Nadine Shah says she’s not playing Glastonbury as it’s “too expensive”

nme.com:

Nadine Shaw has revealed that she will not be playing this year’s edition of Glastonbury due to it being “too expensive”.The musician took to her official X/Twitter account to share that despite the rumours of her allegedly playing the Worthy Farm festival, she will not be performing at all. “The rumours are untrue.

I am NOT playing @glastonbury I would have liked to but I wasn’t offered a televised stage so I declined. It’s too expensive a hit for me to take otherwise,” she tweeted.In a separate tweet, she wrote: “It’s just a reality that playing live is super expensive and if you can justify the costs (like being on telly and having a wider reach) then sometimes you take the hit.

Otherwise no, we’ve all bills to pay.”It’s just a reality that playing live is super expensive and if you can justify the costs (like being on telly and having a wider reach) then sometimes you take the hit.

Otherwise no, we’ve all bills to pay. X— Nadine Shah (@nadineshah) June 4, 2024Shaw has been very vocal about the struggles that smaller artists face and has previously criticised streaming services for lining the pockets of “superstars and super record labels” while smaller acts are left to rely more on income from live shows.In a piece for The Guardian published back in December, the Mercury Music Prize-nominated singer stressed that the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused a near-total shutdown of the live music industry worldwide, has left artists such as herself without a stable income.“The pandemic obliterated festivals and gigs, meaning we were forced to survive on streaming income alone,” Shah wrote. “As a cocky northern lass, I thought I’d be OK: ‘C’mon Nadine, you’ll be all right, you’ve been nominated for a bloody Mercury.