Neil Young has backed out of his plans to play at the big English club this summer Glastonbury to perform at the festival. “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to performing at Glastonbury. One of my favorite outdoor festivals,” Young wrote in an open letter in the Neil Young Archives. “We were told that the BBC was now a partner of Glastonbury and was charging us a lot for things we don’t care about. It appears that Glastonbury is now under corporate control. And it’s no longer the way I remember it.”
“We won’t be playing Glastonbury on this tour. Because for me it’s not what it used to be,” he continues. “I hope to see you at one of the other locations on the tour.”
Where does the anger come from?
It is unclear exactly what Glastonbury and the BBC demanded of Young that he found so unpleasant that he withdrew from the festival. The BBC will broadcast and stream large parts of the event, which was shown worldwide for the first time last year. ROLLING STONE has contacted Glastonbury representatives for comment.
Glastonbury has not yet announced any other artists for the summer apart from Rod Stewart. But at the end of 2024 it was announced in the British press that Young would appear. “Neil and his band The Chrome Hearts are making plans for European concerts next year. And Glastonbury is on the agenda,” a source told The Sun. “Glastonbury seems to be going back to its rock roots. And if they can sign Neil, that would be a fantastic addition to what is already shaping up to be an incredible lineup.”
Young did little to dispel the rumors, telling readers of the Neil Young Archive that he was planning a European tour that would largely take place in outdoor venues. In one Letter to a fanwhich was released on New Year’s Day, Young wrote that “summer tour announcements will be coming very soon.”
Young last performed at Glastonbury on June 26, 2009
Young last performed at Glastonbury on June 26, 2009. Parts of the show were broadcast on BBC. These include “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “Words,” “Rockin’ in the Free World” and a cover of the Beatles classic “A Day in the Life.”
This summer, Young will be accompanied at all performances by his new band Chrome Hearts. The band consists of Micah Nelson on guitar, Spooner Oldham on organ, Corey McCormick on bass and Anthony LoGergo on drums. They made their first appearance at Farm Aid in September 2024. Late last year they recorded a new album with producer Lou Adler, tentatively titled Talking to the Trees.
“I haven’t written anything for two years,” Young recently told Dan Hesse on his podcast Mentors Radio. ‘I asked myself, ‘Wow, is that it?’ Who knows? I can’t say it. This album blew me away. I’m very, very grateful for the success of being able to work with Lou Adler and play Chrome Hearts. And that I was able to get this music out of me that I didn’t even know was there until a few months ago when I wrote all the songs and recorded them all.”