Coaxing more energy out of a lagging Sunday crowd than you’d expect, Burna Boy’s pyro-fest of a set is a total party.
Words: Abigail Firth.
Photos: Patrick Gunning.
Back in 2019, Burna Boy expressed his disgust with Coachella for giving him such a small-fonted billing on that year’s lineup, stating he was an African giant and deserved better. Five years on and Glastonbury has honoured that by giving him second top at the Pyramid, and yeah, he was kind of right.
This year’s Glastonbury has seen language barriers go out the window, making way for Burna Boy’s Nigerian party on its biggest stage. Collaborations with a variety of British artists have helped raise his profile over here, and, knowing exactly where he is, uses his Dave feature ‘Location’ to open the set.
Coaxing more energy out of a lagging Sunday crowd than you’d expect, Burna Boy’s pyro-fest of a set is a total party. For some, it’s an introduction to Nigerian culture that hits like a sledgehammer. Older tracks like ‘It’s Plenty’ are the mood-lifter an overcast Sunday on Worthy Farm needs, while recent hit ‘City Boys’ is a riot.
He asks the whole crowd, boys and girls, to remove their shirts and swing them around for ‘Ye’; almost immediately after it’s done he’s told he needs to wrap it up, but he’s far from finished. Breaking the rules for a final performance of ‘Last Last’, his African Giant status remains untouched.
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