I'm a 48-year-old music snob and I loved Olivia Rodrigo
I have to admit, when I told friends I was taking my 14-year-old daughter, Florence, to see Olivia Rodrigo, I did so with an eye-roll and a bit of a 'bloody kids, eh?' smirk.
At 48, I've got quite a few gigs and festivals under my belt. I was at Knebworth in '96 and could be found in the mosh pit at countless Britpop shindigs back in the day.
While my record collection spans from the classic '60s swagger of the Stones to the big-riff grandeur of '70s Led Zep, taking in the stadium-filling, guitar-squealing anthems of Pink Floyd, my Spotify algorithm tells a different story.
Being subjected to the 'racket' of a teenage playlist in the car is the scourge of many a parent, but I have to say, secretly — thanks to my kids —I've been introduced to a new breed of alt-pop, punk-pop… call it what you will. And I'm pleasantly surprised to report that pop music is very much alive and well — and I am a fan!
It's nearing showtime, and as we gently jostle for position amid the fug of Sol de Janeiro and mounting anticipation — this is, after all, essentially Rodrigo's Glastonbury dress rehearsal (she headlines the Pyramid Stage on Sunday) — I'm suddenly self-conscious that at any moment someone might holler at me: 'Oi, Grandad, ELO's next month!'
As the former Disney actor bounds on stage, the Hyde Park noise levels go up several notches, and Bad Idea Right? is greeted with a delirious tsunami of whoops and screams from teens and tweens (and dads) living their best lives. One banner I can just make out reads: Olivia, I'm obsessed with you.
The hits keep coming. Bad Idea Right? is followed by the Pixies-tinged Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl, and if Vampire isn't the perfect example of a flawless, three-and-a-half-minute pop song, I don't know what is.
I look across at my sequin-clad daughter, lost in the moment and singing along. I even turn a blind eye to her joining in with the (perhaps overly) sweary lyrics (shut up, Gramps).
Screaming pubescent girls in purple cowboy hats watch the entire gig through their phone screens, and then the screams go up a few more decibels when Rodrigo thrills the already overexcited crowd even more by nonchalantly bringing out 'her favourite Brit,' Ed Sheeran, to duet on his classic, The A Team.
As one perfectly crafted, delicious slice of pop perfection follows the next, it occurs to me that until recently — like many fellow middle-aged music-snob dads — I would have dismissed the warblings of Rodrigo, Carpenter, Roan, Styles et al. as disposable, autotuned bilge.
Far from it. The output from these pop princes and princesses really stands up. These are songs with legs: compositionally sophisticated, rich in infectious melody, and emotionally devastating. ABBA, Pulp and The Cure for the Gen Z, TikTok-cool kids.
Rodrigo's effortless between-song patter is charming and endearing. She tells the crowd that the capital is 'her favourite city' and yells: 'I f*cking love you, London!'
Her band — made up entirely of women and non-binary musicians — isn't just making up the numbers behind the 'talent': they're excellent and rightly enjoying every minute of it.
A quick low-key costume change into shorts and a T-shirt, and she's back for a supercharged, rocky encore of Brutal, the Green Day-esque All-American Bitch, Good 4 U, and — for reasons that weren't totally clear — she scales some scaffolding and belts out Get Him Back through a megaphone.
Throw in the obligatory fireworks, streamers and pyrotechnics to close the show, and all the boxes have been ticked. More Trending
As we turn to leave, I have to suppress my boring dad-rock instincts and resist vocalising them — like: 'The opening chords of Brutal remind me of Elvis Costello's Pump It Up,' or wondering wistfully what a Knopfler guitar solo would sound like on Happier.
'Do you want to get a T-shirt?' I ask Florence as we edge our way, exhausted but slightly euphoric, towards the exits.
'No, I think I'm all right, actually.'
'Oh, OK,' I reply. 'Er… do you mind if I get one?'
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Sing along with the common people: Saturday at Glastonbury with Raye, Pulp and pop punters
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
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Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
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(1/2) — Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 28, 2025 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes 'grotesque', writing on X: 'Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked. 'The cultural establishment needs to wake up to the fact this isn't protest, it's incitement. 'Less than 2 years ago, hundreds were raped and murdered at a music festival. It's not just the act but the gormless people clapping along and cheering. People with no idea what real terror is. 'They don't understand the evil ideology they're amplifying – and they don't care.' A BBC spokesperson said: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said. They added: 'We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. 'The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC director general to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer.' Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.' In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'. During the performance, Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.' He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up. O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: 'We are all Palestine Action', in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group. News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they walked onto the stage were booed by the Glastonbury Festival audience. The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood. Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags. Earlier on Saturday, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later. O hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year. On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts. He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20. Saturday night's Pyramid Stage headliner, Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts, opened with the song Sugar Mountain, with Young saying 'thank you folks' to the crowd as the song ended. The set list, drawing heavily from live album Live Rust, included songs Be The Rain, When You Dance I Can Really Love, Cinnamon Girl and Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), with lyrics that reference Johnny Rotten, the stage name of Sex Pistols's John Lydon. Charli XCX's performance on the Other Stage saw US singer Gracie Abrams perform the viral Apple dance. As the song began, the British pop star said: 'Who the f*** is gonna be Apple girl, Glastonbury?' while holding what appeared to be a glass of wine. The 32-year-old played her Partygirl set at Glastonbury Festival last year, but this time the singer performed on a much bigger stage amid a year that has seen her pick up a slew of awards. Elsewhere at the festival, Haim performed as the surprise act on the Park Stage at 7.30pm, while on the Pyramid Stage, Pulp were revealed to be Patchwork with the Sheffield-formed Britpop band paying homage to their breakthrough 1995 stand-in headline set during the performance. Performing in the coveted Sunday legends slot this year is Sir Rod Stewart, who previously said he will be joined by his former Faces band member Ronnie Wood, as well as other guests. Sir Rod's performance will come after he postponed a string of concerts in the US, due to take place this month, while he recovered from flu. US singer Olivia Rodrigo takes the final Sunday slot after opening the British Summer Time Hyde Park concert series on Friday.
