The National have performed a mesmerising set at this year’s edition of Glastonbury Festival – here’s what they played.
The band – comprised of Matt Berninger, twin brothers Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, and brothers Scott Devendorf and Bryan Devendorf – headlined the Other stage today (June 30). To kick off their set, they played ‘Don’t Swallow the Cap’, ‘Eucalyptus’, ‘Tropic Morning News’ and ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’.
“Thank you so much. We’re so honoured to be here. We can remember when we first came to England and we would play this next song probably and hardly anyone was listening and now there’s all of you so this is for you guys,” Aaron told the massive crowd who showed up to the set, introducing their song ‘Abel’.
Elsewhere in the performance, The National brought out their “good friend and collaborator” Kate Stables – frontwoman of This Is The Kit – for a rendition of ‘Rylan’. Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons was spotted watching the band from the side of the stage.
Speaking with NME earlier in the day ahead of their performance, Berninger teased that they were hoping to have a “local” special guest join them on stage.
Berninger commanded the crowd to shine their flashlights during ‘Light Years’ causing a sea of lights to shine bright throughout Worthy Farm. He took a lot of time to be in the crowd and interact with those who were standing within the first couple of rows. He then dedicated their track ‘England’ to everyone at Glasto saying: “This is for you guys, this is for England.”
The penultimate song of the night ‘Terrible Love’ saw the frontman perform the track from the crowd surrounded by fans who were singing along.
It takes an ocean not to break.@TheNational #Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/0jiYcnqsNN
— Andrew Trendell (@AndrewTrendell) June 30, 2024
The crowd lights up with The National’s stellar performance of ‘Light Years’ on the Other Stage 🔦🎶#Glastonbury #Glastonbury2024 pic.twitter.com/9vuWrjYBLA
— Far Out Magazine #Glastonbury2024 (@FarOutMag) June 30, 2024
The National play an outstanding version of ‘Rylan’ to the crowds at Glastonbury 🎶🙌#Glastonbury #Glastonbury2024 pic.twitter.com/HRGtCE3FQS
— Far Out Magazine #Glastonbury2024 (@FarOutMag) June 30, 2024
The National at Glastonbury 2024 played:
‘Don’t Swallow the Cap’
‘Eucalyptus’
‘Tropic Morning News’
‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’
‘The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness’
‘I Need My Girl’
‘Conversation 16’
‘Abel’
‘Alien’
‘Space Invader’
‘Day I Die
‘Light Years’
‘Rylan’ (with This Is the Kit)
‘England’
‘Graceless’
‘Fake Empire’
‘Mr. November’
‘Terrible Love’ (Matt in crowd)
‘About Today’
In other Glasto news, Paloma Faith paid tribute to Amy Winehouse with a cover ‘Back To Black’ during her performance at the Pyramid stage. Elsewhere, fans have been sharing their love for Gossip following their eruptive set at Glastonbury – which saw them call out the US government.
Meanwhile, SZA’s headlining Glastonbury set was plagued by technical difficulties, and Avril Lavigne delivered an unashamed nostalgia fest with her pop-punk tunes.
Coldplay‘s electric headlining set on Saturday scored them a four-star review. Little Simz‘s Pyramid performance marked her bid as a future headliner, while Camila Cabello turned in a chaotic performance.
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos, rumours and more from Glastonbury 2024. Follow the NME liveblog for all the action as it happens.
