You’, a sarcastic acknowledgement of unhelpful, back-handed compliments, ended up almost sounding grateful for the Sunday ravers. ‘HAHA”, meanwhile, saw Adigery laugh maniacally, both with joy and sadness; it was a fittingly delirious end to a weekend of dizzying highs. (TS)

Yusuf/Cat Stevens was a worthy legend

The Legends slot at Glastonbury is often just as hyped as the headliner’s session and this year’s offering felt like a really big hug, one welcomed by the entire Pyramid Stage. Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ set was simply wonderful, a soothing, sultry hour of his most beloved tracks. The George Harrison medley featuring ‘Here Comes The Sun’ was a proper Glastonbury move but the best moments came when he addressed the crowd, showing his sincerity and gratitude for playing on the greatest stage on the planet. The heartfelt rendition of ‘Father and Son’ signalled the end of a beautiful performance and if you weren’t weeping by this point, you were at least feeling warmer inside than you were before Yusuf started. (JA)

Lil Nas X’s spectacular Pyramid moment was one-of-a-kind

Beneath the eye-poppingly bright visuals and shades of meme culture humour, on his 2021 debut album ‘Montero’, Lil Nas X was deeply connected to his feelings: emotional revelations gave into the ecstatic physicality of pop music. The abundance of confidence in these bold and outward-facing songs came to life throughout the 24-year-old’s sunset slot on the Pyramid Stage, mixing high-octane dance routines with galactic club vibes and a deep well of emotion.

From the Nirvana-sampling ‘Panini’ to the braggadocious, trumpet-assisted ‘Industry Baby’, the set was brave, fun, and uncompromising. At times, it felt like a middle-fingered salute to any doubters that couldn’t get their heads around a Black, gay rapper becoming successful – a moment that was sealed by a stage kiss between Lil Nas X and a dancer, followed by a conspiratorial wink to the camera. (SW)

Elton John looked to the future for his send-off

Everyone was second-guessing what Sir Elton had up his sleeve for the closing Glasto headline spot of the weekend, and the final UK performance of his career – namely guest turns from the likes of Britney Spears, Paul McCartney and Harry Styles.

We were all wrong. Aside from pal Brandon Flowers from The Killers, the icon spotlighted the fresher talents of Steven Sanchez, Rina Sawayama, and Gabriels’ Jacob Lusk. By the time we’d partied through the spoils of bangers and the fireworks were exploding over closing track ‘Rocketman’, it felt like the legend had passed a baton to stars of the future, as well as giving his past a flawless farewell party. (AT)

Queens Of The Stone Age rock their return to Worthy Farm

While the mammoth crowd at Elton John’s headline set were asked if they were ready for love at the Pyramid Stage, not too far away, Queens Of The Stone Age had a slightly different approach — asking their audience if they were ready to “fuck shit up”.

Their first show at Glastonbury since 2011 — and one of their first performances since releasing new LP ‘In Times New Roman’ — Josh Homme and co. ensured that the set was well worth the wait, and captured arguably the most lively audience of the entire festival. Not bad for the final night of the 2023 edition… (LD)

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