Leading the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage, the world’s most recognized festival platform, has always been a moment that has marked the race. When 20-year-old Billie Eilish makes history as the youngest solo headliner in history, there will be a face known among the hundreds of thousands on Friday: her mother.
“It’s definitely amazing, but very hard to process at the same time,” Maggie Baird said. “It’s a very nasty moment. People always ask, ‘How do you feel on this big day?’ small club in our small Highland Park area [in Los Angeles]. It’s just amazing. “
Glastonbury’s moment is the last of a long list of Eilish records. She is the youngest artist to reach 1 billion views on Spotify, the winner of the record for the youngest year in Grammy history and the youngest headliner of the Coachella festival.
“All of these amazing and amazing moments in a career are also surrounded by a lot of stress, pressure, hard work and exhaustion,” Baird said.
“And so it’s very important that you don’t let these big events become something to mark your list. And that’s just me looking! But even for Billie, you have to keep thinking, ‘Wow , this is where I am now, and this is happening. “We see her doing it all the time, she stops on stage and says, ‘Wow,’ which I love. ‘
Billie Eilish, right, with her mother, Maggie Baird, in a scene from Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. Photography: AP
Baird, an actor, screenwriter and former theater group teacher, has accompanied Eilish on his Happier Than Ever world tour, visiting 47 cities for six months. Both Billie and Baird’s son Finneas O’Connell are award-winning songwriters. The family, whose creative productivity knows few limits, has often collaborated together, with Baird editing Billie’s 2016 music video for Six Feet Under, and co-writing and starring in Finneas’s Life Inside Out. 2013, with critical acclaim.
Baird, 63, is also the founder of Support + Feed, a plant-based food initiative to combat food insecurity and the climate crisis, and is one of the executive producers of Overheated, a documentary to be screened this weekend. in the Greenpeace camp.
The film, directed by Yassa Khan and co-produced with Eilish and Naza Alakija of the Sage Foundation, is a worldwide commentary on climate anxiety. It features Baird and Eilish alongside Vivienne Westwood, climate activist Vanessa Nakate, Yungblud and Emily Eavis, among others. “The film is really beautiful and artistic,” Baird said. “I hope it makes people feel seen and heard.”
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In the documentary, Eilish talks about his personal experience of climate anxiety and condemns systemic inaction. The singer, who began her career at the age of 13, is one of today’s most vocal public figures in the fight against the climate crisis. He recently led the multi-day Overheated events at London’s O2, which bring together climate activists, musicians and panel discussion designers.
“I think the climate emergency is really affecting the younger generation,” Baird said. “Billie has a song, All the Good Girls Go to Hell. Finneas has several songs about the end of the world, like Die Alone and Till Forever Falls Apart. The end of the world, or the end of life on Earth, is very in his mind all the time. “
Finneas O’Connell and Maggie Baird. Photo: BBMA2021 / Dick Clark productions / Getty
Baird, who manages the environmental impact of Eilish’s live shows, stopped her own acting and writing career to focus on her daughter. But working so close has its ups and downs. “I feel so sorry for her, it would have been hard for me at this age to have my family close by,” she laughed.
“But on the other hand, when you go through this kind of thing, it’s useful and important. I think it’s a real balance. We’re very lucky. Finneas and Billy are laughing like it’s nobody’s thing. It’s also very important. “Having a person who is your advocate in a broader sense, not just what you need right now, but what you need in a broader picture of your life. I hope she thinks it’s a good business.”
In the midst of all the glamor, he said, there will always be your typically boring conversations. “Billie, don’t forget the steam and where your clothes are. But I think everyone is like that. You have these super glamorous and powerful moments, and the next day you’re packing up and watching The Office over dinner.”
Eilish will perform alongside Finneas, who collaborates with her on her songs, including the James Bond Oscar-winning track No Time to Die. The brothers recorded the success of Eilish Bad Guy in Finneas’ room before reaching number 1 in more than 15 countries and becoming the best performing single in the world in 2019.
Speaking about his Glastonbury starter position, Eilish recently said it was a unique opportunity in life. “I constantly feel like I don’t deserve everything, and I think that’s good,” he told Apple Music 1.
“But first of all, it makes you doubt everyone because you say, ‘Why would you choose me?’ But with that being said, I am even more excited and excited to be the youngest headliner in history. “