Following the announcement that Chicago, Illinois rapper Kanye West would serve as one of the headliners at the annual Glastonbury Festival, one man channeled his frustration with Kanye’s headlining slot into a petition.
The petition was created by Neil Lonsdale on the Change.org website and has received well over 50,000 signatures as of today (March 19). Titled “Cancel Kanye West’s headline slot and get a rock band,” Lonsdale says the petition initially started as a joke.
He recently spoke with NME.com about his reaction to the announcement of Kanye as a headliner, and his decision to create the petition.
“I fought the temptation to scream and instead opted to hurl my iPhone across the room,” Lonsdale said. “Two years ago we had The Rolling Stones playing the Saturday night, and this year we get Kanye West? It’s an outrage!
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“I was a little surprised that people have taken it as seriously as they have,” he added. “Don’t get me wrong, if it works, then I’ll be more than happy. I’m not surprised it’s popular though. Festivals are about people coming together through their love of music and song, and creating something magical. Look back to Blur in 2009 – One of the band’s seminal moments – 100,000 people chanting ‘woo-hoo!’ – That is what it’s about.”
Lonsdale, who admits that he’s never actually been to the Glastonbury Festival, explained that the musical festival “needs upbeat major artists” who don’t “behave like Kanye.”
“Glastonbury needs upbeat major artists,” he said. “Glastonbury is an institution. It is expected that it has the biggest names. The biggest performers. Kanye does not represent that…It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, straight, gay. If you behave like Kanye, you’ve got to expect some opposition.”
In addition to Kanye West, another act scheduled to headline at the Glastonbury Festival is the Foo Fighters.
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