From iconic legends to groundbreaking performances, some artists simply elevate a festival experience to legendary status. Join us as we explore the most unforgettable headliner acts that have graced the biggest stages in music history. These are the moments that truly defined a generation, cementing artists' legacies and creating indelible memories for hundreds of thousands of fans. Prepare to relive the electrifying energy and unparalleled showmanship that made these sets truly monumental.
00:12ever to grace the main stage at a music festival.
00:23Number 10, Dolly Parton at Glastonbury, 2014.
00:30When Dolly Parton finally performed at Glastonbury, 2014,
00:38for the legend slot on Sunday,
00:41it was always going to be a special occasion.
00:44Nearly 200,000 people flocked to the pyramid stage
00:48to hear the iconic songwriter
00:50and to say that Parton delivered would be an understatement.
00:54Hits like Jolene, 9 to 5, and Islands in the Stream
01:05were as well-received as can be.
01:07Parton, despite being in the business for decades at this point,
01:11hadn't lost a step vocally.
01:13When she closed the show with her signature composition,
01:16I Will Always Love You,
01:17the crowd could not have been more satisfied.
01:20A five-star performance on every level.
01:33Number 9, The Rolling Stones at Glastonbury, 2013.
01:37The fact that The Rolling Stones had never headlined Glastonbury
01:48was finally remedied when the band hit the pyramid stage in 2013.
01:52Mick Jagger even jokingly commented on that fact,
01:55telling the crowd, quote,
01:57they finally got round to asking us.
01:59You could tell from the opening number onwards
02:01that this was going to be a special show.
02:11The Stones have no shortage of hits,
02:13and highlights from their entire repertoire
02:15were on display from the get-go.
02:17Sympathy for the Devil, Gimme Shelter,
02:19and many more songs stood out,
02:21setting a pace that would not falter
02:23over the course of the gig's two-hour runtime.
02:25Over 50 years into their career,
02:27and still firing on all cylinders.
02:38Number 8, Beyonce at Coachella, 2018.
02:42Beyonce was never going to take a headlining spot
02:44at Coachella lately.
02:46From the opening seconds of her intro,
02:48it was clear that she was planning something truly unique.
02:51I look and stand so deep in your eyes.
02:54I touch on you more and more every time.
02:56When you leave, I'm begging you not to go.
02:58Crazy in Love offered just a taste of the bombast
03:01that would follow.
03:02And by the time this multi-act show was done,
03:05she had brought us a retrospective on her entire career.
03:09She even brought out her fellow members of Destiny's Child
03:12for some major nostalgia.
03:21Beyonce was in peak form vocally,
03:23and the entire stage show alone was good enough
03:26that you could enjoy it with the sound off,
03:28a real benchmark for modern-day festival headliners.
03:31You're the one that tears are old.
03:34You're the one that always falls.
03:36When I need you, baby, everything sucks.
03:39Number 7, James Brown at Woodstock, 1999.
03:43Woodstock!
03:44Woodstock!
03:45Woodstock!
03:46Woodstock!
03:51The hardest working man in show business
03:53didn't get that title overnight.
03:54James Brown was truly an ageless wonder,
03:57a man who looked as primed for the stage in his early 20s
04:01as he did nearly 50 years later.
04:03Brown only accepts the highest standards.
04:06When it comes to his backing band,
04:08and at Woodstock in 1999,
04:10their musicianship was on full display.
04:20It's hard to believe that James was pushing 70
04:22at the time of this concert.
04:23The career-spanning set never let up in its momentum.
04:26By the time all was said and done,
04:28the funk and soul legend had well and truly stolen the show.
04:41Number 6, Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Festival, 1965.
04:45Once upon a time, you dressed so fine
04:47through the bumps a dime in your prime.
04:53Is there a more famous and controversial single performance
04:56in music history than Bob Dylan's return to the Newport Folk Festival in 1965?
05:00Well, there is so much context and backstory
05:03to Dylan's rejection of the folk scene in the mid-60s
05:06that we'd be here all day if we tried to explain it.
05:09However, despite his full band performance being such a polarizing moment,
05:13the show itself was Dylan at his very best.
05:24Sure, a few people in the crowd were upset to see Bob throwing away his acoustic guitar
05:28in favor of a new sound, but that new sound could not have been better.
05:32Dylan is known to be a somewhat mercurial performer,
05:35but on this night, he was in top form.
