Glastonbury has announced plans to celebrate the life of the late Annie Nightingale at this year’s festival.
The legendary DJ and broadcaster died on January 11 after a short illness. She was 83 years old. In a tribute at the time, Glasto co-organiser Emily Eavis described Nightingale as “a female trailblazer and true enthusiast”.
READ MORE: Glastonbury 2024: check out the full line-up and stage splits so far
She continued: “Annie gave me so much support when I was in my 20s, I always felt so grateful to have such a strong woman encouraging me along the way and I’m sure she has done the same for many others like me.
“She was an inspiration to so many women in music, broadcasting and beyond and just a lovely human being.”
Today (May 28), Glastonbury has shared details on how the event will pay tribute to Nightingale on Worthy Farm on Thursday June 27.
“Annie Nightingale loved Glastonbury Festival,” the post begins. “Her BBC Radio 1 show was broadcast from the Festival on Thursday nights through the 2000s from Silver Hayes and The Glade, and the last time she played the festival, in 2017, was on The Glade Main Stage.
“So it’s fitting that the Celebration of Annie’s life starts in The Glade on Thursday before moving to the BBC Introducing Stage for the after-dark part two.”
It adds: “The Glade Dome hosts the Daytime celebration, featuring The Nextmen Ft Kiko Bun and Fish56Octagon, who will be using his encyclopaedic knowledge of dance music to play a set of Annie’s favourite tunes.
“Annie’s beloved breakbeat is represented by King of The Beats – the breaks supergroup with Krafty Kuts plus members of the Freestylers and Plump DJs, who are putting together a very special set. The afternoon is topped off with one of Annie’s favourite acts, The Orb, who she championed in the early ’90s, bringing their music to the world.”
Organisers continue: “The celebration then moves to the BBC Introducing Stage after darkness has fallen, for a late-night session going into the early hours. The DJs will be covering the music Annie brought to the world from the ‘90s through to the present day through her show, with Jon Carter playing a set of big beat, the sound that kicked off some of the UK’s biggest dance acts’ careers.
“Representing Breakbeat and Nu Skool breaks are two of Annie’s favourite DJs, Krafty Kuts and Plump DJs, who will be playing a special back-to-back set. Bringing the latest sounds that Annie loved to discover is Martha, who Annie mentored and is carrying on her legacy discovering new music and giving artists a window to the world.”
You can see the full programme in the post above.
Glastonbury 2023 (CREDIT: Andy Ford for NME)
Glastonbury 2024 will be headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA.
Following the initial wave of acts being confirmed in March, organisers have been drip-feeding separate posters for the festival’s many areas and stages – including Left Field, Woodsies, The Glade, the Acoustic Stage, Silver Hayes, The Common and The Park.
Check out the full Glastonbury line-up so far with stage splits here.
Shortly after Annie Nightingale’s passing, her friend and former Radio 1 colleague Nick Grimshaw shared his favourite story about the late DJ – which took place at Glastonbury Festival in the 2000s.
“She ended up chatting to these guys and sitting in the back of an articulated lorry,” Grimshaw began. “They decide to shut the back doors because it’s a bit cold. They’re chatting and it’s five o’clock in the morning. She’s like [pretends to look at his watch], ‘Oooh, I’d better go, it’s early hours now – 8am or 9am or something…’
“They open the back doors, and she was in London. The lorry had been in transit for four hours and no one had noticed who was sat in the back of the lorry. She was in Ladbroke Grove!”
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