Glastonbury Bound

I'm going to the Glastonbury Festival for the first time in my life next week. For most of the three days I'll be holed up in a Portakabin trying my best to share some of the excitement others are experiencing either at Worthy Farm or watching or listening at home.

Although I won't be seeing many bands I've still found myself looking longingly at the line-up, wondering who I would try to catch if I could.

There are lots of bands playing who I've seen before but among those I've yet to see live and really want to is California folkie Alela Diane (Sunday, Park Stage). The Park stage also hosts two great acts in a similar vein on Saturday night. M Ward, whose collaboration with Zooey Deschanel last year drew at first surprise and then delight, should get the crowd ready for one of the most acclaimed artists of last year, Bon Iver.

A new act that I've enjoyed hearing championed by Mark Lamarr recently is The Mummers. Their songs have accurately been described as evoking the soundtracks to Tim Burton films but it will be interesting to see how such theatricality translates to the stage.

My fondness for twang means that given half a chance I'd rush to see The Rockingbirds, The Broken Family Band and former Jayhawks Mark Olson and Gary Louris again.

Others that stand up for repeat viewing include Liverpool's masked crusaders The Wave Machines, Robyn Hitchcock and the mighty Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I've already seen New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem a few times this year and they'll provide excellent arm raising practice for Bruce Springsteen's headline set on Saturday night.

Much has been made of this year's heritage headliners. I'd always been sceptical of Bruce Springsteen until I first saw him play live in the unglamorous surroundings of Crystal Palace Athletics stadium. That gig converted me and I'm sure he'll convince any non-believers who see him on the Pyramid Stage.

Similarly Neil Young is a titanic, if eccentric, force onstage and could teach bands half his age a few things they won't have learnt in the school of rock.

The American veterans still have to compete for the crowd's affections with our home-grown headliners. Band reunions are often met with cynicism but Blur's really does seem special and if the response to this week's warm-up gigs is an indicator then the Essex boys will have the assembled in the palms of their hands.

I've mentioned just a fraction of the line-up. Whether you're going to the festival, listening to 6 Music's extensive coverage or watching on TV, online or Red Button, who are you looking forward to?

• Glastonbury Webcam Repair Mission
• 6 Music DJs Glastonbury picks
• Newsbeat - Make sense of the Glastonbury line-up

Nigel Smith is Senior Content Producer at BBC Music Interactive