Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Guitar Amps
  • Plugin Week 25
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Artist news
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • Drums
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Plugin Week A-Z
  • You Oughta Know
  • Fake AI band
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Wrecking Crew
Recommended reading
Finneas
Guitarists “Such an emotive player... so cool": Finneas names his 5 favourite guitarists
A crowd gathers at the Glastonbury festival Pyramid Stage
Gigs & Festivals Glastonbury 2025 line-up times: Who's on when, where and how you can watch them from anywhere. And who the hell are Patchwork?…
A crowd gathers at the Glastonbury festival Pyramid Stage
Gigs & Festivals Pulp, Haim and Lorde all rumoured to be making secret Glastonbury appearances
Kane Hibberd, the photographer behind the Scale exhibition in London, poses in front of his photographs – guitars features will include Kerry King of Slayer's BC Rich and Tom Morello's Arm The Homeless S-style.
Guitars Exhibition featuring life-sized photos of 100 legendary artists' guitars to open in London
Rod Stewart performing in 2023
Gigs & Festivals “We're gonna do Glastonbury together”: Rod Stewart just confirmed who’ll be joining him on stage
Mike Dawes is photographed wearing a white-and-black hooded top, hood up, against a red background, and holds his custom built cutaway acoustic guitar.
Artists Magic Mike Dawes has turned a Sleep Token track into a work of solo acoustic guitar genius
Lewis Capaldi and Robbie Williams
Gigs & Festivals Glastonbury 2025 secret act rumours: odds shorten on Lewis Capaldi and Robbie Williams enters the fray
  1. Artists
  2. Gigs & Festivals

10 of the best guitarists at Glastonbury 2016

News
By Matt Parker published 23 June 2016

Players worthy of the trudge across-site

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

Take a moment, possibly as you stop-start into the festival car park, to get clued-up on some of the finest guitarists at Glastonbury this year…

It’s summer, it’s raining and the country’s about to tear itself apart at the seams. That can only mean one thing - the festival season is upon us!

Our pick of the pickers takes in a blend of exquisite British and US talent

Alongside, the cows, stone circle and free dahl, part of Glastonbury’s charm is it’s diverse and extensive range of acts, so picking just 10 highlights from a list of players longer than the queue to get onsite is something of a challenge.

This year our pick of the pickers takes in a blend of exquisite British and US talent. And yes, obviously, Matt Bellamy is in there…

  • How to watch Glastonbury 2023 wherever you are
Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke)

Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke)

If you like your Southern rock to issue forth from genuine Stetson-wearing son-of-a-guns, then look for the shining, err, Starr on the Avalon stage this Friday.

A killer blend of tasty lick and bar-grime authenticity

2015’s Holding All The Roses hit number one on the US country charts and broke the top 20 in the UK, providing a much-deserved hit for the Atlanta five-piece.

This is a band that have toured constantly for 16 years and know how to deliver the goods in almost any live situation. Meanwhile, frontman Charlie Starr’s exchanges with Paul Jackson are a killer blend of tasty lick and bar-grime authenticity.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Gemma Thompson (Savages)

Gemma Thompson (Savages)

Savage's Gemma Thompson is quite simply the finest noise-rock guitarist to come out of the UK in the last decade.

We can see Adore providing a moment of true catharsis for the Pilton crowds

Gemma's is an artist’s approach to the instrument, using alternately broad, circular riffs and squeaking creepy harmonics to craft huge sonic canvasses. She’s a master manipulator of feedback, as proven on this year’s very good second album Adore Life.

We can see that record’s title track (sort of – it’s called Adore), a slow-building, charged and cleansing paean to life’s light and darkness, providing a moment of true catharsis for the Pilton crowds.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Michael Kiwanuka

Michael Kiwanuka

You’ve probably not heard much of Michael Kiwanuka’s new album Love And Hate yet, because, well, it’s not out for another three weeks, but we have, so you’re just going to have to take our word for it that he’s nailed it.

An expanded band have helped him to tread boldly into new territory

While he’s always been a fine acoustic player, and that anguished-yet-honeyed vocal still send shivers down the spine, an exciting combination of a darker sound, Danger Mouse production job and an expanded band have helped him to tread boldly into new territory. Check out the expansive title track below for a little taste of what’s to come.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Blair Dunlop

Blair Dunlop

We thought it important to include some new blood in this list and, due to his updated take on Fairport-style finger-picked folk rock, songwriter Blair Dunlop has that dubious honour.

Blair claims Brit folkster Nic Jones as a sizeable inspiration

Blair also claims Brit folkster Nic Jones as a sizeable inspiration and it’s his live acoustic shows that bring his flashiest playing to the fore. We’re hoping his Acoustic Stage set on Sunday will be no exception to this rule. Check out She Won’t Cry For Me from new album Gilded for a little sample of what’s to come.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley

Few songwriters have achieved Hawley’s balance of sentimental vignette and classic tone, while still sounding remotely relevant.

The closest you’ll get to actual ear candy without shoving gobstoppers in your lugs

This is songwriting for the ages and if you don’t shed a tear amid a performance of I Still Want You or Coles Corner, then you’re probably severely dehydrated. If that doesn’t get you to the Park Stage at closing time, then do it for your ears - Hawley must have one of the finest combined hauls of classic gear and vinyl in Britain. Live shows are a tonal treat and the closest you’ll get to actual ear candy without shoving gobstoppers in your lugs.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Michael James, Mona Rayani and Mark Smith (Explosions In The Sky)

Michael James, Mona Rayani and Mark Smith (Explosions In The Sky)

The American post-rock kings have elevated their art form to heights that must have seemed unimaginable when they first emerged in 1999.