05:42Number 5, David Bowie at Glastonbury, 2000.
05:55David Bowie may have changed styles, genres and backing bands over the course of his career,
06:00but his knack for live performance was a constant.
06:03In 2000, he headlined the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury
06:06for a triumphant career-spanning set.
06:16Even when vocal struggles threatened to derail him, Bowie never lost his composure.
06:21Old classics flowed seamlessly into new releases,
06:24and his backing band was as tight as can be.
06:27He didn't skimp on the old material either,
06:29giving fans a setlist that offered a taste of every era of his career.
06:33All in all, Bowie looked as comfortable on stage as he ever did.
06:45Number 4, Prince at Coachella, 2008.
06:48To say the Prince was an enigma would be putting it lightly.
07:00He's also the type of artist who is unflinchingly confident in his ability to do things his own way,
07:05and make them work.
07:06His Coachella set in 2008 was no different.
07:09He didn't even play a track from his own solo catalogue until eight songs in,
07:22adorning the set with covers of artists like Santana, the B-52s, Sarah McLachlan, the Beatles,
07:28and one iconic version of Radiohead's Creep.
07:31That's not to say he didn't play his own hits, though.
07:33In many ways, it was the perfect Prince setlist.
07:36The Coachella choir, I wanna hear y'all sing it.
07:40Come together, yeah!
07:43Number 3, Otis Redding at Monterey Pop, 1967.
07:48Otis Redding was truly hitting his stride at the age of 25 in 1967,
08:02performing one of the most powerful sets of the decade at the Monterey Pop Festival that year.
08:07Over the course of just five songs,
08:09Redding showcased a truly enormous amount of explosive energy,
08:13pivoting wildly between raw power and gentle honesty.
08:16The set contains one of his finest vocal performances,
08:19and thankfully, the whole thing was captured beautifully on film.
08:33Tragically, this would be one of the final highlights of his career.
08:37Later that year, Redding would die in a plane crash,
08:40posthumously sitting number one in the charts with a song he had recorded just three days before,
08:45Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.
08:47Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, wasting time.
08:52Number 2, Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, 1969.
09:00Jimi Hendrix redefined the guitar on several occasions during his short career.
09:12But even by standards, Woodstock 1969 was truly special.
09:17Hendrix and his band were truly at the peak of their powers.
09:20Whatever magical energy that legendary festival was producing,
09:32Jimi and the boys were harnessing it during their set.
09:35Who knows when Jimi Hendrix actually decided to rework the American national anthem on his guitar,
09:40but it was a masterstroke.
09:42There's a reason why out of all of the legendary performers who made up this iconic festival,
09:47Hendrix's performance is always the one that springs to mind first.
10:01Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:04Oasis at Glastonbury, 1994.
10:07The Britpop movement at its very best.
10:19Daft Punk at Wireless, 2007.
10:21A triumphant display of the French legend's live capabilities.
10:25Amy Winehouse at Glastonbury, 2007.
10:36The tragic legend in her absolute prime.
10:48Joan Osborne at Lilith Fair, 1997.
10:51An iconic performance at a festival celebrating women in music.
10:55Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:58What if God was one of us?
11:02Lady Gaga with semi-precious weapons at Lollapalooza, 2010.
11:06A highlight moment at the peak of Gaga's emergence.
11:09Semi-precious weapons and Lady Gaga proved at Lollapalooza, 2010.
11:16That rock and roll is f***ing back.
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11:34Number 1. Nirvana at Reading Festival, 1992.
11:39Few bands, if any, could make a giant stage feel like an intimate gig quite like Nirvana did at Reading in 1992.
11:55Somehow, Kurt Cobain and his band invited thousands of attendees into a set that felt like it could have been played in some dingy grunge club all the way back in Seattle.
12:04They were very clearly enjoying themselves too, keeping a lighthearted tone throughout while performing with near-perfect precision.
12:11The chaotic nature of the band's style didn't get in the way of this being an excellent display of musicianship.
12:24It was instantly regarded as one of the best headlining performances of the year.
12:28And its stock has only grown in the time since.
12:39What legendary festival performance sticks out in your memory?
12:42Let us know in the comments.
12:44What are those things we have now?
12:46What do you guys do now?
12:47I will pause now for a minute and about the while.
12:48See you on the piano, place it up around.
12:49See you the next day.
12:50Before four or five days!
12:51You want to end up with this step of three days?
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