Glastonbury Festival: Five newcomers you don't want to miss

BBC News

8 hours ago

It's understandable. The main coverage of Glastonbury focuses on big names - which this year means a curious mix of ageing veterans and pop upstarts: Rod Stewart and Charli XCX; Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo; John Fogerty and Doechii.There's also a lot of attention on the 56 slots marked "TBA". The rumour mill has gone into a frenzy, positing everyone from Haim (highly likely) to Pulp (also likely) to Lady Gaga (not a chance) and Daft Punk (because some Glastonbury traditions never die).But one of the best things about Glastonbury is stumbling across an act you've never heard of who instantly become your new obsession.With that in mind, here's a guide to five of the most promising new acts on this year's bill... Watch them now, before they get too big.
1) Alessi Rose: A pop queen on the brink of stardom
On 7 May, Alessi Rose wrapped up her first ever headline tour of the US, playing to 250 people at LA's Moroccan Lounge. Four days later she was in Milan, facing 70,000 people as the opening act on Dua Lipa's Radical Optimism tour."It was literally people as far as you could see," says the Derby-born singer. "It's always been my dream to play these massive, massive arenas - and, honestly, it's just an incomparable feeling."Rose only released her first single, the self-written and self-produced Say Ur Mine, two years ago. But her confessional lyrics and electrifying vocals have earned the 22-year-old a cult following amongst in-the-know fans of Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams. "It's such a close-knit community," she says. "I think it's because of how I started as a complete unknown, producing music in my room. "There are songs I've released that were written on a live stream, where everyone was watching me and they know exactly who or what it's about. "I think it's nice to be let into that journey of having no connections to the music industry and kind of just, like, figuring it out and being pushy and eventually getting played on the radio."As an English Literature graduate, Rose pays particular attention to her lyrics. Her latest single, That Could Be Me, is all about fumbling the chance to declare her feelings, and watching her crush walk off with another girl."I missed every shot," she sings over a crunchy guitar riff. "And they ricocheted, now they're lodged in my brain.""I think it really captures that weird, angry tension you have when you really want someone that you can't have," she says. The song should be a highlight of the setlist when she opens the Other Stage on Saturday morning. "There's not gonna be a chill, nonchalant bone in my body that day," says Rose."My mum cried when she found out... and she's not crier. She was so happy, because she knows it's my dream festival."
2) MRCY's sun-baked soul anthems
"Our sound is big," declares MRCY's Kojo Degraft-Johnson. "It's a big sound. It's a big vibe."The British duo may have formed during lockdown, but they've turned their live shows into life-affirming celebrations, with up to seven musicians onstage for every show.Although 2025 marks their Glastonbury debut, it's not quite their first rodeo. Johnson sang with Jungle when they headlined the West Holts Stage last year, while his bandmate Barney Lister is an award-nominated writer/producer for acts like Joy Crookes, Celeste, Olivia Dean and Obongjayar.Their sound is stewed with the gritty '70s soul of Isaac Hayes and Marvin Gaye, offset by Johnson's stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals. "There's a feeling you get from soul that's a bit timeless, it taps into your nostalgia," says Lister. "When the world's gone crazy, soul music is a good escape."Like the artists who inspired them, the band aren't afraid to tackle pressing social issues in their music. On Man, Johnson sings about the perceived crisis of modern masculinity, delivering the compelling advice, "lead with light", over a funky, pan-African beat."It's partially about toxic masculinity," says the singer, "but it's also about taking a look at ourselves as human beings and asking, 'What are our intentions?'"We should be hyper aware of the of the darkness, but we should also try to live in light and move with positivity."That worldview suffuses their mellow, gossamer grooves; resulting in the band being championed by Elton John ("quite surreal") and music bible Rolling Stone, which called them "destined for greatness"."We've put a lot of love into our music," says Lister, "and playing at Glastonbury is going to be a real privilege. So you should definitely come."
3) Drum & bass thrill-seekers Koven
