Glastonbury Organizer: ‘There Aren’t A Lot Of New Rock Acts’
Glastonbury 2024 took place over the weekend. The legendary festival has long attracted a diverse bill, but in recent years, there are seemingly fewer and fewer rock acts on it….
Glastonbury 2024 took place over the weekend. The legendary festival has long attracted a diverse bill, but in recent years, there are seemingly fewer and fewer rock acts on it.
This is something Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis addressed in a new interview with The Telegraph. The interview is behind a paywall, but the headline reads, "Emily Eavis says there are not enough new rock acts for Glastonbury."
Fortunately, Louder published some of Eavis's comments about booking rock acts for a festival. Eavis argues that there are seemingly criticisms about every Glastonbury bill. However, Eavis notes that every Glastonbury bill "reflects what's happening in the music world at the moment."
She added, "There aren’t a lot of new rock acts to choose from if I’m honest. Hopefully that will emerge again, my heyday was 1995 with Pulp and Oasis and Radiohead... and that was great but music changes all the time and right now this is where we’re at."
Regardless of how these comments make any rock fan feel reading this right now, they should be taken to heart. Not a single rock album has topped the Billboard 200 album chart, so far, in 2024. In fact, here's a breakdown of every rock/rock adjacent album that topped that chart from 2019-2023. (And yes, I am being generous when including "rock adjacent" albums.)
2019
Hozier - Wateland, Baby!
Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride
The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger
Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind
Tool - Fear Inoculum
2020
Machine Gun Kelly - Tickets to My Downfall
AC/DC - Power Up
2021
None (Yes, really!)
2022
Machine Gun Kelly - Mainstream Sellout
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love
2023
Blink-182 - One More Time...
Chart-wise, rock is in a sad state. By no means is rock and roll "dead," to harken back to Gene Simmons's comments in a 2014 piece from GQ. However, rock has been far from the mainstream for a number of years now. Musicians and fans alike can probably name the pros and cons of that situation.
What it comes down to is this: If you're fine with rock and roll not being mainstream, then carry on, and thanks for even reading this far. If you're not fine with rock and roll not being mainstream, perhaps there needs to be an examination as to why this is. Sure, music tastes change with every generation, but why has rock taken such a hit?
This is an examination this author wishes would happen. It's not an exaggeration when I say that rock and roll saved my life as a teen. I want nothing more than the genre to be robust for generations to come. But in order to have this conversation, many people in power in the music industry need to get comfortable about being uncomfortable real quick.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has honored many artists who are still with us, but they've also delivered a number of posthumous inductions. The latter is something that stuck in the craw of Dee Snider.
The Twisted Sister took to X (formerly Twitter) on May 11 and wrote, "DEAR RNR HALL OF FAME...There are bands who YOU KNOW are going to eventually be inducted because of their huge influence. How about NOT waiting until the entire band is DEAD? The MC5 are being inducted next month. The last living member died yesterday. RIP MC5. #ThatSucks."
As previously reported, the MC5 are one of four artists being honored with the Musical Excellence Award as part of the 2024 Rock Hall induction class. The Musician Excellence Award is "given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music."
While being recognized by the Rock Hall is a long overdue honor for the MC5, unfortunately, as Snider stated, all members of the classic lineup have died. Drummer Dennis Thompson died on May 9 from a heart attack at age 75. Former MC5 manager and counterculture icon John Sinclair died on April 2 at age 82. Guitarist Wayne Kramer died shortly before Thompson on February 2 at age 75.
Before a brutal 2024 wiped out the MC5, the band suffered two major losses in the 1990s. Singer Rob Tyner died in September 1991 at age 46 from a heart attack. Three years later, guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith died in November 1994 also at age 46 from heart failure.
So, with all of this bummer news in mind, perhaps this is time to list some artists that we hope will get into the Rock Hall before they die. Obviously, this is a very short list, but it's a solid jumping off point for more discussion. As we all know, there's always plenty to discuss when it comes to the Rock Hall.
David Johansen
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for FLCNot to continue to be a bummer, but David Johansen is the last man standing from the New York Dolls lineup from their 1973 self-titled debut album. It's obscene how many artists were influenced by the New York Dolls. The band has been eligible for induction since 1999 and have been nominated three times: 2001, 2021 and 2022. For crying out loud, what is the hold up with the Dolls, Rock Hall?!
The Surviving Members of Iron Maiden
Karl Walter/Getty ImagesMany have lamented the lack of heavy metal in the Rock Hall and rightfully so. With Black Sabbath, Metallica and Judas Priest finally getting recognition, Iron Maiden is seemingly poised to be next from the heavy metal world. The band is still a massive draw on tour, and they're still great live. Why not bring that greatness to a Rock Hall induction ceremony before it's too late? (Side note: When Maiden finally does get into the Rock Hall, artist Derek Riggs should get in, too, for creating one of the greatest band mascots ever, Eddie.)
The Surviving Members of The Runaways
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesLike the New York Dolls, The Runaways have had a massive influence on many artists that followed, especially women. Despite being eligible for induction since 2002, the all-women rock band hasn't even been nominated. The fact their induction would also make Joan Jett a two-time inductee is an added bonus. While drummer Sandy West died in 2006, the other core members are still alive.
The Surviving Members Soundgarden
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesChris Cornell's sudden, tragic death in 2017 is a loss that is still very much felt in the rock world. Soundgarden's catalog more than makes them worthy of induction, which they were eligible for since 2012. Undoubtedly, Soundgarden will (or should) get into the Rock Hall at some point, even though it'll be bittersweet. At the very least, the surviving members deserve that recognition.
The Surviving Members of Alice in Chains
Mat Hayward/Getty ImagesLike Soundgarden, the induction of Alice in Chains will be a very bittersweet moment, considering the 2002 death of singer Layne Staley and the 2011 death of bassist Mike Starr. Unlike Soundgarden, though, AIC has yet to even be nominated for the Rock Hall, despite being eligible since 2016. It's one of the more baffling snubs from the Rock Hall in recent years. Hopefully, this wrong will eventually be righted.
Motley Crue (Who are shockingly still with us!)
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesOkay, yes...it is a minor miracle that the members of Motley Crue are all still alive. The fan support for their induction into the Rock Hall has been going on for years, but even they think they'll be dead by time the Rock Hall inducts them. In a May 2024 interview with 93.3 WMMR's Radio Sara, Vince Neil and Tommy Lee were asked how they would react if their were inducted. Neil actually said, "I think it'd be pretty cool to be inducted, but we'll probably be dead when they induct us." If that quote alone isn't a sign for the Rock Hall to think about giving people their flowers before it's too late, we don't know what is.
