Sheffield band Air Drawn Dagger make ‘surreal’ Glastonbury debut

A band from South Yorkshire are making their Glastonbury debut after releasing their first album earlier this year.

Sheffield band Air Drawn Dagger were given the opportunity to play at the music festival through its Emerging Talent competition, which is held every year to give artists from all genres the chance to play live.

Air Drawn Dagger were among the eight finalists for the 2025 competition, which was won by Westside Cowboy who will play on the Woodsies Stage on Sunday.

Guitarist Lewis Budden said playing live for Michael Eavis and Emily Eavis had been “surreal”.

“We got basically into the top eight out of 10,000 different acts, which was very surreal,” he said.

“It meant we got to go down and play in Pilton for Michael Eavis and Emily Eavis, and a bunch of BBC DJs.

“So to end up with a slot and actually be here, it’s fantastic. It feels brilliant.”

The band, which describes itself as an electro-emo, angst-pop collective, formed 10 years ago and features Maisie Manterfield on vocals, Lewis Budden on guitar and Ross Dore on drums.

The band’s Glastonbury set is at The Open Arms later today.

Budden said while it was his first time playing the festival he had attended as a fan previously.

“It’s my fourth time attending but I’ve not been for 10 years so it’s been a while.

“It’s just every bit as magical as I remember it. It just feels really surreal to be here. It’s definitely a huge moment for us.”

He described the festival as “welcoming”, and said he was especially looking forward to seeing The Prodigy, who are a big influence on the band.

“There are different kinds of creatives here, whether it is people doing Tarot readings or people that show up here and busk.

“It’s like everyone’s kind of on the same playing field a little bit.

“There’s so many different ways to do Glastonbury. You’re can go to see bands on stages or you could spend the whole week here and not see any live bands.

“You could just do all the hippie stuff, so I feel like it’s quite a welcoming atmosphere and everyone’s getting stuck in and having their own time.

“It’s a great alternative universe.”