Koven's Katie Boyle is a drum and bass DJ, but she's not like other drum and bass DJs. After pulling off the perfect mix behind her decks, she drops her headphones, runs to the front of the stage and starts singing live. It's a simple, but surprisingly uncommon, way of amping up the atmosphere. Katie's even built a custom DJ rack to make the transitions smoother - with Spice Girl Mel C asking to road-test the equipment for her own sets.As she discovered, there's a certain amount of skill required."I have to practice like crazy," says Katie. "I need to know my set from start to finish, and work out exactly when I need to get back to the decks to bring in the next tune."She rehearses obsessively at home, cueing up a song, then running into an adjacent room to sing, so she can't cheat on the mixes."My neighbours love it," she laughs. "No complaints yet, anyway."All the effort has paid off. Koven have become one of the circuit's most sought-after acts, with a stirring set of euphoric, forward-thinking dance anthems like In Your Arms, About Me and Chase The Sun.This year, they have one of the most coveted dance slots of the weekend - playing at 23:00 on the Lonely Hearts Stage. It's a sign of how far the duo have risen since 2022, when they were scheduled against Diana Ross's Sunday afternoon performance on the Pyramid Stage."Sunday afternoon's a tough slot for dance music in general," recalls Katie. "I was really surprised, 'cos we did have a good turnout, but let's just say the energy levels weren't what we're used to."If you turn up for their set on Saturday, there's one way to make it even more special for Katie: Bring along a picture of a happy dog."I've had that on my rider for so long, but no-one really ever delivers it," she laughs. "So when they do, it's really, really sweet."
4) Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso's irreverent Latin fusion
Until last year, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso were largely a regional act. Their life-affirming blend of trap, rock, underground electronica and Latin jazz earned them a huge fanbase in their home city of Buenos Aires, but they were virtually unknown elsewhere. Then they were invited to play one of National Public Radio's influential Tiny Desk concerts. Within a week, their Spotify page went from 3,000 daily streams to 220,000. Now they're playing Glastonbury's third-biggest stage, West Holts, on Friday afternoon.The last six months "have been crazy," they say. "We knew the Tiny Desk concert would give us visibility, but never expected to impact our lives in the way it happened."The band address the phenomenon on their recent song Impostor, which reflects on the anxiety of building on that momentum, and the understandable onset of impostor syndrome."Like we say in the song, 'el Tiny Desk nos jodió' (Tiny Desk screwed us), but in a good way," they laugh."We really had music producers come at us and [promise] us all kinds of things if we do things by the playbook: Learn English, write catchy hooks and songs, go more pop, change the way we look, hit the gym..."Wisely, the two childhood friends stuck to their guns. Audience numbers might have ballooned, but their music still has the raw, irreverent energy that propelled them to fame."We get bored easily, so we try new things all the time and we love to make the audience crazy," they promise of their Glastonbury debut. And, with their set ending at 2pm, they've got the rest of the weekend to explore the festival's many offerings."People told us that Glastonbury is like a whole different world, a 72-hour long party – that's the kind of stuff we like. "It has lots of stages and hidden stories and we hope to be able to get lost there and be found just in time to catch a flight to our next show."
5) Gurriers: Sharp, melodic punk from Dublin
"Come and see us," implores Gurriers frontman Dan Hoff. "We're loud and abrasive, but you're gonna have a good time."What better incentive do you need? The five-piece are fresh from a support slot with Kneecap in Dublin, and channel a similar vein of cultural commentary, with visceral songs about anger and disillusionment with the modern world.They're part of a new wave of Irish acts - see also Fontaines DC, The Murder Capital and CMAT - who grew up in the shadow of the country's 2008 financial crisis."I think it's genuinely a sign of the times," says Hoff, "in terms of the political landscape, the housing crisis... just how hard it is to live as an adult in this generation."We're all using music and art and creativity to voice our opinions, instead of voicing them in a pub with our mates. And for me, personally, I use it to channel my anger and my fears."Scrappy, punk-driven and riotous, their music is a powder keg waiting to explode - but the taut rhythm section of Pierce O'Callaghan (drums) and Charlie McCarthy (bass) means every outburst is strangely danceable."I love the simplicity of disco drum beats," says O'Callaghan, who's inspired by everyone from Chic to LCD Soundsystem. "We have loads of that in our stuff... even the little percussion things that they have, like cowbells and stuff. I think it's amazing."The band play on the Woodsies stage on Sunday just after midday - "which means I'll be on the non-alcoholics all day on Saturday," says Hoff.But more nerve-wracking than their Glastonbury debut is a debate with Billy Bragg in the Leftfield tent two days earlier."I've been in bands for 15 years," says Hoff, "but when I started listening to Billy Bragg's songs, like Youth Of America or Levi Stubbs' tears, a couple of years ago, that I was like, 'OK, I want to write like that. I want to write political stuff. I want to write about the stuff that I feel'.""So genuinely, when I meet him, I don't know if I'll be able to speak."