SZA was always going to be a bit of a gamble for a Glastonbury headliner and the crowd for her Sunday night set was noticeably sparse (confirmed when my phone could access data to send a picture to a friend). But the people who made it to the Pyramid field were treated to a truly bananas, truly excellent show that marked her as a performer at the absolute top of the live game. None of the expectations of a Glastonbury headline set seemed to faze SZA one bit.
There were no guests and no confetti cannons, the only concession seeming to be a couple of covers (interpolating Prince’s ‘Kiss’ into Doja Cat’s ‘Kiss Me More’ was perhaps a nod to the oldies out there). The set design was spectacular – I’m not sure the Pyramid Stage has ever housed anything like it before. Lush Fern Gully caverns gave way to stark sci-fi dystopias, giant ants roamed the stage, a robot got a lapdance and SZA was the dazzling beacon that shone through all the set dressing, even when she came out dressed as a sexy BB-8 or sat in a tree dressed as a fairy for a full three songs.
The disparate visuals didn’t seem to mean very much, though they gave the impression of telling some kind of story – it came to feel something like flicking through Tiktoks and catching snippets of songs you know paired with random videos linked only by their soundtracks. Meanwhile SZA grinned gleefully during “Kill Bill” as she fantasised about murdering her ex and his new girlfriend while twirling a machete.
