2025 Headliners

[NorthernSoul52]

I can't say I was hugely enamoured with Neil Young as an option, but that's more to do with the fact I'd rather see them swing for somebody like Billy Joel who hasn't done the festival before.

 

If I was in possession of a ticket, I would be down the front for him however, even if he is highly unlikely to play his best song. (Which is Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) for those wondering.)

[jonnytee1]

On 1/3/2025 at 10:41 PM, northernangel said:

Well no one is saying you can't have your opinion but others have theirs too. To be fair even people who did like how his set started said it dropped off as time went on.

I like heartless and his collab with Jay-Z but that's it. But I'm not selling anyone else they have to have that view.

But your argument and view on his music does not, in anyway affect the fact that he was a deserved headliner, which he was. 
 

 

[jonnytee1]

9 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

I can't say I was hugely enamoured with Neil Young as an option, but that's more to do with the fact I'd rather see them swing for somebody like Billy Joel who hasn't done the festival before.

 

If I was in possession of a ticket, I would be down the front for him however, even if he is highly unlikely to play his best song. (Which is Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) for those wondering.)

I very much doubt I’ll watch NY as I saw him 2009 anyway. 
 

he will be a great headliner though and it’s great for Michael, NY fans and others who have not witnessed him before 

[lendan]

5 hours ago, km9 said:

Not in the way that Reading is. If you haven't been and you're over 30 then don't waste your time 

The headliners looked amazing last year and I’ve never been, was tempted as didn’t get Glastonbury tickets, then realised I’m 44 and my son is probably older than most attendees at 22!! 

[km9]

2 hours ago, lendan said:

The headliners looked amazing last year and I’ve never been, was tempted as didn’t get Glastonbury tickets, then realised I’m 44 and my son is probably older than most attendees at 22!! 

We are very similar then. I agree, the headline acts often look great. They are wasted on that festival though, it's atrocious 

[jonnytee1]

2 hours ago, lendan said:

The headliners looked amazing last year and I’ve never been, was tempted as didn’t get Glastonbury tickets, then realised I’m 44 and my son is probably older than most attendees at 22!! 

No way - it’s a mixed bag - always has been 

[jonnytee1]

4 minutes ago, km9 said:

We are very similar then. I agree, the headline acts often look great. They are wasted on that festival though, it's atrocious 

Wrong forum mate 👍😂

[km9]

5 minutes ago, jonnytee1 said:

Wrong forum mate 👍😂

I must be missing something 

[Johndenis]

On 1/3/2025 at 5:09 PM, judyblue110 said:

 

Not even remotely comparable to Yusuf. Neil is in a whole other league - and that's not an opinion, it's purely based on facts - album sales, number of releases, cultural relevance, tours, ticket sales, etc...

Is this factual?  In the context of a UK festival?  I've just read Chris Blackwell's book - and was surprised to read about how huge Yusuf was in the UK.  He was apparently a very big deal indeed. 

[Johndenis]

On 1/3/2025 at 5:29 PM, stuie said:

 

That's essentially what these Lido events are - a headliner and the rest of the line-up curated by the headliner for that day * 

 

And yes, some APE events sell ridiculously slow but I wouldn't expect that for someone who's been described on here as the biggest act in the world right now (lol) or someone who's expected to fill the Other field beyond capacity.  Just adding some balance to the hysteria really. 

 

 

 

* Just googled to check what I was saying, and it's basically her show with her 'Brat' collaborators.

https://mixmag.net/read/charli-xcx-headline-curate-lido-festival-2025-news

 

On Saturday June 14, Charli will bring ‘Party Girl’ to East London along with a specially curated line-up — this includes a number of 'Brat' collaborators such A. G. Cook, Bladee, The Dare, Japanese House, 070 Shake and Kelly Lee Owens.

Just to back you up and say this show is absolutely hers.  It's a bit mental to suggest otherwise.  I wonder if this is the difference between people playing her on Spotify/asking for her in a club - to actually paying to physically attend a performance.  The SZA Snag (lol)

[Johndenis]

3 hours ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

I can't say I was hugely enamoured with Neil Young as an option, but that's more to do with the fact I'd rather see them swing for somebody like Billy Joel who hasn't done the festival before.

 

If I was in possession of a ticket, I would be down the front for him however, even if he is highly unlikely to play his best song. (Which is Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) for those wondering.)

My input to pals on the Neil Young announcement (so funny btw, slating the BBC and the fest 🙂!) has been - I first heard Philadelphia (which doesn't seem to be on Spotify?) aged about 12 and was mesmerised, then I bought second hand After The Goldrush, and Harvest, but then didn't get round to the other stuff.  Thanks to this post I've reminded myself of the things I did one way or another get to know off his "greatest hits".  Some magnificent songs- Rott en Johnny lol - is there accepted lore for why he ditched the acoustic guitars and wrote all those equally magnificent rock guitar songs?

 

ps it appears to me that Glastonbury has traditionally had plenty of fogeyish or behind the curve Pyramid headliners, so I have no problem with Neil Young in 2025 - might be good for expectations to be calmed a bit.

 

pps to whoever above who was criticising Kanye headlining.  That's madness.  He was the biggest star in global music when he performed.  It was a massive event and an incredible coup.

[judyblue110]

6 hours ago, Johndenis said:

Is this factual?  In the context of a UK festival?  I've just read Chris Blackwell's book - and was surprised to read about how huge Yusuf was in the UK.  He was apparently a very big deal indeed. 

 

Yes it's factual.

