The Opening Act
25 - 29 June 2014
LEFTFIELD STAGE, GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL
Image credit: Image credit - Gideon Mendel
Image credit: Image credit - Gideon Mendel
Songs by Lucy Ward, Billy Bragg, Mat Skinner, O’Hooley & Tidow , Sam Duckworth aka Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly and Robb Johnson.
‘As Iraq struggles to throw off the borders drawn for it in 1919 by the victorious allies, you can see the events of First World War still reverberating through our daily news bulletins. 14-18 NOW invites songwriters at Glastonbury’s Leftfield stage to come up with fresh material that reflects on the centenary of the conflict.’ Billy Bragg
To mark the centenary of the event that sparked the First World War, six artists performed new songs at Glastonbury Festival inspired by their take on the conflict.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on the streets of Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 is among the defining events of the modern world. One hundred years later, the musician and activist Billy Bragg and his hand-picked a selection of musicians brought that time to life, providing a contemporary perspective on the war.
Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW, Bragg Central and The Space.
Songs by Lucy Ward, Billy Bragg, Mat Skinner, O’Hooley & Tidow , Sam Duckworth aka Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly and Robb Johnson.
‘As Iraq struggles to throw off the borders drawn for it in 1919 by the victorious allies, you can see the events of First World War still reverberating through our daily news bulletins. 14-18 NOW invites songwriters at Glastonbury’s Leftfield stage to come up with fresh material that reflects on the centenary of the conflict.’ Billy Bragg
To mark the centenary of the event that sparked the First World War, six artists performed new songs at Glastonbury Festival inspired by their take on the conflict.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on the streets of Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 is among the defining events of the modern world. One hundred years later, the musician and activist Billy Bragg and his hand-picked a selection of musicians brought that time to life, providing a contemporary perspective on the war.
Taking place on the Leftfield stage curated by Bragg, the programme included performances by the fêted young British folk artist Lucy Ward, singer-songwriter Mat Skinner, folk duo O’Hooley & Tidow, the fiercely political Robb Johnson (who in 1997 composed a song cycle based upon his grandfather’s experience of the First World War), and Sam Duckworth (aka Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly). Bragg also performed a song inspired by the events of a century ago.
You can listen to the performances recorded live at Glastonbury on the MORE page.
Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW, Bragg Central and The Space.
