The Pretenders announce surprise set at Glastonbury 2023
The band took to their official social media accounts to announce that they will be playing Glastonbury on Saturday, June 24 at the Park Stage at 7.45pm BST. They will also be accompanied by special guests and friends.
“It’s always been there for most of our lifetimes. There has never been a festival like it anywhere else,” shared frontwoman Chrissie Hynde in the caption of the band’s Instagram post. The Pretenders previously played Glastonbury in 1994 and 2017.
Glastonbury has a history of hosting surprise sets, with last-minute acts popping up every year. Previous surprise sets include the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines, Lady Gaga and more.
Earlier this week, The Pretenders released their latest single ‘I Think About You Daily’ which features a string arrangement from Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile). It is the second single from their forthcoming LP ‘Relentless’.
The upcoming release will mark the band’s 12th full-length album, and follows on from their 2020 album ‘Hate For Sale’. Although the band teased the release earlier this year, it was confirmed that it will arrive on September 15 via Parlophone.
According to the band, the album is set to represent a snapshot of where they are in 2023, and arrive with the same “impulsiveness” and “attitude” that they captured in previous fan-favourites, including ‘I’ll Stand By You’ and ‘Back On The Chain Gang’.
“I liked the definition: ‘showing no abatement of intensity,’” said Hynde of the meaning behind the title. “It’s the life of the artist. You never retire. You become relentless.”
In other news, on June 30 The Pretenders are also set to join Guns N’ Roses as special guests at London’s BST Hyde Park, followed by a number of outdoor shows in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands. They will also be making appearances at festivals including Midnight Sun, Bearded Theory, Black Deer and Kite.
In October the band will land in America to play a set at the Ohana Festival in California, following an invitation from Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and rock legend Dave Grohl. They have also teased that more live shows for 2023 are set to be announced soon. Find tickets for the UK dates here.
