by Ben Hogwood

Unless you were under a rock all weekend, it won’t have escaped your notice that a certain music festival was taking place in the south of England. Glastonbury has lit up the music world since the 1970s, and even though it is bigger than ever before it seems to have retained a lot of the qualities that have made it so successful.

One of those qualities is bringing music of all genres to all people, crossing over all manner of boundaries – and one of the stages to do that most proficiently was the West Holts stage. With acts such as Young Fathers and Gabriels excelling earlier on Friday evening, the way was clear for Kelis to remind us just what an amazing vocalist she is. Here is just a snippet of her set, a powerful performance of Acapella, which you can watch as part of her full set on BBC Sounds:

by Ben Hogwood

As I’m sure you know, Elton John is headlining at Glastonbury on Sunday night, his first appearance at the festival. It has taken me a long time to appreciate his music, to be honest, but I find the further back I go the more there is to enjoy.

Best of all – in my mind at least – is the disco era he enjoyed at the end of the 1970s, capped by this wonderful, life-affirming song. Are You Ready For Love is a beauty, right from the harp introduction, dressed with strings, to the memorable chorus. What price Elton opening with it tomorrow?