Stormzy headlines Glastonbury — first Black British solo headliner

Why it matters

June 28, 2019. Stormzy (Michael Omari) headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, becoming the first Black British solo headliner in the festival's 49-year history. He was 25. He wore a Banksy-designed Union Jack stab vest. The set ran 90 minutes and drew on grime, drill, and the gospel-inflected production of his 2017 LP Gang Signs & Prayer plus his then-upcoming Heavy Is the Head. The Glastonbury slot was a significant cultural marker. The festival had headlined Beyoncé and Jay-Z (separately) before but had never given the Pyramid Stage closing slot to a Black British solo act. Stormzy used the platform deliberately: the set included extended Black British history segments, a chorus invoking the Grenfell Tower victims, and a series of guest spots from across the UK grime and drill scenes. The performance was widely treated, by both UK music press and broader cultural commentators, as a generational marker for UK hip-hop's cultural standing. You can watch the BBC footage. The Banksy vest is the visual nobody who watched it has forgotten.