‘Roll on the summer of love’: UK music festivals on song after Covid closures

theguardian.com:

For a while it felt so far away: listening to your favourite artist, pints flying overhead, queueing for portable toilets, losing your friends and finding new ones. But after two years of cancellations and delays, music lovers can once again look forward to an array of festivals and gigs this summer.

From Paul McCartney at Glastonbury and Tyler, the Creator at Parklife, to Adele and Elton John at BST Hyde Park and Liam Gallagher at the Etihad Stadium, there’s something in the music calendar for everyone.

“Summer 2022 marks the beginning of the next era of the musical summer season,” said Emily Eavis, co-organiser of Glastonbury festival, which is returning in June for the first time since 2019.

Alongside headliners McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish, the festival has announced more than 80 names so far, including Olivia Rodrigo and Diana Ross.

“All gigs are back, festivals will return with bells on and people will be streaming through many gates all summer long full of excitement,” Eavis said. “It’s a huge relief that these life-affirming gatherings are back, and it feels like we have actually turned a corner in this long, difficult pandemic trajectory. We can’t wait to welcome people back to Worthy Farm.”

Not only has music helped shape Britain’s identity, but the UK music industry contributed £5.8bn to the economy pre-pandemic, according to UK Music, the umbrella organisation representing the commercial music industry from artists and record labels to the live music sector. The industry now has the potential to play a key role in the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

“Live music is emerging from a Covid-enforced hibernation that saw around a third of jobs right across the music industry wiped out and many stages