Metronomy’s Joe Mount spoke to NME backstage at Glastonbury 2022 and told us how the festival stalwarts have distilled seven albums into the perfect “hour of power” for fans. Watch our interview above.
After a two-year hiatus, Glastonbury has returned to Worthy Farm this weekend (June 23 – 26). Mount, whose band has played multiple stages of the fest over the years, said he was looking forward to taking the Other Stage today (June 25), and playing new songs for fans.
“It feels really brilliant,” he said. “Everyone is saying how nice it is to be playing in front of crowds again but I think there’s [also another] difference I see now. People who come to see us, they really want to. Everyone’s been starved of going to see gigs. Now, if someone comes to see your gig they really want to be there and that feels quite special.”
Now that the band are seven albums in, having released their most recent record ‘Small World’ in February, Mount told us how the band fits their expansive discography into a tight festival set.
“We just play what we think people want to hear,” he said. “We don’t worry about hammering the new stuff too much. We only have an hour as well, which for us is not a very long set.” Mount added: “It’s a good exercise in trimming the fat, getting the perfect hour of power.”
The festival veteran also shared his advice for first-time Glastonbury performers.
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“The first time we played here it almost felt like a different festival,” he said. “Back then, the stages all had different names. I think if you’re playing here, and it’s your first time, imagine it’s your last time and suck it up and enjoy it and make the most of it.”
He added: “Every time we come here that’s what we try to do. Even now, we arrived yesterday, we’re not playing until tomorrow but it’s quite fun to hang out. Just enjoy it.”
Yesterday saw the first main day of music at Glasto, with a Pyramid Stage headline set from Billie Eilish, Foals closing The Other Stage, an opening set from The Libertines, and performances from the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Little Simz, Sugababes, Wet Leg, St Vincent, IDLES, Sam Fender, Yard Act, Sleaford Mods and many more.
After an intimate warm-up gig in Frome, Paul McCartney will close the Pyramid Stage tonight after a day that will see performances from Noel Gallagher, HAIM, Megan Thee Stallion, Roisin Murphy, Jamie T, Yungblud, The Avalanches, Burna Boy, Jessie Ware, Beabadoobee and many more.
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2022.