BIMM students, graduates and lecturers take centre stage at Glastonbury 2022
Glastonbury Festival is always one of THE stand-out events in the global music calendar and this year was no different, with over 200,000 people in attendance.
The five-day festival of contemporary music, dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and other arts was headlined this year by Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar, alongside thousands of other acts appearing on different stages and performance areas.
As with every year the festival was peppered with BIMM students, lecturers and graduates. Once again we were lucky enough to put on acts at the bandstand of the legendary Croissant Neuf field, with students and graduates performing and working. We saw sets from Freddie Lewis, Body Water, Isaac Hughes-Dennis, Welly and GIYA. Four students were working across the area and provided integral input into the smooth running of the stages.
Alongside the acts on our own stage, the larger stages were packed full of BIMM talent as well. We’ve picked out some of our highlights from across the weekend:
Iconic acts
A massive performance from Fontaines D.C.
BIMM Institute Dublin graduates Fontaines D.C. just keep on winning. They’ve had quite the year of it with highlights including a UK and Irish no.1 album with Skinty Fia, a world tour, a Grammy nomination and now a massive set at Glastonbury’s The Other Stage. The group performed at 4:30pm on Sunday; it was a sterling set with songs from all three of their albums.
Secret sets from BIMM Bristol’s IDLES and George Ezra
You don’t get asked to do a secret set at Glastonbury without being a certain calibre of artist. This year saw secret sets from two of our most loved graduate acts representing the West Country – George Ezra and IDLES.
George Ezra played a secret set on the festival’s final day as a surprise guest on the John Peel Stage. He announced the performance via his Twitter account, “SURPRISE! Glastonbury see you 2pm for a big old party”.
Taking to the BBC Introducing Stage at 12.30pm on Saturday, Bristol graduate Jon Beavis and Bristol lecturer Lee Kiernan followed up their Other Stage performance with a secret set for IDLES. The band tore through the entirety of their 2017 debut, Brutalism, described at the time by NME as “an expletive-laden, punk triumph that tackles the current Tory rule, toxic masculinity and mental health.”
Session musicians
Gaetan Judd alongside Burna Boy
BIMM Institute London guitar graduate Gaetan Judd performed alongside the awe-inspiring Burna Boy. Gaetan, who also performs with Samm Henshaw and Ray BLK, rocked The Other Stage at sunset with a very impressive performance. When asked, Gaetan added:
“I played my third Glastonbury in a row. I’m so grateful to God for blessing me with all these opportunities. It’s the best festival in the world and I pray to be there again next year!”
Isabel Torres alongside Declan McKenna
BIMM Institute London guitar graduate Isabel Torres played with Declan McKenna on Glastonbury’s The Other Stage. Playing with Declan has led to Isabelle gaining performance experience on Later…With Jools Holland, BBC Live Lounge, Maida Vale, VEVO and the NME Awards, plus some of the biggest festival stages, including Lollapalooza, SummerSonic and now, Glastonbury.
Emanuel J Burton alongside Little Simz
BIMM Institute Manchester drumming graduate Emanuel J Burton appeared as part of Little Simz’ fantastic band as a headliner on the West Holts Stage. He can now add this to his list of performances which also includes AO Arena, Sports Relief, BBC 6 Music, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, We Out Here Festival and so many more. Emanuel had this to say about their performance:
“Glastonbury was definitely an interesting experience! It’s nice to get to share your talents and energy with any crowd no matter where in the world but on such a platform as this, it’s special to be a part of it. Shout out to Little Simz and the team for working this hard to get to this stage!”
Lecturers
Andrew McKinney and Adam Betts alongside Jarvis Cocker
Not only did our students and graduates perform at Glastonbury, we even had some lecturers there. London’s Head of Bass Andrew McKinney and Drum lecturer Adam Betts made an appearance playing with the enigmatic Jarvis Cocker as part of his performance on The Park Stage.
Collette Williams and Suzi Dian alongside Blossoms
BIMM Birmingham Drum tutor Collette Williams and Vocals lecturer Suzi Dian performed alongside their band, Blossoms. Their performance is not to be missed and even features an appearance from none other than OG Spice Girl herself, Mel C who performed ‘Spice Up Your Life’ alongside the Manchester-based band.
Want to follow in the footsteps of these fantastic artists, well… You can! Here’s some more information on how to join BIMM Institute and become part of the family.
