10 up-and-coming acts to not miss at Glastonbury 2024

Posted On June 25, 2024June 25, 2024

Glastonbury is far more than the headliners. The official poster only tells a tiny percentage of the story of the five biggest days in the UK music calendar. As one of the most beloved festivals in the whole world that sees people globally battling it out for tickets, they’ll be entertained by over 3,000 acts of all shapes, sizes and styles. That means that Worthy Farm is the best place in the world for one weekend to discover a new act.

Just as music fans dream of descending on the festival, it’s a bucket list experience for artists, too. When musicians or bands first start performing, the idea of one day getting up on one of the many, many stages on the fabled farm serves as a golden dream to work towards. Each year, the carefully curated stages provide a legendary platform for some of the best new acts around, making that dream come true.

No artist has ever been too new or too small for Glastonbury. With stages run by different groups and teams, the festival’s scope is incredibly wide, and its ability to spot fresh talent is unmatched. While other festivals are often dominated by labels and management companies, resulting in the same core group of “ones to watch”, Glastonbury has always worked differently.

With its wider net and more democratic process, the festival allows genuine up-and-comers to find a platform. Whether it’s indie’s next wonder kid, an unknown instrumental troupe, a left-field band, or a stunning singer, the festival makes it easy to become a fan before the masses find them.

Helping you to be able to say “I was a fan before they were famous”, here are ten acts to catch across the festival.

10 emerging acts to see at Glastonbury:

10. Enjoyable Listens

• Thursday, 18:20 – The Hive
• Thursday, 20:15 – West Holts Bar
• Friday, 13:00 – Wishing Well
• Friday, 16:15 – Wishing Well
• Saturday, 21:30 – West Holts Bar

Enjoyable Listens is already swiftly developing a cultish fan base, often found bustling around London’s independent venue circuit, craning their necks to get a view of the musician’s swaggering style. To see the artist is to be instantly and utterly charmed by him, as his Rick Astley meets 1960s crooner stylings also come along with a stage presence that feels more guaranteed to give you a belly laugh than any stand-up comedian.

For those reasons, he’s perhaps the ultimate artist to see at Glastonbury. Isn’t that exactly what you want at a festival? A good time, good music and a captivating stage presence that will make you sure that your choice to see him, over the hundreds of other sets happening at that time, was the right one? Well, Enjoyable Listens will more than deliver on that, and with five sets to catch, there’s plenty of opportunity.

9. Chloe Slater

• Friday, 18:30 – BBC Introducing

To see a star right on the verge of what feels set to be a sharp and bright rise, go see Chloe Slater. As one of the BBC Introducing selected artists, she’s one of the handpicked few who won out over the hoards of up-and-coming artists battling it out for the radiowaves’ attention. But as the Manchester-based indie act delivers sharply political anthems, it’s easy to see why she bagged the slot.

High-octane rock with a strong message, delivered with clear lyrical wit and prowess, Slater has all the ingredients necessary to not only be a star but also to be put on a great show. Tracks like ‘Price On Fun’ or ‘24 Hours’ give audience members the perfect chance to sing along to new anthems before the world knows them.

8. Fulu Miziki

• Wednesday, 22:30 – Carhenge
• Thursday, 12:30 – Greenpeace
• Thursday, 13:00 + 22:00 – Carhenge
• Friday, 13:00 + 22:00 – Carhenge
• Saturday, 13:00 – Carhenge

Glastonbury is all about left-field acts, and Fulu Miziki are one to catch. The Congolese band quite literally make music from rubbish as they make instruments from things found in Kinshasa’s dumps. Their name in Lingala means “music from the garbage”, as they first scavenged for materials to be able to make music in their hometown.

But one man’s trash is another band’s treasure, as their afro-futurist sound is high-energy and captivating. Claiming to be inspired by street performers and superhero-theme-tunes, it’s the perfect music for a dance in a sunny field. By the end of their set, you’ll not only be able to brag about seeing an act on the rise but perhaps one of the most unique acts of the whole weekend.

7. Lizzie Esau

• Saturday, 17:30 – BBC introducing
• Sunday, 17:00 – Strummerville

Another indie up-and-comer is Lizzie Esau, the northeast’s answer to Beabadoobee or Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell. Delivering anthems that are heavy with cinematic angst, Esau also has what is perhaps one of the prettiest voices that will be on display across the weekend.

