Pyramid stage
The Nigerian brings an electrifying energy and prompts a mass singalong accompaniment to his signature baritone
It’s 40 years since Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and his 20-piece band Egypt 80 took the headline Sunday slot for Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage, the second African artist to achieve such an accolade. Now Afro-fusion maestro (and fellow Nigerian) Burna Boy, who has spoken of the inspiration he’s drawn from Fela, is performing on the same stage, on the same day, but just one billing shy of the headline spot which is occupied by SZA. Glastonbury is certainly a very different festival now compared to the 80s, but Burna isn’t one who is shy about his ambitions and African Giant status, even in 2019 slamming Coachella for printing his name too small. So all eyes are on this set with the question of whether there’s a sense that Burna could one day progress to the headline slot for the iconic stage and confirm his place as the supreme Nigerian artist of his generation.
On stage, a wooden set, Burna’s Saloon is constructed, with a horse positioned to the right of it. After being welcomed in with an orchestra of clashing cymbals, banging talking drums and blaring saxophones from his band the Outsiders, he bursts through the swinging doors clad in a cowboy hat, brown leather and double denim. It’s a fitting ensemble considering how much of the crowd is already wearing cowboy hats after attending Shania Twain’s legacy set. He immediately swings to the familiar hit – Location, his collaboration with Dave, which the crowd knows well and sings word-for-word. Tested, Approved and Trusted then builds an immediately feverish energy, his western shirt wearing dancers and the band creating the atmosphere of carnival which the song speaks to. His -female backing singers complement Burna’s signature baritone texture, providing intricate, gorgeous moments of vocal layering particularly as he sings “I wanna hold you so tight until the night is over” in For My Hand.
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