大象传媒

Is it too early to start thinking about future Glastonbury Pyramid Stage headliners? Of course not! It's part of the fun for people at Worthy Farm and in living rooms across the land to watch performances and go, "You know what? I can see this artist topping the bill in future years."

Now, we know there's no Glasto next year. But that's not going to stop people talking about 2019 right now. So, just for fun, here's us throwing a few names into the ring for Pyramid Stage glory in 2019 and beyond...

The rise of The xx from indie darlings to a the kind of massive band that sells out seven consecutive nights at London's Brixton Academy (a record) is one of the great stories in UK pop of recent years. Two of their three albums have gone to No.1 in the UK and the most recent one, I See You, was a US No.2. They played the Pyramid Stage on Friday, took it in their stride and they're only going to get bigger.

As we said in our How grime fever gripped Glastonbury - again! article, Stormzy's set, following Wiley on the Other Stage, felt like a coronation. If there was any doubt about who the current ruler of grime was before Glastonbury 2017, there certainly isn't now. And if the Croydon-born MC's career trajectory continues to soar over the next couple of years, we reckon he's a dead cert for a headline slot. What a moment that would be for British music.

Remember when some people used to be a bit sniffy about pop (or even hip hop) artists playing Glastonbury? No more. But there's nonetheless a certain kind of pop act that just suits the festival better than others, and Lorde proved in spades this year that she's a great match. Her set on the Other Stage was phenomenal, and incredibly well-received. She's still only 20 and now she's got a taste for Glastonbury, you can bet she'll want to return - as a Pyramid Stage headliner.

And on a not dissimilar tip, Katy Perry at Glastonbury proved to be another very clever and appropriate booking. "Thanks to @glastofest for helping me feel like, cool or whatever," she said on after playing to 100,000 people, but Katy has always been cool to fans of all types of music - a true popstar that transcends genre. We'll guess that she won't be back for a few years, but she's always said how much she loves it in the UK and you can't love it here and not want to headline Glasto.

Okay, we're not going to get too carried away with the pop thing here. As the Foos proved, Glastonbury still likes to rawk and having rock bands on top of the bill is still the norm for the festival. And which of the current crop of new(ish) groups look most likely to start climbing up the bill, and fast? Royal Blood, who slayed on the Pyramid Stage on Friday night with only The xx and Radiohead playing after them. Some bands, like Arctic Monkeys, have headlined very early in their careers, but most need at least three albums. Royal Blood currently have two.

In a 大象传媒 News interview, Dizzee pointed out that a British rapper has yet to headline the festival. He was putting himself forward for the job, and that's a perfectly credible shout. To top the bill, you need an arsenal of quality tunes that people know, love and will go, well, bonkers to. Dizzee's got that arsenal, and although you could argue that the spotlight in grime in 2017 might be turned elsewhere, only a fool would write him off. The boy never liked being in the corner.

The next two we'll mention as punts for quite a few years in the future - massive talents showing extraordinary promise, and all of whom had a great Glastonbury in 2017. Top of the list: Norwegian singer-songwriter Sigrid, aged 20. Her song Don't Kill My Vibe has been one of the songs of the year - a copper-bottomed classic - so let's assume her debut album will be incredible and her star will continue to rise and rise, along with her placement on the Glastonbury bill.

Declan McKenna was a 大象传媒 Sound of 2017 nominee and he won Glastonbury's Emerging Talent Competition all the way back in 2015, making the 18-year-old a near-veteran of the festival already. And, yup, you read that right - despite the great maturity in his songwriting, he's still just 18. His debut album, What Do You Think About the Car?, is released in July and you can already imagine fans of acts from Jake Bugg to Arctic Monkeys making it their album of the year. Watch this space, the lad's going places and fast.