Tucked away in a corner behind the John Peel Stage, the PRS for Music tent is a hidden oasis at Glastonbury. There is a bar, and sofas, and soap and water to wash your hands. There is pizza. And, from about lunchtime on Friday, there is a selection of some of this country’s most exciting solo artists and bands.
Celeste kicks off proceedings on Friday afternoon. With the chart-topping success of her debut album Not Your Muse in 2021, her appearance is something of a triumphant homecoming. It was here that Celeste made her Glastonbury debut in 2019, and her 2022 return is a reminder of just how far she has come in a few short years.
Sports Team’s Alex Rice makes it on site just in time for their set, trying his hand at guitar on Long Hot Summer ahead of the band’s slot on the John Peel Stage later in the weekend. It’s a big day for acts beginning with the letter S, and Shelf Lives keep the energy high before Self Esteem closes out Friday with a stripped-back performance. Seated in a line of stools with her band, Self Esteem performs from Prioritise Pleasure with only an acoustic guitar and vocal chorus for backing. Presented like this, the songs are strikingly intimate, a close-up look at an interior process. The standing ovation is richly deserved.
On Saturday, The Beatbox Collective blow everybody away. Things are off to an energising start, as the Collective smash out a selection of dancefloor hits from the past four decades. In the hours that follow we have performances from dynamic duo Lazy Habits, the powerful and prowling Nuha Ruby Ra, and Walt Disco, who manage three quarters of a backflip in front of the stage as they close their set with Macilent.
Chart-toppers Yard Act and Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition runner-up Crae Wolf follow, while Jelani Blackman gets the crowd on their feet for a dance before DJ Ellie Prohan plays them into the sunset.
Sunday morning dawns with light showers, but spirits won’t be damped as attendees get ready to say goodbye to Glastonbury. It might be traditionally the day of rest, but Faux Real ensure that there’ll be no lunchtime siestas as they clamber over each other in their avant-pop performance. Later, Nilüfer Yanya’s indie-pop brings the sunshine, while Sinead O’Brien captivates with her post-punk poems. Then, with one final set from London’s Pet Deaths, camp PRS closes things up at Glastonbury for another year.
