Lizzo review, Glastonbury: Playful set incites one of the most frenzied reactions of the festival so far

Lizzo inspires such reverent enthusiasm among the crowd that when the camera pans away briefly, someone shouts, ‘Put it back on her!’

Alexandra Pollard
Saturday 29 June 2019 19:00 BST
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Lizzo performing at the NYC Pride Kickoff Event, 26 June 2019
Lizzo performing at the NYC Pride Kickoff Event, 26 June 2019

Lizzo is having a moment. Last week, footage of the singer/rapper at the Bet Awards, having a ball on top of a giant wedding cake while playing wildly good flute, went viral. As a result, her new album, Cuz I Love You, flew to the top of the US charts. And judging by the size of the crowd that has gathered at the West Holts stage to see her perform on these shores, word has spread.

“Y’all ready to go to church?” asks the 31-year-old, as she arrives onstage dressed in a pink sequinned leotard and decadent ruff-cum-cloak. It’s an accurate analogy – Lizzo inspires such reverent enthusiasm among the crowd that when the camera pans away briefly, someone shouts, “PUT IT BACK ON HER!” Her dancers are the perfect apostles – they mean business to such an extent that they’re wearing knee pads. I suspect most churches wouldn’t include the command, “everybody f**king jump”, but frankly they’re all the poorer for it.

The crowd’s reverie is at least partly thanks to Lizzo’s unabashed messages of self-love. “I’m like chardonnay, get better over time,” she sings on the funk-pop banger “Juice”. “Heard you say I’m not the baddest, bitch, you lie.” For “Truth Hurts”, she dons a veil and announces that she’s taking herself on a honeymoon.

The 31-year-old’s music offers the perfect Saturday afternoon vibes – playful, rowdy, and so laden with personality that even the vulnerable moments are a joy to listen to. Two flute solos – which are very well played, but are special as much for the novelty as anything else – incite perhaps the most frenzied reaction of the weekend so far.

“I don’t get dehydrated,” she sings on “Water Me” – good advice for this heatwave, although I suspect that’s not exactly what she means. She should take care to do the same, though – between all the twerking and star jumps, she barely takes a second to breathe.

Lizzo is almost maniacally insistent that we all – every single member of a crowd she estimates to about “16 million thousand” – share in her self-love. There are motivational speeches aplenty littered throughout the set. Alongside rapper, singer and flautist, she could add motivational speaker to her resume.

During “Soulmate”, she instructs us to sing “I’m the one” over and over. “I need you to believe it,” she says. “If you can love me, you can love your goddamn self.” Amen.

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