There can be few better settings for The Wilderness than the fertile fields of Worthy farm

Having three guitarists and no singer in a rock band is now not quite the gob in the eye of conformity it might have been 17 years ago, but it’s Michael James, Mona Rayani and Mark Smith’s fine, intuitive ear for arrangement and composition that has proved the enduringly astonishing thing about this group.

Their live shows have helped them build a following of cult-like devotees and there can be few better settings for new album The Wilderness than the fertile fields of Worthy farm.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
James Petralli (White Denim)

James Petralli (White Denim)

Austin crew White Denim have always been tighter-than-a-duck’s-bum, but those worried that recent additions in drummer Jeff Olson and guitarist Jonathan Horne may have loosened the formula needn’t worry.

A band that play like they sound, which is to say, constantly on the edge of coming undone

Guitarist/frontman James Petralli and Horne have developed a simpatico relationship that has elevated their already astonishing blend of psychedelic-garage-rock-jazz-madness into genuinely thrilling new heights. This is a band that play like they sound, which is to say, constantly on the edge of coming undone. We don’t know how they do it every night, but it’s unmissable.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Gary Clark Jr.

Gary Clark Jr.

We don’t know what they’re putting in the water in the Southern states, but they’ve produced more than their fair share of guitar heroes since the turn of the century.

A set that acts like a guided tour through the history of the blues

In the guitar world (is there another one?), Gary Clark Jr.’s rise is now the stuff of legend. He has an uncompromising approach to sawtooth tone and a set that acts like a guided tour through the history of the blues, from Delta rawness to Hendrix-esque howling and hip hop swagger. The likes of Numb and Bright Lights have established his credentials as the real deal.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)

Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)

The beard! The hats! The ‘what-in-the-power-of-grey-skull-is-that’ guitar!

Recent sets have been peppered with the likes of Legs, Pincushion and their signature Foxy Lady cover

Billy Gibbons will be supplying Pilton with all of the above in what is sure to be a set heavily-laden with hits, because, frankly, one does not simply walk into Glastonbury and play the Pyramid on a Friday night, if they’re not up for that.

Recent sets have been peppered with the likes of Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, Pincushion, Gimme All Your Lovin’ and their signature Foxy Lady cover. And, should you need to know, we can tell you that guitar is a John Bolin custom creation.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Matt Bellamy (Muse)

Matt Bellamy (Muse)

Once, twice, three times a sizeable space rock show from Glastonbury’s near(-ish) neighbours Muse.

Bellamy doesn’t just fill the gaps vacated by ageing classic rockers, he juggles them atop a grand piano

Recent frothy-mouthed reviews have the band on strong form following the release of Drones just over a year ago. The Teignmouth trio have never exactly been backwards in coming forwards when it comes to bombastic headline opportunities and Matt Bellamy is perhaps the 21st century’s finest proponent of the guitar hero art form.

All arching limbs, whirling arpeggios and acrobatic solos, he doesn’t just fill the gaps vacated by ageing classic rockers, he juggles them atop a grand piano. In true Brit guitar hero style, this weekend he’s bringing it all back home.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Matt Parker
Matt Parker

Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.

Read more
Finneas
“Such an emotive player... so cool": Finneas names his 5 favourite guitarists
A crowd gathers at the Glastonbury festival Pyramid Stage
Glastonbury 2025 line-up times: Who's on when, where and how you can watch them from anywhere. And who the hell are Patchwork?…
A crowd gathers at the Glastonbury festival Pyramid Stage
Pulp, Haim and Lorde all rumoured to be making secret Glastonbury appearances
Kane Hibberd, the photographer behind the Scale exhibition in London, poses in front of his photographs – guitars features will include Kerry King of Slayer's BC Rich and Tom Morello's Arm The Homeless S-style.
Exhibition featuring life-sized photos of 100 legendary artists' guitars to open in London
Rod Stewart performing in 2023
“We're gonna do Glastonbury together”: Rod Stewart just confirmed who’ll be joining him on stage
Mike Dawes is photographed wearing a white-and-black hooded top, hood up, against a red background, and holds his custom built cutaway acoustic guitar.
Magic Mike Dawes has turned a Sleep Token track into a work of solo acoustic guitar genius
Latest in Gigs & Festivals
blur and oasis
“I am happy to accept and concede defeat”: Damon Albarn just admitted that Oasis won
Jeff Lynne ELO
"Jeff is devastated": ELO's last ever mega-gig plunged into jeopardy after last-minute cancellation of last night's Manchester show
Ozzy Osbourne
“The greatest day in the history of metal”: Black Sabbath’s final mega-gig raised £140m for charity
Olivia Rodrigo
“It's easy to get lost in the sauce”: Olivia Rodrigo put her entire Guts touring crew into therapy
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter is Hungry Like The Wolf as she performs with surprise guests Duran Duran
Paul McCartney at the piano at Live Aid
Bob Geldof on how Paul McCartney’s Live Aid performance was almost a disaster
Latest in News
Exodus Gary Holt
"It might have been like 12 people there”: Exodus’ Gary Holt pulls zero punches in his new autobiography
blur and oasis
“I am happy to accept and concede defeat”: Damon Albarn just admitted that Oasis won
Jeff Lynne ELO
"Jeff is devastated": ELO's last ever mega-gig plunged into jeopardy after last-minute cancellation of last night's Manchester show
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: It's your last chance to grab a Prime Day deal on gear from Fender, Roland, Casio, Yamaha, Toontrack & more - but you'll have to be quick
Ernie Ball Music Man Pino Palladino StingRay: the bass legend's new signature model is offered fretted or fretless, and in a deep and luxurious 79 Burst finish.
Pino Palladino teams up with EBMM for a signature StingRay inspired by the bass that started it all
Amerie
How Amerie created a ‘00s R&B/funk classic with producer Rich Harrison

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...