Not since Sam Fender has Newcastle seen a rising act with as much potential as Esau. As she offers up the same festival-ready, arms-in-the-air music, her trajectory deserves to be just as sharply upward as her fellow hometown indie star. Both of her sets will be great, but Strummerville on a Sunday always offers up great vibes to see out the weekend.

6. Kojaque

• Friday, 16:15 – Lonely Heart’s Club

Kojaque is another one that already has a cultish following that it’s high time to get involved in. Ireland’s talent is more than evident across the whole weekend, from headliners to the small stages, and this rapper, visual artist and filmmaker is certainly among their ranks. Hailing from Dublin, he’s one of the city’s most dynamic artists.

Mixing hip-hop beats with a distinctly more cinematic flare, Kojaque’s music has enough rhythms to instantly hook you in and enough intrigue to keep you there. His more conceptual approach to his work is what sets him apart, especially his use of slo-mo, which is sure to be impactful in life. Having worked with names like Biig Piig and singer Sammy Copley, it’s time to get to know the producer at the heart of it all.

5. Kid 12

• Friday, 13:00 – Bread and Roses

At only 18 years old, Arya Van Wyk must be something pretty special to have been among the winners of Glastonbury’s emerging talent competition. Beating out thousands of applicants, the young musician has only been performing under the moniker Kid 12 since January. She even raced to finish the production of her debut single ‘Dreams’ to be able to apply for the competition.

Fast-forward to now. The track is out and strong enough to earn her a spot in the final eight selected for the contest. It’s an incredible victory, but upon listening to her two tracks so far, it’s easy to understand why she hooked the judges with music far more mature than her years. As a brand-new artist, this is your chance to get in there first.

4. The Johnny Halifax Invocation

• Friday, 17:00 – Strummerville

Johnny Halifax is a self-proclaimed “primitivist free blues outsider, sonic shaman of the acid fuzzed lap steel guitar, demented blower of the howling harmonica of doom”. If that doesn’t sound like the perfect recipe for a must-see Glastonbury set, who knows what is?

The Johnny Halifax Invocation aren’t new by any means, as they’ve been releasing tunes as a band since 2021, but with under 1,000 monthly listeners, there’s still time to be amongst the original fans. They’re also an act that is developing a cultish following for their live shows, bringing their vast rock styling to the stage with epic scale and sonic proportion. It’s a fun act to watch and one that will knock your socks off before catching Friday night’s big rock names like LCD Soundsystem or Fontaines D.C.

3. Sleaze

• Thursday, 22:00 – Strummerville
• Friday, 00:15 – Bimble Inn

“Post Pub Kebab Shop Glam Rock”. That’s how Sleaze define themselves, and it pretty much sums it up. This is exactly the kind of gritty, disgusting-yet-seductive, aptly sleazy music to be heard right at the end of the night – so that post-midnight set at Bimble Inn is looking great.

Regularly spotted gigging around London’s various venues in the same class as other up-and-comers coming off stages like Brixton’s The Windmill, Sleaze have the swagger necessary to turn a show into a chaotic party. London has no end of bands all fighting for attention, but these guys are worth adding to your timetable.

2. The Mary Wallopers

• Friday, 15:15 – The Park Stage

There’s perhaps no one better to ask about up-and-comers to note than up-and-comers themselves. Sharing the same stages as they all race around the live circuit, bands get the ultimate front-row seat to the work of their peers. So when Scotland’s Brogeal raved about Ireland’s The Mary Wallopers, it’s a recommendation to pay attention to.

Merging the traditional folk sounds of their homeland with a rock and roll edge, the Dundalk, County Louth-made band are bringing Gaelic music to the festival masses. With amazing energy live, they’re sure to have no problem at all taking over the sizable Park Stage, setting their course straight to the headline slot in a few years.

1. Paris Paloma

• Sunday, 16:30 – BBC Introducing

Paris Paloma is set to support Stevie Nicks at her huge Hyde Park date later this summer, so now really is the time to get on board to have bragging rights down the line. Merging anthemic indie with pure folk sensibilities and a political edge, her songs are all delivered with the same poetic flare and power of Nicks herself.

Paloma’s 2023 track ‘Labour’ instantly set her on a course to the very top thanks to its emotionally visceral lyrics about gender inequality. But her whole discography of angelically sung tracks with sharp, storytelling words makes for a perfect Sunday afternoon slot. Sure to keep climbing up and up as one of the most excitedly hyped names around at the moment, her debut album comes out in August, so time to be an original fan is running out.

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