It was a move so unpopular that it earned festival organiser Emily Eavis death threats, but Dave Grohl has faith in Kanye West’s forthcoming performance at Glastonbury.
Despite 130 000 people signing a petition in protest against the rapper headlining the legendary festival, the Foo Fighters frontman has said that “there is nothing more punk rock” than West’s upcoming performance.
Grohl, who will also be headlining with the Foo Fighters, said to The Sun:
“I think maybe Kanye’s personality might be harder to swallow than his music. But these are the moments that make for great moments in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. You’ve got more attention on that Saturday night set from Kanye than maybe anything else.”
“Who knows what will happen? He could walk out there and have 100,000 people bottle him on stage or he could walk out there and show the world that nothing else matters except for that moment. And I’m sure that is what he will do.”
“To me, there is nothing more punk rock than having him stand on stage in front of 100,000 people after thousands of people petition for him to not be there.”
However, the variety of headlining acts is what Grohl loves most about Glastonbury. “One of the things I love about Glastonbury is the diversity in the line-up. There’s everyone from Florence and the Machine to Kanye West to Lionel Richie,” said the rocker.
Yeezy isn’t the first rapper to cop flak for his Glastonbury appearance. In 2008, Jay Z became the first major hip-hop act to headline at the festival, receiving criticism from Glastonbury veterans like Noel Gallagher. In retaliation, Jay Z opened with a cover of Oasis’ Wonderwall.
This year’s festival takes place June 24-28, so we all wait with bated breath to see how Yeezy will perform, with or without 100 000 bottles being hurled at him. Maybe he’ll bring his flamethrowers along to this show too?