Where Have All The Singer-Songwriters Gone?

Last month both Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young headlined Glastonbury to rave reviews. Much was made of the fact that both performers were from the “golden age” of singer/songwriters – a period that saw a plethora of similar artists achieve great success. Such a fact lead me to question, or bemoan, the seeming lack of truly great contemporary singer/songwriters at large today.

Are there any singer/songwriters of our generation that will achieve the same combination or commercial success and critical acclaim (that both Springsteen and Young have) which will see them headline such a seminal festival in 40 years time?

It would be foolish to state that there are no contemporary singer/songwriters of talent; there are plenty, but do they have the mass appeal and anthemic back catalogue that will see them reclaimed by a future generation. With the best will in the world it seems unlikely that Devendra Banhart, Sufjan Stevens or Rufus Wainwright will be headlining the Pyramid Stage in 2049. These are not unpopular artists who have have less talent than the likes of Springsteen and Young, but they don't have the tremendous influence. Admittedly the fact that the Glastonbury headliners and other legendary songwriters that are put into the same bracket (Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake etc.) have had such a period to cement their reputations renders any attempt to draw a direct comparison with today's singer/songwriters unfair. But still, the trend at the current time appears concerning.

Of course the fact the contemporary artists like those mentioned above probably won't have the commercial success of their predecessors doesn't detract from their relevance as musicians, neither does the fact that many of the songs they write don't induce the same fist-clenching euphoria as 'Born to Run' or 'Rocking in the Free World'.

Furthermore, not all contemporary singer/songwriters desire the exposure, mass-appreciation and headline festival slots so the fact that they probably won't achieve this is of no concern to them. It is very doubtful that Bon Iver would be comfortable performing an album about nursing a broken heart that was written in a log cabin Wisconsin in front of 100,000 people on a rainy Saturday night in Somerset.

I'm quite willing to be proven wrong - I hope I am. I appreciate that no-one can predict the future and one of the artists mentioned above may prove me wrong, or a successor to Dylan's throne (although even in recent memory, given hindsight and the trajectory of the careers of those labelled the “New Dylan” such as Ryan Adams and Willy Mason, this may not be a positive thing) may come along.

If any such artist has been unintentionally overlooked please comment below.