Glastonbury 2024: Watch Declan McKenna perform 'Brazil'

Fri 28 June 2024 21:37, UK

With the sun shining on Worthy Farm, young indie sensation Declan McKenna brought tropical vibes to the Glastonbury Festival with his classic track ‘Brazil’.

Despite only being 25 years old, the Enfield musician is no stranger to the world’s biggest festival, having made his debut in Somerset back in 2015. Since then, he has made good on his early buzz and the protest song, ‘Brazil’, that launched him.

In the years since, he has continued to use his voice, enamouring enough supporters in the process to grant him a prominent slot on the Woodsies stage between 19:30 and 20:30 on June 28th. The former ‘Glastonbury Emerging Talent’ winner drew a sizeable crowd for his show.

Not bad for a track that was originally written as part of his GCSE coursework. “It got 98%. What was 2% wrong?” he joked with the BBC when the track took off. “But I never got it remarked in case they realised it was too generic.”

Earlier on the Woodsies stage, there was some socially conscious punk from Lambrini Girls, a spot of genre-defying chillwave from Remi Wolf, nostalgic indie classics by The Vaccines, and then Arlo Parks warmed up the stage in style for McKenna. Sampha is up next, with Jamie XX headlining the stage later this evening.

The Woodsies stage was formerly known as The John Peel Stage until a name change in 2023. The change comes after a petition was launched in which Glastonbury fans urged organisers to reconsider the venue name in light of John Peel’s marriage to a 15-year-old girl when he was 25. The marriage occurred in Texas in 1965 and was legal at the time.

This is just one of many changes that the festival has made over the years to remain as ethically proper as possible, aligned with artists’ views like McKenna’s. In a summer where many festivals have been marred by protests, events at Glastonbury have unfurled smoothly thanks to the consideration operations behind it.

Later this evening, Dua Lipa will be headlining the Pyramid Stage, with Coldplay and SZA playing the following nights, making it the first time in the festival’s history that two of the headliners have been female. Keep up with Far Out for further footage and reporting live from the festival.

Watch Declan McKenna perform ‘Brazil’ below.