jacks.jukebox

Welcome to the day the fun stops and the music starts. Just kidding of course. But if you followed my guide for Thursday (check it out here), you’ll know what I mean.

So you have made it this far, well done. Thousands of people will be scrambling in on Friday morning and it may feel like rush hour on Worthy Farm. So, if you were clever enough to rock up on Wednesday or Thursday, there is only one way to spend the morning. Get up early, sit back in your chair and watch the panic ensue as thousands of festival-goers and campers struggle to put up tents whilst having their chairs nicked (refer back to Thursday guide for clarity).

Now, let’s move on to the music itself. Friday is a day where you could quite easily stay at the stages from midday until late into Saturday morning. In this guide I will be going through exactly who I’d be making sure to not miss, and I might even include some who I will make sure that I do miss, just for balance you know.

We’re starting off basic, but I’d go straight to the main stage for midday. The very first act on the main stage will start the day (and the weekend) off just as you’d hope. The Master Musicians of Joujouka. Described as “The 4,000 year old Rock’N’Roll band”. Hailing from a remote village in Morocco, they play a form of trance music which is used traditionally for healing. This may not sound like your cup of tea on paper, but this is exactly what the midday slot on the main stage is for. What better way to start off your day than by getting healed by centuries-old trance music? I could easily write for hours about The Master Musicians of Joujouka, and maybe they will one day make an appearance in the Jukebox, but for now if you want to learn more about them, check out their website here.

Once you’ve finished your 45 minutes of healing on the main stage. You may have a couple hours to kill. Walk around, see what’s happening. You could maybe go check out The Lighting Seeds at 2:15pm on the Other Stage, sing abit of three lions. They’re followed up by Carly Rae Jepsen, personally I wouldn’t be in a rush to be at the Other Stage, but could be fun who knows.

But the next place you NEED to be is the Park Stage. I would aim to get there for around 3pm in time for Billy Nomates at 3:15. Personally, I’ve never been massive on Billy Nomates but I’m sure she’ll be quite good live. But following her up we have Unknown Mortal Orchestra. If trippy, immersive psych-rock is for you, then Unknown Mortal Orchestra is a must-see. They’d be in my top 10 list for the weekend for sure. Their tunes “Hunnybee” and “Necessary Evil” will be worth a day ticket on Friday alone. For this reason, “Hunnybee” is officially the first song to make the Jukebox.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra will finish at 5:45pm, which would give you half an hour to get to the main stage to see The Churnups. “Who are The Churnups?” I hear you ask. Well, to keep it simple they’re probably the Foo Fighters. Their first Glastonbury performance since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins could be an emotional one, and if their headline slot a few years ago is anything to go by, it should be an hour full of bangers. If that’s your thing, definitely make sure to check out “The Churnups”. If it’s not Foo Fighters I do apologise.

Now this is where we start to get some clashes. The period from 8pm onward on Friday might just be the best few hours of the whole weekend. At 8:30pm on the Other Stage we have Fred Again. I could imagine this being EXTREMELY busy full of young people, mainly students if we’re being honest. But it’ll be busy for a reason, Fred Again will put on a show. Oh and here’s another entry for the Jukebox. “Baxter (these are my friends)” by Fred Again and Baxter Dury.

If you fancy listening to some politically-charged tunes then Billy Bragg is your man. He will be on the Left Field at 9pm belting out some sing-alongs for you fighters of the system. Another Jukebox entry? Oh go on then. In fact, two for the price of one. “California Stars” and “Levi Stubbs’ Tears” both by the guv’nor, Billy Bragg.

BUT, I think I’d have to miss out on both Billy Bragg and Fred Again. Because I’d be at the Park Stage. 9:15pm. Sparks. You’re favourite artists favourite artist. If you don’t know much about the quirky electronic duo then I’d highly recommend Edgar Wright’s 2021 documentary, “The Sparks Brothers”. It really is a great watch, and you will become fascinated with this imposing duo. There are many, many Sparks songs which could be added to the Jukebox, but I shall go for “When Do I Get to Sing My Way” off their 1994 more dance based album, “Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins”.

Once Sparks finish at 10:15pm, I’d very quickly make my way over to the Main Stage for the first headliner of the weekend. Although there are rumours they may pull out due to an illness to Alex Turner, I still think Arctic Monkeys are a must see. Their last couple albums may have been average at best, but they are still a great live band. A younger me would’ve done anything to be there for their headline performance in 2013, so I couldn’t miss it 10 years later could I. I’m sure there whole first album will appear in the Jukebox eventually, but for now lets go for a couple of their early tracks, “A Certain Romance” and “Leave Before The Lights Come On“. They speak for themselves. If they do pull out, my wild guess is that they move “The Churnups” into the headline slot, but we shall see.

From then on, who knows what the rest of the night brings. Personally, I would go check out Arcadia. The Chemical Brothers will be doing a DJ set there from 10:30pm until 12:30am so I’d get down there after Arctic Monkeys.

Or, I’d go see Jabba The Slut. Never heard of Jabba The Slut. But what a name that is. They will be at the Sweet Charity stage from midnight for an hour and a half, and I have a feeling it might just be the best 90 minutes of the weekend.

So there’s what I would be doing if I had managed to get a ticket. Starting off with The Master Musicians of Joujouka and finishing with Jabba The Slut, with Sparks and Unknown Mortal Orchestra sandwiched between them. Oh what a day.

There are certainly some others who I failed to mention that could be worth checking out. Joey Bada$$ at 7pm on the West Holts Stage being the pick of the bunch. Royal Blood are on before Arctic Monkeys. I’ve seen Royal Blood and they were pretty damn good to be fair. But after their debacle at BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend the other week, they might not be the most popular of bands right now.

So there we have it, what to do on Friday at Glastonbury if you are really really cool just like me. We’ll be back tomorrow for the ultimate guide to Saturday at Glastonbury. Check out all the new Jukebox entries here.

Until next time. Ciao for now.