Emily Eavis hints at Glastonbury 2019 headline act
11 November 2018
Glastonbury organiser, Emily Eavis, has hinted that a "great British artist" will headline at the 2019 festival. Speaking at BBC Music Introducing Live she revealed that the Friday headliner "hasn't had a stage like this before". She also confirmed that Fleetwood Mac won't be playing, but that they're on her wish list along with Kate Bush, Led Zeppelin and Tom Waits. Emily said: "It's really easy to get lost in the noise of all that." When it comes to the balance between showcasing new artists and booking bigger established names she explained: "We can't keep putting those huge acts on because there aren't many that we haven't had now." As always, there's been plenty of speculation over who exactly will headline at Worthy Farm. The festival took a gap year in 2018, giving the ground there time to recover from the 135,000 people who turn up for the event. Even though most of the acts haven't been announced when tickets are released, they always sell out in record time. Stormzy's name has come up several times, with NME claiming to have confirmed it - along with either Childish Gambino or Liam Gallagher also taking a key slot on the Friday night. Emily, however, isn't giving anything away, saying there's "nothing we can announce yet." But she did talk about the kind of "great," "exciting" artist that "he" is. "We have got one of the artists that I'm most excited about in Britain right now," she said. "This to me is going to be a moment. And he can become the enormous person that he is, do you know what I mean?" It's easy to see why Stormzy has been linked to the gig. The last four years have seen the 25-year-old go from a relatively unknown grime artist to having a number one album and multiple Brit Awards. He's already headlined this year's Wireless festival proving that he can handle the pressure and pull in the crowds. In a year when he's released his book, Rise Up, and told Newsbeat that his new music is "groundbreaking" maybe Glastonbury is in his sights. He's also just the kind of artist the festival likes to champion. Someone who can transition from a line-up act to becoming huge headline material. "That's the most exciting stuff for us when you watch a band transition," says Emily. "Sometimes you have other promoters saying why are you putting them on, they're not ready. "But then it just happens and it's like magic. "When someone pulls it off and the crowd are behind them. "When they walk on the stage as a kind of nearly a headliner and they walk off ready to headline any stage in the world." Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.
Stormzy's name has come up several times, with NME claiming to have confirmed it - along with either Childish Gambino or Liam Gallagher also taking a key slot on the Friday night. Emily, however, isn't giving anything away, saying there's "nothing we can announce yet." But she did talk about the kind of "great," "exciting" artist that "he" is. "We have got one of the artists that I'm most excited about in Britain right now," she said. "This to me is going to be a moment. And he can become the enormous person that he is, do you know what I mean?" It's easy to see why Stormzy has been linked to the gig. The last four years have seen the 25-year-old go from a relatively unknown grime artist to having a number one album and multiple Brit Awards. He's already headlined this year's Wireless festival proving that he can handle the pressure and pull in the crowds. In a year when he's released his book, Rise Up, and told Newsbeat that his new music is "groundbreaking" maybe Glastonbury is in his sights. He's also just the kind of artist the festival likes to champion. Someone who can transition from a line-up act to becoming huge headline material. "That's the most exciting stuff for us when you watch a band transition," says Emily. "Sometimes you have other promoters saying why are you putting them on, they're not ready. "But then it just happens and it's like magic. "When someone pulls it off and the crowd are behind them. "When they walk on the stage as a kind of nearly a headliner and they walk off ready to headline any stage in the world." Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.
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Who will it be?