Shakey meets Jay-Z at Glastonbury

By Ian Youngs Entertainment reporter, BBC News

The full Glastonbury line-up has come out - so should you snap up one of the remaining tickets, or does it prove that the legendary festival has had its day?

Tickets are still available for this year's Glastonbury Festival

The first names that jump out are the most incongruous - James Blunt, Crowded House and Shakin' bleedin' Stevens will share a bill on the main Pyramid Stage on the Saturday.

What's more, they will share it with Jack White's raucous side project The Raconteurs, veteran bluesman Seasick Steve with his battered guitars, incendiary French superstar Manu Chao and rap giant Jay-Z.

Those who are slumped in their fold-up camping chairs all day in front of that stage, clutching cardboard pint glasses and sheltering under giant ponchos, will be in for one bizarre musical journey.

Then master cheesemaker Gilbert O'Sullivan opens proceedings on the Sunday, followed by US MOR king John Mayer and melancholic crooner Leonard Cohen.

For those about to cry that their beloved festival has strayed too far from its rock roots, the Pyramid Stage's opening day promises a more typical indie line-up.

DON'T LIKE JAY-Z? Other Saturday headliners on Glastonbury stages Massive Attack (Other Stage) Biffy Clyro (John Peel Stage) Ethiopiques (Jazz World) CSS (The Park) Gilbert O'Sullivan (Acoustic) The Proclaimers (Avalon) New York Fund (Left Field) Dave Seaman (Dance West) Audio Bullies (Lounge) Pendulum (G Stage) Squarepusher (Glade)

The likes of Editors, The Fratellis, Kate Nash, The Feeling and The Gossip will all lead up to the Kings of Leon.

This year's Pyramid Stage bill is nothing if not eclectic.

But Glastonbury really comes into its own when you scratch beneath the surface.

It has so many stages and so much musical variety that other festivals still cannot compare.

For the much-vaunted teen audience seeking guitar heroes, Panic at the Disco, Pete Doherty, The Enemy, The Cribs - acts that could headline in their own right at other events - are all on smaller stages on the Friday night.

And the running orders on the John Peel Stage and The Park read like the NME Cool List, featuring just about every up-and-coming act around, such as Black Kids, The Courteeners, Santogold and Yeasayer.

For dance fans, Fatboy Slim, Massive Attack, Groove Armada and Hot Chip lead the way, while all eyes will be on whether Brit Award winner Mark Ronson brings Amy Winehouse to the Other Stage on Sunday.

Joan Baez will headline the Acoustic Stage on the Sunday

There are the legendary fogeys to cater for the ageing hippies - Leonard Cohen on the main stage and Joan Baez, Solomon Burke, Jimmy Cliff and Neville Staple off the beaten track.

Then a few proper pop stars pop up in unexpected places - Will Young will support The Proclaimers on the Avalon stage on Saturday, where Katie Melua headlines the following night.

Estelle precedes Jimmy Cliff on the Jazz World stage on Friday, while Duffy is sandwiched between Elbow and The Wombats on the Other Stage on Saturday.

There is even a chance to see some pop stars of the future, when students from the Brit School perform in the Left Field tent, followed by former student Kate Nash, on Friday.

And that does not touch on the non-musical performances - such as theatre and circus - or the spiritual sideshow - alternative therapies, eco-awareness, healing fields - or the happenings that exist only in some surreal twilight zone - the swinging saloon lounge, the weddings in a boxing ring, the topless mud wrestling pit.

Underwhelming

That is all as much part of Glastonbury as the Pyramid Stage headliners.

This year, the prospect of Jay-Z, The Verve and Kings of Leon has proved underwhelming to the traditional Glastonbury crowd.

The headline acts should be the biggest bands around, providing anthemic, euphoric, arms-in-the-air moments - and those will be thin on the ground this year.

If you are there to sing along to the major stars, the festival has let its usual standards slip. But the full line-up shows there is much more to Glastonbury.

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