Neil Young Reverses Himself, Agrees to Headline Glastonbury
Just two days after labeling Glastonbury a “corporate turn-off” and pulling out of the UK festival before the 2025 lineup was even announced, Neil Young has reversed himself and will indeed be one of the headliners.
“Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival,” Young wrote on the Neil Young Archives, “which I have always loved. Happily, the festival is back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see there there!”
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Glastonbury co-organizer Emily Eavis confirmed the news in a post on the official Glastonbury Instagram page. “What a start to the year!” she wrote. “Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury. He does things his own way and that’s why we love him. We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”
Young last performed at Glastonbury on June 26, 2009. The BBC only aired portions of his set. “The BBC has spent the last couple of months talking to Neil’s management about how much of his set we might be able to show on TV, radio and online over Glastonbury weekend,” they wrote in a statement to fans wondering why the whole thing wasn’t shown. “Neil Young’s career has been conducted on his own terms. Last night Neil’s management agreed to let TV and radio broadcast five songs as they watched and listened to his performance. They believe in the live event and retaining its mystery and that of their artist.”
The BBC has streamed Glastonbury to a global audience over the past few years, airing sets in their entirety. When Young initially pulled out of Glastonbury, he cited the BBC’s role in the festival as a factor. “We were told the BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot for things we were not interested in,” he wrote. “It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
It’s unclear what specific aspect of BBC’s deal with Glastonbury irked him or what “error in the information received” caused him to reverse his decision. It’s somewhat moot since he’s now agreed to perform at the festival. It’s the first confirmed show of a planned summer European tour with his new group the Chrome Hearts. The vast majority of the concerts will be outdoors due to Covid concerns.
The Chrome Hearts first backed Young at Farm Aid in September 2024. They feature Micah Nelson on guitar, Spooner Oldham on organ, Corey McCormick on bass, and Anthony LoGergo on drums. Late last year, they cut a new album with Young at Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California.
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