Neil Young has announced that he will not perform at this year’s Glastonbury show, saying he believes the BBC’s involvement in the festival means it is “under corporate control”.
The 79-year-old Canadian musician wrote in a letter on his website Neil Young Archives on Tuesday that he and his band, the Chrome Hearts, are withdrawing from the annual music festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset. The reason was explained in detail.
“The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my favorite outdoor gigs,” Young wrote. “I was told that the BBC is now a partner in Glastonbury and is asking us to do a lot of things in ways that we are not interested in. It appears that Glastonbury is now under corporate control, but from what I remember. it’s not.”
The BBC has partnered with the festival since 1997.
The Guardian has contacted Glastonbury Festival for comment.
Young had not yet been announced to perform at this year’s Glastonbury, but it was rumored that he would be performing with Chrome Hearts. Other artists rumored to perform at the 2025 festival, which will take place June 27-29, include Olivia Rodrigo, Rihanna, Eminem, Sam Fender and Ed Sheeran.
Rockers Rod Stewart are the only act officially confirmed to perform at the festival so far, making their return 23 years after their last Glastonbury performance. Nile Rodgers also coincidentally confirmed that he would be performing with Thicke during his acceptance speech at the Rolling Stone Awards in November.
Young last performed at Glastonbury in 2009 as the headline act on the Pyramid Stage, but only part of his two-hour set was broadcast on the BBC. In response to criticism from Young’s fans, the BBC said it had “spent the past few months” negotiating with Young’s management over how much of Young’s set could be broadcast.
“Neil Young’s career has been guided by his own decisions,” the network said in a statement at the time. “Neil’s management agreed that TV and radio would broadcast five songs while watching and listening to his performance. They believe in the live event and believe in retaining its mystique and the mystique of the artist. ”
Young was also scheduled to perform at Glastonbury in 1997, but cut his finger while making a ham sandwich just before the start of his European tour, and said at the time: I knew cutting it in half would make the tour dangerous. From now on, it’s macaroni and cheese. ”
Glastonbury headline acts tend to be announced in March, with the full line-up usually announced in June. Tickets for the 2025 festival sold out in just 32 minutes.
Last year’s Glastonbury was headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA. The festival will then likely require a fallow period in 2026 until the land is restored.
Last year Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis told the BBC that fallow years are “important because they give the land a break and give the cows the opportunity to be out longer and reclaim the land.” And give everyone time to switch off. And I think it’s great that people don’t think you’re making money. ”
