Polyester’s Queer Guide to Glastonbury
Words: Amelia Abraham
Make it stand out
If you have never been to Glastonbury picture yourself arriving on day one wide-eyed, clean and optimistic. By day two you are Paula Radclyffe pooing behind a tree and carrying on during the London Marathon. By day three you are Leonardo Di Caprio in The Revenant. By day four, you will take what you think is your last breath, and then realise that you can’t, because you have to leave and somehow get home.
At Glastonbury, you will find yourself surrounded by every slice of society, playing the type of music they like and you don’t next to your tent. This is the beauty and joy of the festival, a new age, go-with-the flow and open minded spirit that ambitiously aims to offer something for everyone, and by everyone, we mean 200,000 people travelling in by coach from all four corners of the UK.
In 2024, there will be more queer and trans events and areas than ever before. From Shangri-La to Scissors, filled to the brim with DJs, drag queens and bands like Pillow Queens and Mannequin Pussy, it can be confusing to work out what is and isn’t queer on the extensive line-up, as well as where you’ll fit in, and how to locate some downtime away from the dancefloor. Below is the Polyester guide to the many queer and trans-focused goings-on across the festival, including cinema screenings, political talks and performances.
Shangri-La
Over recent editions of Glastonbury, Shangri-La has become a new hub of queer activity at the festival, a little less hectic than its neighbour Block9 (more on that in a moment). Here, Arrivals – the South Asian new music stage – comes together with queer focussed stages and political talks from Novara Media to blend underground music with performance art and activism.
In Shangri-La, the Nomad stage is billed as “the place for the underrepresented to unite, take up space, be seen, where voices are heard, and where alternative communities come together through a shared vision of the future”. On Friday, there will be a takeover by the QTPOC-centric London club collective Pxssy Palace, presenting Indigenous femme DJ Lady Shaka.
On Saturday night, this is where you will find the ongoing collaboration between London Trans+ Pride and The Chateaux, with a trans-led line-up including PLANNINGTOROCK joined by comedian and performer Travis Alabanza (who is also joining Shon Faye aand Sabah Choudrey to discuss trans Liberation at Left Field on Friday).
The Sistxrhood stage near Nomad will host Brownton Abbey, an afrofuturistic, space-church themed performance party that centres, celebrates and elevates disabled queer people of colour. Our recommendation is catching a set by THEMPRESS. Also in Sistxrhood is returning artist That Ray’s Trans Cabaret, where you will find drag and self-described “weird live art”. Let’s just say it’s not Dua Lipa.
Main Stages
As we all know, it is BRAT summer, and Charli XCX’s set at Glastonbury promises twink carnage. There are other queer-leaning headliners, too. If you think the gays will be jostling to reach the front at Janelle Monae and Jessie Ware, wait until you see them elbowing one another Hunger Games style for a spot at Dua Lipa and The Sugababes. Last time the Sugababes played Glastonbury, the tent was so full that many audience members were turned away, meaning it might be wise to arrive early to their Friday evening set this year.
As for the more classic acts, this year’s lineup is especially kitsch, with Shania Twain, Cindi Lauper and Kate Nash promising plenty of camp bangers (can we reclaim Kate Nash as camp yet?)
Shania has been chosen for the “legends” slot on Sunday afternoon, where Elton John played last year, and is where you should head if you want to sing along to “Man I Feel Like A Woman” – or as my family likes to say to my trans brother when the song comes on: “Oh no you don’t!”
For a more laid-back experience, Arlo Parks will be playing a set at Woodsies stage on Friday night, where Romy will play from her sapphic pop album, Midair, on Sunday. Personally, I will be making a beeline to celebrate the renaissance of Gossip on Saturday, to hopefully lose my wellies, pants and dignity with Beth Ditto (as she has suggested will be the case on Instagram) .
Block 9
Situated in the Southeast corner of the Glastonbury site near Shangri-La, Block9 is like a queer Bacchalian ball that comes alive after dark. You will see incredible set design (it literally looks like a town) and stumble upon seasoned DJs like Honey Dijon and Hannah Holland playing house music until the early hours. NYC Downlow is its hub, intended to recreate the disco era of New York, although it can sometimes feel more East London circa 2015. Expect queues on Friday and Saturday nights. The Meat Rack is more homo-centric, as the title might suggest, but equally sweaty to NYC Downlow, while the IICON stage is billed as an immersive audio-visual arena in Block9 East.
Further afield
Further Afield sounds like a Glastonbury stage, but it isn’t. We literally mean, where else can you go if you want to catch a moment’s respite?
One place is Scissors in the Park, a femme-queer area where you can get a haircut at the queer barbers, watch a sexy queer film at Flick Shack cinema, or catch the Coco Butter Club cabaret, a space for Black and POC queer burlesque, drag and circus artists. There’s also a club, Kiki’s, where London queer club collectives like He. She. They. and Queer House Party will be setting up shop.
If you want to engage in some spiritual healing at the festival, there is the Water Circle, where practitioners offer massage, osteopathy (in case you put your back out at Gossip), and aromatherapy, reflexology, and reiki. There is also counselling (in case you overdo it in Block9).
The Peace Garden – described as “the heart of the festival” – is a place to relax or lie down amongst the flower beds and have a much-needed nap. Finally, there is also the Stone Circle, where people head to watch the sunrise in the early hours, and which could be described as transcendental, post-human, or apocalyptic. Whether in a good or bad way, is for you to decide.
