It has been confirmed that Neil Young will be headlining at Glastonbury 2025, and the news has left some fans divided.
The iconic festival is set to return to Worthy Farm in Pilton later this summer and, up until last week, the only confirmed artist was Rod Stewart, who will play the Sunday afternoon Legends Slot.
There has been huge speculation around which artists will take on the coveted headline slots for 2025 – the last instalment before Glasto takes a year off in 2026. Earlier this week, however, Neil Young announced that he had been booked for the festival, but would be backing out due to it feeling like “a corporate turn-off”.
Just days after making the post on his website, he shared another update this morning (January 3), saying that he had overturned his decision and would in fact be appearing at the 2025 instalment as one of the three headliners.
“Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved,” he said. “Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”
Now, with the news also being confirmed by festival organiser Emily Eavis, fans have taken to social media to share their mixed feelings about the first confirmed headline act for this year.
For many punters, the news of Young’s appearance was celebrated, especially in light of the turmoil that came just hours before. “Woooo hoo. Glad it’s been resolved. Happy days,” one user wrote on X/Twitter, while another shared: “Neil Young pulling a 180 on Glastonbury! Goes to show even legends can change their tune when the facts align. June just got a whole lot more exciting for festival-goers!”
Another shared their excitement at the news being shared around the same time that the new Bob Dylan biopic hits cinemas. “The Bob Dylan film A Complete Unknown hitting cinemas, and Neil Young confirmed as one of Glastonbury’s headliners. I love that two of the all-time great singer songwriters are getting such wide exposure in 2025. I’m here for it,” they tweeted.
Woooo hoo. Glad it’s been resolved. Happy days.
— hgreen (@hgreen81) January 3, 2025
The Bob Dylan film A Complete Unknown hitting cinemas, and Neil Young
confirmed as one of Glastonbury’s headliners. I love that two of the all-time great singer songwriters are getting such wide exposure in 2025. I’m here for it.— Greg Wetherall (@GregWetherall) January 3, 2025
Neil Young pulling a 180 on Glastonbury! Goes to show even legends can change their tune when the facts align. June just got a whole lot more exciting for festival-goers! #zelena https://t.co/2htFkO8h1I
— JACUZZI_VIBES (@jacuzzivibes) January 3, 2025
Elsewhere, however, some were left “underwhelmed” by the news and expressed that they don’t consider the singer, songwriter and guitarist to be a big enough name to take on the iconic slot.
“Imagine queuing online for hours, paying obscene amounts of money to then be told that Neil Young is headlining Glastonbury. Fuming,” one wrote, while another agreed saying: “All this stress for Glastonbury tickets and so far we’ve got Rod Stewart and Neil Young”.
Some others also hit out at the festival organisers for booking older artists instead of creating a platform for new talent. “Glastonbury claiming forward thinking and 50/50 splits but keep bringing out old men,” one wrote, while another added: “Rod Stewart, now Neil Young at #glastonburyfestival this year… It seems old guys do rule.”
Find more responses from fans below.
all this stress for Glastonbury tickets and so far we’ve got Rod Stewart and Neil Young
— katie (@thekatiehammond) January 3, 2025
Imagine wasting your money for a ticket to see Neil Young headlining 😂😂😂
— Samuel Lewis (@thesamlewis) January 3, 2025
Some good news…. Neil Young IS gonna play Glastonbury .. pic.twitter.com/alCU67avm7
— maureen hamill (@maureenhamill) January 3, 2025
Very underwhelmed by the Neil Young announcement 🙁
— Bondy (@ParaPaul78) January 3, 2025
Oh man. The resale just got even more stressful 🥹
— Jesse (@olegunnar16) January 3, 2025
@glastonbury since when has Neil Young been a headliner?! Come on Glastonbury! People pay a fortune for tickets!
— Joanne Main (@evesy7) January 3, 2025
Imagine queuing online for hours, paying obscene amounts of money to then be told that Neil Young is headlining Glastonbury. Fuming.
— Jamie Janner (@jamie_janner) January 3, 2025
Rod Stewart, now Neil Young at #glastonburyfestival this year .. It seems old guys do rule!
— Drews strat (@drewsstrat) January 3, 2025
Great to hear Neil Young is playing Glastonbury after all. As a founder member of THE FANTASTIC Farm Aid supporting family farmers in the US I bet he will have something to say in support of British Farmers. https://t.co/hLhP1Zkk1V
— rachel francis (@rachelfran4340) January 3, 2025
Neil young headlining glastonbury? Very cool , jealous
— Dave (@davejmcn) January 3, 2025
Just me or is this a bit of a let-down for a Pyramid headliner? Assumed he’d be in the penultimate spot or headlining the Other Stage.
— Hank Moody (@frandolarhyde81) January 3, 2025
Young’s upcoming headline slot will mark a return to the site, as he previously headlined the Pyramid Stage in 2009. The booking materialised after he was scheduled to appear at the site 12 years earlier, only to be pulled out due to an injury.
While only Neil Young and Rod Stewart have been officially confirmed, Nile Rodgers & Chic are also known to be performing at Glasto 2025. This comes as the singer shared by accident that they would also be returning to the Worthy Farm site while accepting an award last year.
At time of writing, it remains unclear what the “error” that made Young initially pull out of the festival is relating to, and no other details about his upcoming performance have been shared.
Other rumoured headliners include Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Fender, The 1975, Taylor Swift and Stevie Wonder. The full line-up for the festival is usually shared in March.
Towards the end of 2024, tickets for Glastonbury 2025 sold out in just 32 minutes, with the festival making use of a new queuing system for tickets.
Re-sale tickets are expected to be made available in the spring, and the full line-up usually drops shortly before then. These re-sale options, however, tend to sell out quickly, too. Visit here for more information on how to get tickets to Glastonbury, pricing information and more.
