Avril Lavigne Played One of the Most Popular Sets at Glastonbury
Though the Canadian superstar wasn't booked on the main stage, her 22-years-in-the-making performance at the major U.K. festival had fans packed in near the food stations and toilets to sing along to the pop-punk princess as footage from the weekend shows. It was a full circle moment for Lavigne, who played on the same day as fellow Canadian star Shania Twain.
Avril Lavigne
For Avril Lavigne fans, the Canadian superstar's set was the best damn thing at Glastonbury this year.
It was Lavigne's first time playing the major U.K. festival, and attendees made the most of her appearance, reportedly overflowing from the stage into the campsite and even the toilet area. Lavigne's side stage performance overshadowed Janelle Monáe on the main stage, who performed to a smaller crowd during the festival's final night on Sunday, June 30.
Fans packed in and sang along to every word of Lavigne's many hits, from "Sk8r Boi" to "Girlfriend," and have been praising the set online ever since.
For Lavigne, the performance had been a long time coming. ""I can't believe its taken me 22 years to finally play Glastonbury, but it was amazing," she told the BBC. "The audience were incredible, everyone was up on shoulders, holding signs and there were colourful smoke bombs going off, it was just so cool."
Performing on the same day as the Napanee icon was another Ontario superstar, Shania Twain, who took the stage for the festival's famous "Legends" spot. One of Lavigne's first high profile performances was a duet as a 14-year-old with Twain, so it was a full circle moment to take the stage at one of the world's most famous festivals on the same day.
Some blamed the sparse attendance for the festival's main stage on the fact that England was also playing in the European Championship tournament at the same time, but the turnout for Lavigne seemed to dispute that theory, with some fans overjoyed at the alignment of Lavigne's and England's dual performances, featuring a goal from Jude Bellingham that kept the country in the tournament.
Lavigne's Glastonbury set comes as part of her Greatest Hits tour, accompanying an album of the same name that debuted on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart this week at No. 71.
Lavigne was also just appointed to the Order of Canada, further cementing her status as one of Canada's most influential stars, who helped pave a path for girls in the pop-punk genre — a genre whose current revival is led by women like Olivia Rodrigo and Rachel Chinouriri.
Glastonbury might have underestimated the star's contemporary appeal by booking her on a side stage, but the turnout made it clear Lavigne isn't losing her grip anytime soon.
The Greatest Hits tour continues across Europe and North America this summer. Find full dates here.
