Yahoo News Glastonbury viewers complain over sound problems
Dua Lipa and Cyndi Lauper's sets were the talk of social media.
Glastonbury 2024 is in full flow with thousands of festival-lovers descending on the hallowed grass of Worthy Farm, but despite a conveyor belt of stupendously talented artists doing their thing on stage, there seems to be one consistent complaint from those logged on to social media.
The sound; inarguably the most critical technology present at music festivals and it's really letting some of the performers down this weekend.
Friday's Pyramid Stage headliner Dua Lipa and Saturday's mid-afternoon legend Cyndi Lauper appeared to be the most notable victims of poor sonic quality, with LCD Soundsystem and Somewhere Only We Know hitmakers Keane fortunately avoiding the issue on either side of the two cursed gigs.
The criticism levelled at Dua Lipa specifically alluded to a flat sound during her performance, which may have been tailored to the lounge experience of those watching her set from home. Then again, this is a popstar we're talking about, not Rage Against the Machine.
"This feels like a private concert in the living room! Weirdly think I'd prefer more raw sound production though with a bit of crowd noise maybe?" pointed out one X user.
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Meanwhile, another BBC viewer added: "The sound on the BBC stream of #Glastonbury is... weird. This Dua set just sounds flat," before a third person contributed to the conversation: "Anyone notice the sound feed on tv for #DuaLipa is a bit flat? Or is it just me and/or my tv?! I hope it's more banging there."
One sentiment she did manage to touchingly communicate to the crowd was: "I have written this moment down. I've wished for it, I've dreamt, I've worked so hard in the hopes that maybe one day I'll get to do it and I can't believe I'm here."
Plonked in the build-up to Coldplay's headlining Saturday showcase, Girls Just Want to Have Fun singer Cyndi Lauper suffered a slightly different fate. According to fans, the 71-year-old couldn't quite adapt to the technical hiccups unravelling onstage and struggled to keep in time with her own music.
"Cyndi Lauper If that was Karaoke at my local, she would have the mic cut well earlier," was one rather strong reaction.
Taking a more sympathetic stance was this user, who commented: "Awful sound issues for Cyndi Lauper. Really felt for her." A third message read: "I'm in the crowd at @glastonbury and cannot hear any of Cyndi Lauper's vocals at all!! Sound mix is a total mess."
Speaking to BBC Breakfast in the aftermath of her Glastonbury outing, Lauper herself conceded there were "technical difficulties" to deal with, but this didn't dampen her enjoyment of the event. "Sometimes you're up there and the sound is like, 'What?' But it doesn't matter because the spirit is there... The spirit of those people. That was great. I had fun," she said.
In some more upbeat news, Kasabian's surprise set on the Woodsies stage went down a storm with those present and viewers tuning into the Beeb's televised coverage.
"Kasabian are an absolutely cracking live band! Highlight of #GLASTONBURY so far for me," read one of the many thrilled reactions. Another big fan shared via social media: "Kasabian absolutely smashed Glastonbury there".
Lead by Serge Pizzorno these days, the award-winning rockers raised the roof with songs such as Vlad the Impaler, Club Foot, Underdog and Treat.
Glastonbury highlights are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
