Aside from Rod Stewart playing the Legends slot, Glastonbury hasn’t yet announced its 2025 lineup. That didn’t stop Neil Young from declaring that he (and his band, the Chrome Hearts) has decided to remove himself from the iconic UK festival’s lineup.
In a message shared on December 31, 2024 via Young’s website (as Billboard notes), Young wrote:
“The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favorite 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 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.”
Rolling Stone notes that BBC and Glastonbury have actually had a long-standing relationship, as BBC broadcasts and streams some of the event, including globally for the first time in 2024. Based on Young’s post, it’s not clear what specific issue has with Glastonbury and BBC.
