Neil Young has officially confirmed his return as a headliner for this year’s Glastonbury Festival, reversing an earlier announcement that he was pulling out due to concerns about “corporate control.” Writing on his blog, Young clarified that the decision was the result of “an error in information.”
“Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary, and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!” Young shared, though he did not elaborate on the nature of the “error”.
Festival organizer Emily Eavis expressed her excitement on Instagram, wrote, “What a start to the year! 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’s announcement follows his initial decision to withdraw from the festival, citing its partnership with the BBC as a point of contention. “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,” Young wrote earlier this week. “It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
The BBC, which has partnered with Glastonbury since 1997, responded diplomatically. “There’s always great excitement about Glastonbury’s bookings and who will appear at the legendary festival. We’ll talk more about our broadcast plans as the lineup shapes up,” a spokesperson said.
Young joins Rod Stewart and Nile Rodgers—who inadvertently confirmed Chic’s performance—as part of the 2025 lineup. Last time, when Young headlined Glastonbury in 2009, he reached a compromise with the BBC, allowing them to broadcast only five songs from his two-hour set. “They believe in the live event and retaining its mystery and that of their artist,” the BBC said at the time.
Meanwhile, Glastonbury continues to thrive financially. Its latest filings with Companies House revealed a doubling of profits in the year leading up to March 2024, with £5.2 million donated to charities. According to reports, the festival also invested £3.7 million in new land acquisitions, while founder Michael Eavis transferred his shares to daughter Emily, solidifying her leadership role.
On the music front, the 79-year-old Young is also working on a new album with Chrome Hearts, potentially titled Talking to the Trees, and produced by Lou Adler. Speaking on The Mentors Radio, he detailed his creative struggles over the past two years but said the new material reflects on pressing global issues.
“There’s so many people with things on their minds now… how we’re gonna live with the situation of ignoring the climate change and ignoring everything and having our leaders totally into money instead of saving the planet and helping everybody else on Earth,” Young said, mentioning a track titled Movin’ Ahead.
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