Neil Young Makes Glastonbury Comeback in 2025, Joins Rodrigo and The 1975 as Headliners

Music fans will see Neil Young, The 1975, and Olivia Rodrigo take the stage as headliners at Glastonbury 2025. The event plans to cut back ticket sales after too many people packed into shows last year.

Organizer Emily Eavis picked Young to mark her dad Michael's 90th birthday this fall. "Neil Young is one of my dad's [Michael Eavis, Glastonbury's founder] favourite artists of all time, and mine. We've sort of grown up with him. He played in 2009, and it was an incredible set, so getting him back has been a very important thing for us," she said in her chat with Cosmopolitan.

Last year's shows packed crowds that came to see Charli XCX, Avril Lavigne, and the Sugababes perform. Learning from the 2024 shutdown, they've carved out a new spot called Dragon's Tail to open up more space for late-night shows.

"Crowding is something we're going to address," Eavis said. "I think the issue was that people were moving in similar directions, so we're trying to spread the programming out [this year] by putting more high-level artists on at the same time."

The festival promises to be one for the books as British pop-rock band The 1975 takes center stage. The "Drivers License" singer also earned her spot after a stunning show at Worthy Farm in 2022. "She came off the stage [after her last set in 2022] in tears," Eavis recalled. "It was so incredible. When you see an artist who's so young storming through, it's really exciting," she added.

The Glastonbury fest turns 53 next year. What started with just 1,500 fans in 1970 now draws over 200,000 people to see 2,000 acts on 100 stages across the Pilton area, Somerset. That's quite a jump.

The organizers are making changes to spread out the big shows and add paths between stages for the comfort and ease of movement for fans. As Eavis puts it: "There's 10 routes to anywhere; you don't have to go the one way you think you have to. There's also endlessly interesting things you can find that aren't at massive stages or with big crowds."

Young hasn't played at Glastonbury since 2009. His return means a great deal as Michael Eavis turns 90. While giving fans more room to move, the fest keeps its mix of music and fun that made it famous.

Want to experience the glorious event live? You can see the full lineup of artists performing and the entire schedule on the Glastonbury Festival's official website. Tickets are also available for sale on the site.