Michael Kiwanuka struck a chord with the Saturday night Glastonbury Festival audience. At the halfway point of the festival weekend, the Brit Award nominee powered through some gremlins and out of tune instruments to deliver a near hour of soul perfection. It’s been over a decade since the London born, son of Ugandan immigrants released his debut album Home Again but he is no less hungry to win over this Pyramid Stage crowd than he was when he first played the festival 8 years ago on West Holts.
Michael Kiwanuka @ Glastonbury Festival 2024
A set filled with songs from albums two and three; Love And Hate and Kiwanuka, he begins with Hard To Say Goodbye and then marches straight into You Ain’t The Problem with the urgency the song requires.
His band are focused and his backing singers amplify the soul exuding from the 37-year-old’s voice. He brings out special guest, and Prince protege, Lianne La Havas for a breathtaking performance of 2016’s Rule The World. La Havas returned to Worthy Farm for the first time since appearing on The Other Stage in 2022 and was greeted with warmth from the Saturday evening crowd. Both were nominated for the BBC Sound Of 2012, with Kiwanuka winning it so it’s great to see more than a decade on, how both have evolved and are still revered with critical and commercial successes.
Whilst at first glance, the London songwriters’ songs may appear to be upbeat, with catchy hooks and drawing off of soul, funk, rock and psychedelia, there is texture to his music and there is weight behind his words. The crowd were transfixed by the musical prowess of Kiwanuka, paired with his sincere yet soulful voice. Tinged with the pain of his ancestors, he has talked of his struggles with his identity over the years being black and growing up in Muswell Hill. This is something that has long been the focus and expression in Kiwanuka’s music and lyrics, no more than Black Man In A White World – a song that unfortunately still carries weight and resonates with many in 2024.
“What was supposed to happen was, you heard that little synth thing and it would seemingly go into this song and it was going to be amazing so we’ll start as we’ve done that once this is tuned and we’ll go again.” A near seamless transition from Final Days into Solid Ground is halted after the Sequential Prophet-5 keyboard he’s sat at is out of tune. “You just can’t get the equipment these days, they don’t make them like they used to” he quips whilst an attempt is made to re-tune it. The crowd cheers, showing him love and patience trying to put him at ease. He tried again but couldn’t make it through the first verse as there was something still off with the instrument so aborted the song.
“I hope you know this one”he says, almost apologetically after the stumble of before, launching into Cold Little Heart. The song was used as the theme of the HBO series Big Little Lies as well the opening track of his second album Love And Hate before closing off his set with the title track from the same record and a barnstorming guitar solo.
The warmth that exuded from the Mercury Prize winner into his music is contagious, many commenting online that this was one of the sets of the weekend. With the teasing of new music, it could be an exciting start to another momentous year in Kiwanuka’s career.
Review of Michael Kiwanuka at Glastonbury Festival 2024 by Chris Lambert. Photography by Kalpesh Patel.
Dua Lipa Pulls Off A Feat Of Pop Houdini At Glastonbury 2024
Share Thing