[CaledonianGonzo]

6 hours ago, Johndenis said:

My input to pals on the Neil Young announcement (so funny btw, slating the BBC and the fest 🙂!) has been - I first heard Philadelphia (which doesn't seem to be on Spotify?) aged about 12 and was mesmerised, then I bought second hand After The Goldrush, and Harvest, but then didn't get round to the other stuff.  Thanks to this post I've reminded myself of the things I did one way or another get to know off his "greatest hits".  Some magnificent songs- Rott en Johnny lol - is there accepted lore for why he ditched the acoustic guitars and wrote all those equally magnificent rock guitar songs?

 

He's always done both.

 

6 hours ago, Johndenis said:

pps to whoever above who was criticising Kanye headlining.  That's madness.  He was the biggest star in global music when he performed.  It was a massive event and an incredible coup.

 

And incredibly divisive.  Google Neil Lonsdale.

[judyblue110]

11 hours ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

I can't say I was hugely enamoured with Neil Young as an option, but that's more to do with the fact I'd rather see them swing for somebody like Billy Joel who hasn't done the festival before.

 

If I was in possession of a ticket, I would be down the front for him however, even if he is highly unlikely to play his best song. (Which is Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) for those wondering.)

 

Totally possible he'll play that!

 

He played it in 2009. I remember there being some speculation that he struck an "MJ pose" when he sang the line "the king is gone but he's not forgotten"... I'm not so sure!

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

7 minutes ago, judyblue110 said:

 

Totally possible he'll play that!

 

He played it in 2009. I remember there being some speculation that he struck an "MJ pose" when he sang the line "the king is gone but he's not forgotten"... I'm not so sure!

 

He definitely moonwalked during Cinnamon Girl

[itschris]

On 1/3/2025 at 1:19 PM, matrainertje said:

What's this weird obsession with crowd sizes here on Efestivals?  

 

because musical taste is subjective, so having comparative metrics is useful for discussion

[Justcalledtosay]

9 hours ago, Johndenis said:

Is this factual?  In the context of a UK festival?  I've just read Chris Blackwell's book - and was surprised to read about how huge Yusuf was in the UK.  He was apparently a very big deal indeed. 

Of course it isn't. How can cultural relevance be defined objectively?

 

There is very little between them according to https://bestsellingalbums.org 28 million for Neil Young and 23 million for Cat Stevens. As per the original discussion, they are similar sized artists both suited to the legends slot only, in my opinion.

 

[jonnytee1]

9 hours ago, km9 said:

I must be missing something 

No, i was tired and had a few drinks, misunderstood / misread your comment 

 

no harm done - Apologies

[CaledonianGonzo]

13 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

Of course it isn't. How can cultural relevance be defined objectively?

 

There is very little between them according to https://bestsellingalbums.org 28 million for Neil Young and 23 million for Cat Stevens. As per the original discussion, they are similar sized artists both suited to the legends slot only, in my opinion.

 

 

As a live draw, Neil Young is an arena act with several festival headline sets under his belt (Glastonbury / BST / Phoenix / Reading)

 

Yusuf is more of at the theatre / concert hall sort of level.  His Glastonbury legend slot set must have been far and away the biggest crowd he's ever performed for - and I think the scale of it threw him a little at the start of his set.

 

It's possible on the back of that that he could have done a well-attended BST show the following summer, but for whatever reason he's not seemed to want to capitalise on that show and he's not done a gig since.

[gfa]

On 1/3/2025 at 4:35 PM, CaledonianGonzo said:

 

They've done it as a one-off, but Glastonbury doesn't really deal in exclusives.

Same difference though given they aren't touring

 

I could 100% see The 1975 doing it as a one-off. They would love to headline it

[Justcalledtosay]

I'm not sure quoting gigs he did nearly 30 years ago is relevant. 

 

I'd argue that Spotify streaming figures are a more relevant metric in this day and age. Cat Stevens dwarves Neil Young in that regard.

[CaledonianGonzo]

2 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

I'm not sure quoting gigs he did nearly 30 years ago is relevant. 

 

I'd argue that Spotify streaming figures are a more relevant metric in this day and age. Cat Stevens dwarves Neil Young in that regard.

 

He headlined BST just before the pandemic. That's pretty relevant to his status as a UK festival headliner.

 

Let me check with SZA whether she reckons Spotify streaming figures are the biggest factor in headlining the Pyramid 

 

Edited yesterday at 10:28 AM by CaledonianGonzo

[CaledonianGonzo]

4 minutes ago, gfa said:

Same difference though given they aren't touring

 

I could 100% see The 1975 doing it as a one-off. They would love to headline it

 

Agreed.  

[judyblue110]

3 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

I'm not sure quoting gigs he did nearly 30 years ago is relevant. 

 

I'd argue that Spotify streaming figures are a more relevant metric in this day and age. Cat Stevens dwarves Neil Young in that regard.

 

That's potentially because Neil Young wasn't on Spotify for 2 whole years. 

 

Additionally, Yusuf's songs are regularly included on major TV shows and movie soundtracks.

 

I'm starting to think you're actually Yusuf. Neil's bigger than you, just get over it.

[Justcalledtosay]

3 minutes ago, judyblue110 said:

 

That's potentially because Neil Young wasn't on Spotify for 2 whole years. 

 

Additionally, Yusuf's songs are regularly included on major TV shows and movie soundtracks.

 

I'm starting to think you're actually Yusuf. Neil's bigger than you, just get over it.

No not really. It's just the most objectively available set of statistics to judge popularity. I get you're a big Neil Young fan but my argument stands. I'd also note that the BST show was a co-headline with Bob Dylan who, very clearly, was the draw that day.