Neil Young—arguably the Godfather of Grunge—delivered a headline performance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday, June 28, 2025, that reaffirmed his status as a living legend.
In a music landscape dominated by flashy visuals and pop polish, Young stood centre stage with nothing but his weathered acoustic guitar and harmonica, opening solo with a fragile, heartfelt rendition of “Sugar Mountain”—a potent opening salvo that instantly grounded the audience .
Despite earlier confusion—Young had initially pulled out of Glastonbury, citing the festival’s “corporate” partnership with the BBC—he reversed course just days before the show. After granting BBC permission for a live broadcast, his performance became a statement not just of music, but of artistic autonomy in an age of branding and broadcast deals .
Accompanied by The Chrome Hearts, featuring veteran keyboardist Spooner Oldham and rising talents like Micah Nelson, Young unleashed a set that oscillated between plaintive passages and full‑blown emotional rock torrents. Songs like “Cinnamon Girl,” “Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)” and “Like a Hurricane” were rendered with chaotic beauty—extended solos, feedback drenched and bone‑shaking, harking back to the raw power he harnessed with Crazy Horse .
What set this set apart wasn’t the selection of hits, but the willingness to dive into deep cuts that challenge and provoke. Mid‑set, Young pulled out “Sun Green”, an 18‑verse opus from his eco‑opera Greendale. The performance was hypnotic—even polarizing—testing festival attendees’ patience as much as their devotion .
Stripped of pyrotechnics or stage theatrics—no dancers, no laser light, just a “banner reading ‘Love Earth’” floating overhead—the evening felt like a deliberate antidote to modern spectacle. What remained was the clarity of Young’s voice, the grit of his guitar, and songs like “Harvest Moon” and “The Needle and the Damage Done” that held space for reflection, tenderness, and collective sing‑along communion .
The reaction to Young’s bold minimalism was sharply divided. Fans and critics praised the set as a sublime highlight of the festival, noting how his performance cut through the excess with emotional precision. Yet others—especially those streaming the BBC broadcast—complained of inconsistent audio quality, citing muffled vocals and unreliable microphones that undermined the power of the delivery .
By closing with “Rockin’ in the Free World” and concluding with “Throw Your Hatred Down”, Young delivered an encore charged with urgency rather than grand finale gloss. It was a fitting end—no gimmicks, no backing track, just a septuagenarian rock icon reminding everyone that music lived best when raw, direct, and emotionally unfiltered.
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