Neil Young has officially banned the BBC from broadcasting his Glastonbury 2025 headline performance.
The 79-year-old legend is set to hit the Pyramid Stage this Saturday (28 June) with his band The Chrome Hearts, but fans hoping to catch the set from home will be disappointed. Instead, BBC viewers will be shown Charli XCX’s performance from The Other Stage, scheduled at the same time.
A spokesperson for the BBC confirmed the news, saying: “On Saturday on BBC iPlayer, our Glastonbury Channel and five streams for the main stages will bring a range of live performances to audiences. At the artist’s request, we won’t be livestreaming Neil Young’s set. Our plans, including those for our TV highlights shows and on-demand coverage, continue to be finalised right up to and during the festival.”
This decision isn’t entirely surprising to long-time fans. Neil Young has a history of resisting the broadcasting of his live shows. Back in 2009, during his previous Glastonbury headline slot, he only allowed five tracks to air due to his desire to maintain the “mystery” of the performance.
Earlier this year, Young even threatened to pull out of Glastonbury altogether. In a statement posted on his official website in January, the “Rockin’ in the Free World” singer blasted what he saw as the festival’s growing corporate influence. He wrote, “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs. We were told that the BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
His message went viral, sparking debate among fans and fellow musicians about the role of corporations at music festivals. However, in a surprising turnaround just two days later, Young reversed his stance. He admitted he had been given inaccurate information, stating, “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play Glastonbury Festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing!”
Still, his decision to block the BBC from filming or streaming his 2025 set makes it clear that Neil Young remains protective of how his music is shared. It’s a stance that reflects his long-standing preference for authenticity over mass exposure, even in a digital age when live streaming has become the norm.
So while thousands at Worthy Farm will get to see Young and The Chrome Hearts live, the rest of us will have to settle for clips that might surface later, if at all.
Fans wanting something live on screen will have Charli XCX to thank, as her set will be the BBC’s featured alternative during Neil’s blackout.
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