Dua Lipa expressed her desire for the audience at her upcoming Glastonbury performance to experience the ambiance of an intimate nightclub.
The acclaimed artist, a recipient of three Grammy Awards and seven Brit Awards, aged 28, is set to take the headline spot at the festival’s esteemed Pyramid stage in June.
Joining her in the lineup are fellow female headliners such as US R&B sensation SZA and country-pop icon Shania Twain, who will grace the coveted Legends’ slot.
Lipa’s upcoming appearance marks her return to Glastonbury since her 2017 performance at the John Peel stage.
Lipa expressed her desire for the 150,000-strong crowd to experience the intimacy of a nightclub during her set, rather than the vast fields of Worthy Farm where the festival unfolds.
“It might be tight. But I’ve got to figure out a way to make 150,000 people feel like they’re in a small little nightclub,” she told.
“That’s the goal, and if there’s one place to do it, it’s gotta be Glasto.”
In the wake of considerable backlash last year over an all-male headliner lineup, festival organizers aim to address the lack of representation by featuring a predominantly female roster of leading acts for 2024.
“I feel so lucky to be a part of that shift,” said Lipa of the 2024 lineup. “It’s important to have more female headliners. We’ve just got to keep applying the pressure and making that change happen.”
The singer added that she thinks about her forthcoming Glastonbury set “all the time”
“Fifty per cent of my thoughts go to Glastonbury, then the rest are for everyday tasks,” she said of the preparation period.
Lipa is set to release her album “Radical Optimism” on Friday (3 May), drawing inspiration from Britpop for this project.
Serving as the follow-up to her self-titled debut album from 2017, which featured hits like “Be The One” and “New Rules”, and her 2020 sophomore album “Future Nostalgia”, known for singles such as “Physical” and “Break My Heart”.
Last year, Lipa claimed the top spot on the charts with “Dance The Night”, a track created for the soundtrack of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”, where she also made an appearance as Mermaid Barbie.
In a statement about her forthcoming release, Lipa said:
“A couple years ago, a friend introduced me to the term Radical Optimism. It’s a concept that resonated with me, and I became more curious as I started to play with it and weave it into my life.
“It struck me – the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm.
At the same time, I found myself looking through the music history of psychedelia, trip hop, and Britpop. It has always felt so confidently optimistic to me, and that honesty and attitude is a feeling I took into my recording sessions.
At Glastonbury, a diverse lineup awaits attendees across various stages. The Pyramid stage will feature performances by Little Simz, Cyndi Lauper, and Janelle Monae during afternoon and evening slots.
Meanwhile, Burna Boy, PJ Harvey, Michael Kiwanuka, and Paloma Faith will grace the main stage. Over at the Other stage, IDLES, Disclosure, and The National will take the spotlight, with The Streets, Two Door Cinema Club, Avril Lavigne, and rising stars The Last Dinner Party also commanding attention.
Additionally, Camila Cabello, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bloc Party, and Confidence Man are set to deliver electrifying performances.
West Holts will host acts such as Jungle, Jessie Ware, Justice, Black Pumas, and Sugababes, while the newly named Woodsies stage will feature talents like Jamie XX, Gossip, James Black, Sampha, and Arlo Parks.
