Burna Boy gets his deserved big billing at Glastonbury 2024

Drawing more energy from a late Sunday crowd than you might expect, Burna Boy’s pyrotechnic set is a real party.

Words: Abigail Firth.
Pictures: Patrick Gunning.

In 2019, Burna Boy expressed his disgust at Coachella for giving him such a low rating in that year’s lineup, stating that he was an African giant and deserved better. Five years later, Glastonbury honored that by giving him the second peak of the Pyramid, and yes, he was kind of right.

This year at Glastonbury, language barriers have disappeared, making way for Burna Boy’s Nigerian party on his biggest stage. Collaborations with various British artists have helped to boost his profile here and, knowing exactly where he is, he uses his Dave ‘Location’ feature to open the set.

Pulling more energy from a late Sunday crowd than one might expect, Burna Boy’s pyrotechnic set is a real party. For some, it’s an introduction to Nigerian culture that hits like a sledgehammer. Older tracks like “It’s Plenty” are the comfort an overcast Sunday at Worthy Farm needs, while recent hit “City Boys” is a riot.

He asks the whole crowd, boys and girls, to take off their shirts and swing them for “Ye”; almost immediately after finishing, he is told that he must finish, but he is far from finished. Breaking the rules for one last performance of “Last Last”, his status as an African Giant remains intact.