Neil Young has backed away from plans to perform at England’s massive Glastonbury Festival this summer. “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favorite outdoor gigs,” Young wrote in an open letter on the Neil Young Archives. “We were told the BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot for things we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.
“We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be,” he continues. “Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
It’s unclear what exactly Glastonbury and the BBC were requesting of Young that he found distasteful enough to pull out of the festival. The BBC broadcasts and streams large portions of the event, and it was available globally for the first time last year. (Rolling Stone reached out to reps for Glastonbury for comment.)
Glastonbury has yet to announce performers for the summer besides Rod Stewart. But articles hit the U.K. press in late 2024 that Young would be playing. “Neil and his band the Chrome Hearts are firming up plans for European dates next year and Glastonbury is on the cards,” a source told The Sun. “Glastonbury appears to be leaning back into its roots of rock, and if they can secure Neil it would be an amazing addition to what is already shaping up to be an incredible lineup.”
Young did little to dispel the rumors by telling readers of the Neil Young Archives he was booking a European tour that will largely hit outdoor venues. In a letter to a fan posted on New Year’s Day, Young wrote that “tour announcements for the summer are coming very soon.”
Young last played Glastonbury on June 26, 2009. Portions of the show were broadcast on the BBC, including “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, wherever Young plays, he’ll be backed by his new group the Chrome Hearts. It features Micah Nelson on guitar, Spooner Oldham on organ, Corey McCormick on bass, and Anthony LoGergo on drums. They played their first gig 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 went for two years without writing anything,” Young recently told Dan Hesse on his podcast Mentors Radio. “I was wondering, ‘Wow, is that it?’ Who knows? I can’t tell … This record has blown my mind. I’m very, very grateful for the success of being able to be in there with Lou Adler producing and the Chrome Hearts playing and getting this music out of me, which I never even knew was there until a couple of months ago when I wrote all the songs and recorded them all.”