Neil Young in dramatic Glastonbury U-turn after shunning festival over BBC 'corporate control'
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Neil Young has said he will now be playing the Glastonbury Festival, blaming “an error in the information I received” for him initially turning down the offer because it was “under corporate control” of the BBC. The 79-year-old Old Man sniger and his live band, The Chrome Hearts, were previously said to be performing at the 2025 festival held on Worthy Farm in Somerset, with rumours circulating about who will be headlining the popular fest. He originally performed on the Pyramid Stage 16 years ago. However, on New Year's Day, he revealed he decided not to return to the Glasto stage and explained his reasoning on his website.
In a statement on Neil Young Archives, he wrote: "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. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being. 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.” The Harvest Moon musician signed off the statement with his name and added, "Be well". It was unclear what the BBC wanted them to do. A few days later, Neil returned to his website to confirm he actually will be playing at Glastonbury and clarified there was 'an error in the information received'.
A statement was Neil Young’s website posted on Friday, which said: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury Festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing. Hope to see you there.”.
