Almost as many new major festival headliners will be crowned in 2016 than in the previous 10 years combined.
Last year, a Music Week investigation revealed that just five acts who had released their debut album since 2006 had gone on to headline one of the UK’s five mainstream music festivals: Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, V Festival, T In The Park and the Isle Of Wight Festival.
Up to 2015, only Florence + The Machine (debut album released 2009), belatedly promoted to Glastonbury 2015 headliner after Foo Fighters withdrew through injury, Mumford & Sons (2009), Calvin Harris (2007), Avicii (2013) and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (2011), had made the breakthrough in that period. Gallagher had of course previously headlined countless festivals with Oasis.
However, this year has already seen Adele (debut album released 2008) headline Glastonbury, with Justin Bieber (2010) set for V Festival and Foals (2008) and Disclosure (2013) billed as Reading & Leeds co-headliners, potentially kick-starting a new era for the festival sector.
As a comparison, 2001-05 produced more than 20 future headliners or co-headliners. They include The Killers (debut album released 2004), Arctic Monkeys (2005), Kings Of Leon (2003), Beyoncé (2003), Arcade Fire (2004), The Strokes (2001), Kasabian (2004), Kanye West (2004), Rihanna (2005), Biffy Clyro (2002), Fall Out Boy (2003), The Libertines (2002), Justin Timberlake (2002), The Darkness (2003), Kaiser Chiefs (2005), The Black Keys (2002), Paramore (2005), My Chemical Romance (2002), Razorlight (2004), Franz Ferdinand (2004) and Gorillaz (2001). Eight of those acts topped the bill at a festival within five years of their debut album being released.
Last weekend's Glastonbury was headlined by Adele, Coldplay and Muse, while June's Isle Of Wight Festival featured The Who, Queen + Adam Lambert, Stereophonics and Faithless. Scotland's T In The Park, from July 8-10, is next up with The Stone Roses, Calvin Harris and Red Hot Chili Peppers, followed by the pop-oriented V Festival from August 20-21, headed by Bieber and Rihanna. Reading & Leeds, from August 26-28, closes the season with headline artists Biffy Clyro, Fall Out Boy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foals and Disclosure.
