All the rumoured Glastonbury acts *not* on the line-up

Though fans of this years headline acts – Dua Lipa, Coldplay, SZA and Shania Twain – will be pleased, it’s safe to say that the 2024 Glastonbury line-up hasn’t gone down quite as well as previous years. Take to X and you’ll find a fair few people brandishing the roster of performers announced yesterday as the “worst“. And that’s hardly surprising given that the main acts are worlds away from those expected to appear in huge letters on the poster. In the run-up to the announcement, it was widely held that the headliners would be heavyweights Stevie Wonder, Madonna, and Stevie Nicks. Rumours even swirled that Taylor Swift might have found her way onto the pyramid stage, though that was firmly squashed when the Dublin date of her tour clashed with the festival.

To be fair, it’s been a long time since the Somerset festival, widely regarded as Britain’s best, has held the prestige status that made it so iconic. If this year is anything to go by, the festival is leaving behind its classic rock roots – back in the day, it was musicians like David Bowie and The Smiths that graced the stage – in favour of pop. Still, there’s a semblance of hope for those already with a ticket in the form of the acts that are yet to be announced. Any dedicated fan of Glasto will know that a few slots are left empty each year to allow for some surprise sets. In the past, surprise performers have included the likes of Lady Gaga, and last year it was none other than Foo Fighters that turned up as a little “Brucie Bonus”.

So, who are the rumoured surprise acts this year? The first are, again, American rockers Foo Fighters. The band are touring the UK around the same time, and the only night they’re occupied out of Glasto weekend is Sunday the 29th, where they’ll perform at France’s HellFest. You do the math — that leaves Friday and Saturday free for heading to the Pyramid stage. Another fairly plausible rumour comes in the form of AC/DC, who will also be in Europe at the same time as the festival. In November of last year, the mayor of Munich accidentally revealed that the band behind classic tunes like “Highway to Hell” will be performing at the city’s Olympic Stadium on June 12th, leaving plenty of time for them to pop to the West Country. And others expected to make an appearance thanks to their relatively clear summer schedule are Harry Styles, Pulp and Blur, who did a comeback tour last summer.

There’s also been a boatload of other names chucked out – P!nk, The Rolling Stones and Blink-182 – though scheduling conflicts make these pretty unlikely. Girls Aloud have even gone on the record to say they definitely won’t be making an appearance despite their recent reunion, as has Oasis’ Liam Gallagher. Really, though, you can’t rule anything out. While Taylor Swift’s aforementioned Dublin date has convinced fans she won’t be at the festival, some are still holding out hope that she’ll be brought on as a guest of The National, who put out a song with the country songstress in April of last year. And with that private jet of hers – which, let’s face it, she’d probably use to go and get a pint of milk – she really can be anywhere.