While young pop stars Charli XCX and Doechii pulled off choreographed dance moves to backing tracks, across the field at Glastonbury Festival, Neil Young donned his best flannel and train conductor cap to close out Saturday on the Pyramid Stage. The show marked Young’s first trip to Glastonbury since his debut in 2009.
Even before it was announced, Neil Young’s headlining performance with his new Chrome Hearts backing band was a moving target. Two months before the festival revealed its lineup, Young made headlines for dropping off the roster because “it seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control” due to its partnership with BBC. Alleging that the network “wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in,” Young publicly withdrew from the festival, only to announce the festival was back on their itinerary two days later without explanation.
Young’s spat with the BBC continued right up until showtime, as the network’s Glastonbury livestream schedule released ahead of the festival did not include Neil’s Saturday night headlining set. A spokesperson for the network confirmed, “At the artist’s request, we won’t be live streaming” the performance. Then, hours before Neil Young was set to take the Pyramid Stage, the BBC revealed it would broadcast his Glastonbury set after all.
With all that turmoil, there was plenty of anticipation for Young’s set both at Worthy Farm and in homes around the world as fans tuned in for the livestream. Amid a sea of rising pop stars and provocative punk and hip-hop acts, the 79-year-old Young proved why he still sits at the top of the pyramid 16 years after his last headlining set.
Though he was not with his longtime Crazy Horse bandmates, Young—along with his new sidemen Micah Nelson (guitar), Spencer Oldham (organ), Corey McCormick (bass), and Anthony LoGerfo (drums)—was able to capture the group’s hard-edged folk-rock ethos on “Be The Rain”, “F*!#in’ Up”, “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”, and “Like A Hurricane”. Young also throttled the energy as he went solo acoustic for the opening “Sugar Mountain” and “The Needle and the Damage Done”, plus softer runs through “Harvest Moon” and the set-closing “Old Man”.
Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts — “Harvest Moon” — 6/28/25
[Video: Pianogeezer]
Emphasizing the band’s improvisational prowess, Young and The Chrome Hearts dug deep on ten-plus-minute, noise-rock jams on “Sun Green” and “Love and Only Love”. Neil even cracked open his Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young catalog for “Name of Love” before closing out the show with a hard-hitting encore of “Rockin’ in the Free World” and the first “Throw Your Hatred Down” of his nascent Love Earth world tour.
Scroll down for a collection of fan-shot videos from Neil Young at Glastonbury. The Love Earth tour will come to the U.S. in August. Find tickets and tour dates here.
The chronically outspoken Young was an exemplary headliner for the 2025 edition of Glastonbury, a festival defined by defiance. Belfast rap trio Kneecap caused an uproar of controversy well before their set, with England’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer demanding the group be removed from the lineup for their pro-Palestinian views. Glastonbury’s organizers stood firmly behind the group, even as Kneecap rapper Mo Chara is out on bail for a terror charge after allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a U.K. concert last November.
The BBC opted not to livestream Kneecap’s set and only offer it on demand following the performance, but the network was apparently caught off guard by Bob Vylan. The rap-punk duo played ahead of Kneecap and led the crowd in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Rather than cutting the feed, the BBC displayed a warning on screen about “very strong and discriminatory language.” The performance has already drawn condemnations from the Israeli Assembly to the U.K., the Campaign Against Antisemitism, Prime Minister Starmer. Even Emily Eavis Glastonbury co-organizer Emily Eavis who said “Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.” British Police are reportedly investigating the footage to determine if any crimes occurred, per Euro News.
Neil Young — “The Needle & The Damage Done” — 6/28/25
[Video: Pianogeezer]
Setlist: Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts | Glastonbury Festival | Glastonbury, England | 6/28/25
Set: Sugar Mountain [1], Be The Rain, When You Dance, I Can Really Love, Cinnamon Girl, F*!#in’ Up, Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black), The Needle And The Damage Done [1], Harvest Moon, Looking Forward, Sun Green, Love And Only Love, Like A Hurricane, Name Of Love, Old Man
Encore: Rockin’ In The Free World, Throw Your Hatred Down [2]
[1] Neil solo
[2] Tour debut