From Kylie Minogue’s long-awaited performance to Lionel Richie leading thousands in a synchronised dance routine, Glastonbury’s Legends slot has become known for providing some of the most memorable moments in the festival’s history. But it wasn’t always this way. For almost two decades, the Sunday afternoon spot had varying success.
Until a certain five-foot-nothing southern trailblazer charmed the farm and raised the bar. As I packed for Glastonbury in 2014, I counted myself as a slightly-above-casual Dolly fan; excited for her set and aware of her obvious cultural significance, but with no proper grasp of what was to come. By the time we were dismantling the tents on the Monday morning, like many of the 100,000 people who saw Parton perform that weekend, I was a born again, fully paid-up member of the Dolly fan club.
As Glastonburys go, it was a blokey one. The festival was headlined by indie faves Arcade Fire (who do have one female member out of five), heavy metal band Metallica and Leicester lads Kasabian. But the rhinestone-clad Parton outshone them all.
After years of inviting veteran acts to grace the Pyramid Stage on Sunday afternoons, Glastonbury made the Legends Slot an official occasion in 1998 when jazz crooner Tony Bennett stopped by at Worthy Farm. In the years that followed, the likes of Godfather of Soul James Brown(!), Dame Shirley Bassey – wearing diamanté Wellingtons and a £50k dress, naturally – and Pet Shop Boys visionary Brian Wilson performed in the mid-afternoon spot. But when Parton, then aged 68, was announced for Glastonbury in February 2014, you got the sense that something special was brewing.
The festival’s founder, Michael Eavis, threw aside any concerns of picking favourites and tweeted: "We are delighted to say that Dolly is coming to Glastonbury ... It really doesn't get much better than this!" Fast forward four months and by the time soundchecks were underway and the tinnies opened, there was only one act anyone at Worthy Farm wanted to talk about. Just as her death has sparked genuinely heartfelt tributes from an eclectic range of musicians, figures from across the political spectrum (Trump and Obama!) and institutions including NASA, Parton’s Legends appearance was the ultimate Glastonbury leveller.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Whether fellow festivalgoers were most hyped for Metallica, itching to hear Lana Del Rey perform from the newly-released Ultraviolence, or hoping to catch a Fatboy Slim secret set, every conversation with a stranger ended in the same agreement: country powerhouse Parton was the act you simply couldn’t miss.
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