You’re probably used to seeing Fred Again.. smashing the pads of an MPC when he’s up on stage, or spinning high-octane dance music on CDJs with Skillex and Four Tet. But, as a pupil of Brian Eno, the British producer seems to have some ambient in his locker, too.
At Glastonbury on Friday, 28 June, Fred Again.. (real name Fred Gibson) took to the Strummerville stage to play a surprise 30-min ambient set. The Strummerville area is mostly home to niche and upcoming acts, and is named after the late Clash frontman Joe Strummer, who performed Glastonbury’s main stage in 1999. It’s a cosy environment, with a 24-hour campfire, cafe and bar, with “the festival’s finest viewpoint.” It kind of makes sense that Gibson posted up there for his ambient set, then — but festival-goers were still taken aback.
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The unannounced set comprised mostly of unreleased music, plus tracks from his collaborative album with Brian Eno, Secret Life, which was released on Four Tet’s Text Records label in May 2023. Strummerville’s crowd was “hushed and reflective amid the late afternoon sunshine,” says Gibson’s press team.
Gibson’s ambient set this year is a huge contrast to his performances at Glastonbury 2023. We praised his main set at the Other Stage for his ability to get tens of thousands of people dancing and, later that night, he had thousands more people heading toward The Temple for a surprise set with The Blessed Madonna.
Glasto-goers have shared the experience online, with one saying that the unannounced appearance was “completely bonkers”, while another said they headed to Strummerville to escape the madness, only to find that “some madness turned up
Most Glastonbury thing ever. We’re up at Strummerville, the chillest stage in the joint, up in the woods above the site. Here for The Royston Club but they’re running an hour behind.
Why?
Fred Again… just played a secret set up here. Absolutely bonkers ahaha pic.twitter.com/UdWcIl0KP6
— George Poole (@GeorgePuddle) June 28, 2024
Went to Strummerville for a break from the madness and some madness turned up.#FredAgain#Glastonbury2024 pic.twitter.com/Wg4J4SIJqv
— Polly (@PollyJacksonx) June 29, 2024
There’s currently no word that Fred Again.. is performing elsewhere at Glastonbury. But, with Gibson, you really never know. It was only a few weeks ago that he announced a live show at Los Angeles’ 77,500-capacity Memorial Coliseum. He announced the show on the 11 June, with the performance taking place only three days later on the 14 June. Did it sell out? Of course it did.
Other acts performing at Strummerville this year include Dennis Just Dennis, Rompa’s Reggae Shack, Ged Lever and Cumbia Kid.
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