The moment Africa Express burst into public with a five-hour set headlining the new Park Stage on Saturday night at Glastonbury. Few people knew what to expect as rain poured down on a bedraggled mudfest, but crowds quickly gathered as an incredible group of artists from Africa and the West tore down barriers on stage with smiles on their faces. The performances, largely unplanned and spontaneous, won rave reviews, not least for their risky nature – and the event instantly became seen as one of the festival’s legendary moments. ‘Africa Express was incredible,’ said Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis afterwards. ‘It has gone down in history as one of the great gigs.’
Featured Artists
Setlist
| Song | Artist |
| Intro | Drummers: Massamba Diop, Alioun Diouf, Said Ag Ayad, Tom joined by beatboxer SCRATCH |
| Untitled | Amadou & Mariam joined by Kick Horns John Themis and Billy Bragg |
| The World Upside Down | Billy Bragg joined by Soumalia Kanoute |
| Scratch Bazooka Track | Elmore Judd joined by Scratch, Hakim Hamadouch, Rachid Taha |
| Dead Man Walk in a Straight Nine | Elmore Judd joined by Scratch, Hakim Hamadouch, Rachid Taha |
| Untitled | Baaba Maal joined by Billy Bragg |
| Can’t Get Along Without You | Hard Fi joined by Kick Horns & Drummers & Hakim Hamadouch |
| Hard To Beat | Hard Fi joined by Kick Horns & Drummers & Hakim Hamadouch |
| Untitled | Toumani Diabate and the Symmetric Orchestra: joined by Baaba Maal, Romeo Stodart from Magic Numbers, Massamba Diop, K’Naan, Rise Kagona, Mr Hudson, Damon Albarn, Chris Frank, Scratch and Kick Horns |
| Crazy | Terry Walker joined by Baaba Maal, Kano, Chris Frank, Stuart Zender, Scratch, Massamba Diop and Jesse Hackett |
| Message To You Rudy | Terry Hall & Lyndal Golding joined by Damon Albarn, Shlomo & The Kick Horns |
| DJ SET | Don Letts |
| Untitled | K’Naan joined by Rachid Taha, Hakim Hamadouch on Oud and Tony Allen on drums |
| Untitled | The Aliens joined by Ibrahim and Intidao from Tinariwen |
| Cler Achel | Tinariwen joined by Hakim Hamadouch on oud, K’Naan on vocals and Tony Allen on drums |
| Amassakoul | Tinariwen joined by Hakim Hamadouch on oud, K’Naan on vocals and Tony Allen on drums |
| Alhran Manin | Tinariwen joined by Hakim Hamadouch on oud, K’Naan on vocals and Tony Allen on drums |
| Feel Free | Kano joined by Scratch & Damon Albarn |
| Untitled | Reverend & The Makers joined by Intidao and Said from Tinariwen, Remi Nicole and The Kick Horns |
| DJ Set / ZOMBIE | Fatboy Slim joined by Tony Allen, Damon Albarn, Rachid Taha, Baaba Maal, The Kick Horns, Coasta Rialas, Jesse Hackett, Massamba Diop, John Themis and Terri Walker |
| Ya Rayah | Rachid Taha and band joined by Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Massamba Diop, The Kick Horns, Terri Walker, Jesse Hackett, John Themis, Romeo Stodart (The Magic Numbers), Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Tinariwen, Rise Kagona, Stuart Zender, Chris Franck, Billy Brack |