Glastonbury Festival 2023

I am broken.

My feet are hanging off, my body feels like a dead weight, and I need a nap every three hours. If a Glastonbury snippet comes on the radio, I find myself on the verge of tears.

Welcome to the Glasto Blues. Yes it’s a thing.

Once again I had the honour of accompanying the inimitable New York Brass Band on their annual Glasto tour. There were a couple of moments where I thought we might die of heat exhaustion, some special guests who joined the band on stage, we raised the roof in Bread and Roses – twice! We had the biggest crowd we’ve ever had at the amazing Gateway Stage in Theatre and Circus, started a conga, fell off stages, lost voices, and dressed as frogs. Classic Glasto.

We did a mere 13 gigs around the site, not to mention guesting with the incredible Basement Jaxx, popping up with Beans on Toast and crashing Adam Hills set too. On day one, we were on the incredible Green Peace Stage, the raucous Gaz’s Rocket Lounge and the carnae that is the Truth Stage in Shan-gri-la. And then we just continued to make lots of noise wherever we went with a final set at the Rocket Lounge at 4am on Monday morning.I feel knackered just thinking about it.

Thank you to all the wonderful Glasto goers who came up to offer us booze, water, hugs and a whole lot of love, joined in a rousing rendition of the Artic Monkeys and danced like their lives depended on it. And to all the stage managers, sound engineers and techs, who make sure the band sound amazing. We doff our caps to Sir Chris Tofu and the lovely Haggis for continuing to believe in the band so much. We really really couldn’t do it without you all.

Hopefully we’ll be back in the hallowed fields next year. But first… sleep.