Some rock fans attending the Glastonbury music festival are not too happy about rapper Kanye West being the headline act.
Festival organizer Emily Eavis announced Monday that West would be headlining the festival in Somerset, England, tweeting, “We are thrilled to let you know we have the one and only Kanye West headlining Saturday night on the Pyramid stage!”
But not everyone was so excited. Festival-goer Neil Lonsdale even started a Change.org petition pleading with festival organizers to “Cancel Kanye West’s headline slot and get a rock band.”
%22Kanye%20West%20is%20an%20insult%20to%20music%20fans%20all%20over%20the%20world.%22′
“Kanye West is an insult to music fans all over the world. We spend hundreds of pounds to attend glasto, and by doing so, expect a certain level of entertainment,” the appeal reads.
The petition has garnered over 50,000 signatures so far.
In an interview with NME, Lonsdale called West headlining the festival “an outrage.” “Two years ago we had The Rolling Stones playing the Saturday night, and this year we get Kanye West?”
“Glastonbury needs upbeat major artists. Glastonbury is an institution. It is expected that it has the biggest names. The biggest performers. Kanye does not represent that,” he continued.
Some fans feel Glastonbury — originally called the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival — should stick to its folk roots and only allow guitar acts to headline.
There was a similar outcry in 2008 after Jay-Z was named the first rap act to headline the event. Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher didn’t hold back, telling NME , “Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music … But I’m not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It’s wrong.” Jay-Z fired back, saying “We don’t play guitars, Noel, but hip-hop has put in its work like any other form of music.” Jay-Z went on to open his act at Glastonbury with his best Oasis impression. Glastonbury isn’t the first festival to give Kanye an icy reception. After he played a disastrous (and very late) set at the music festival Bonnaroo to dwindling crowds in 2008, he returned to the festival to headline in 2014 to some boos from concert-goers.
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