Neil Young has shared he will not play Glastonbury this year, labelling the festival a “corporate turn-off”.
The Harvest and On the Beach hitmaker was set to include Worthy Farm on his tour schedule for 2025 but a statement posted to his website last night (December 31) confirmed he had pulled out of a potential slot at the festival. Rhod Stewart in the Legends slot and Nile Rodgers and Chic are the only confirmed acts for the festival so far.
A post to Young’s website revealed that, due to what he called “corporate control” he and the Chrome Horses would not be playing the legendary music festival.
He wrote: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs. We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.
“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being. Thanks for coming to see us the last time! We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
A European tour from Young is still expected, if previous announcements are to be believed. A separate post to the Neil Young Archives made today confirmed the European leg is “under review” due to health reasons.
It reads: “The Chrome Hearts European Tour is under review. The tour submitted did not stay within the requested venues and is being re-done to omit any indoor shows. Indoor shows may be too risky on a health level and we don’t want to have to cancel any shows because of health concerns this coming summer. More news soon.”
Young had headlined Glastonbury 2009 on the Pyramid Stage with a legendary set which saw the songwriter play an abundance of his hits, as well a a cover of The Beatles’ A Day in the Life.
His set also included performances of Heart of Gold, Rockin’ in the Free World and Cinnamom Girl, among other hits.
Editor’s Note – Neil Young has since confirmed (3/1/25) he will headline the Pyramid Stage at this year’s Glastonbury festival.
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