2025 Headliners

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

What's with the obsession regarding Pyramid headliner crowd size these days? Surely it only matters where you are/were at the time?

 

The only occasion when it feels like it has any relevance is when it's like it was for Elton. 

[Monty Pythagoras]

Just go and see who you want to

[The_Fish]

11 minutes ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

What's with the obsession regarding Pyramid headliner crowd size these days? Surely it only matters where you are/were at the time?

 

The only occasion when it feels like it has any relevance is when it's like it was for Elton. 

 

There's no obsession. It's one of the factors when evaluating a headliner. If someones gets a small crowd then they likely should have got a more appropriate spot (different stage or time) and a headliner that more people wanted should have been booked.  

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

5 minutes ago, Monty Pythagoras said:

Just go and see who you want to

 

Exactly. 

 

If the same people who seem to care so much about SZA's crowd size post-festival actually showed up, it would have been more like Elton's. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

5 minutes ago, The_Fish said:

 

There's no obsession. It's one of the factors when evaluating a headliner. If someones gets a small crowd then they likely should have got a more appropriate spot (different stage or time) and a headliner that more people wanted should have been booked.  

 

And Neil Young's done it once before and I don't recall his crowd being especially notable in either direction. 

[Ben7amin_]

15 minutes ago, Monty Pythagoras said:

Just go and see who you want to

 

Seems obvious doesn't it 

[Ben7amin_]

For the headliner front row obsessed

 

https://www.uniladtech.com/gadgets/liquid-death-pit-diaper-pee-during-concert-770500-20241209?fbclid=IwY2xjawHE24NleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWmoTPxmrlBGF2vy6aG4ng741INZyi0RU2humVONOpxFAfr5_l0tRbc2mg_aem_zipNzV2ITvhzsivrNpWK8A

[NorthernSoul52]

Vote with your feet, not with your voice. 

[Fred Zepplin]

11 hours ago, Skip997 said:

The 1975 - dull, Neil Young - fantastic but not a party, so no as a headliner, O Rod - again not a party, so no. 
 

Loyle Carner - heard him live- dull, Charli - will be a party, so possible yes depending on who’s on elsewhere 

I was there for Neil Young in 09 and it definitely wasn’t dull. He doesn’t just sit there with an acoustic guitar. Rocking in the free world had the crowd going for 15 minutes alone 

[jonnytee1]

14 hours ago, judyblue110 said:

 

OK, again, Olivia, Sam Fender, 1975, Fred Again, what you've said applies to them too, word for word.

 

I don't think you need to labour this point specifically for Neil. Noone was comparing him as an equal to Bowie or Elton.

Ok in labouring a different point, I think you're probably incorrect in that most people under 40 would generally be able to name more O'Rod, Fender and 1975 songs than Neil Young.   

 

It's only opinion vs opinion but in this day and age its a moot point anyway because we have access to a magnitude of platforms to allow anyone artist we don't know, to be heard. 

 

The bonus of any artist we don't know a lot about is that we can broaden our horizons and have a listen.

[jonnytee1]

12 hours ago, Skip997 said:

The 1975 - dull, Neil Young - fantastic but not a party, so no as a headliner, O Rod - again not a party, so no. 
 

Loyle Carner - heard him live- dull, Charli - will be a party, so possible yes depending on who’s on elsewhere 

Not every great headliner or musician has to be a "party" 

However, at Glasto  - if a party is what you're after  -  there will be many of them going on somewhere 

[jonnytee1]

11 hours ago, Superscally said:

O-Rod will be a party.

Especially if Chapelle Roan is on before hand! 

 

Party central!

[beesboy]

1 minute ago, jonnytee1 said:

Not every great headliner or musician has to be a "party" 

However, at Glasto  - if a party is what you're after  -  there will be many of them going on somewhere 

100% agree however the headliners on each stage should be the absolutely best possible booking. Out of the 5/6 headliners mentioned for the Pyramid or Other stages  I would avoid them all and I suspect many many other festival goers will feel the same. You can usually rely on at least one headliner appealing but this lot is a car crash as far as I'm concerned. 

[Ben7amin_]

ARCADIA is normally on from 9ish - so if you wanna party hard  in the headliner slot - there will always be an option 

Edited December 10, 2024 by Ben7amin_

[jonnytee1]

Just now, beesboy said:

100% agree however the headliners on each stage should be the absolutely best possible booking. Out of the 5/6 headliners mentioned for the Pyramid or Other stages  I would avoid them all and I suspect many many other festival goers will feel the same. You can usually rely on at least one headliner appealing but this lot is a car crash as far as I'm concerned. 

I get it, if i could choose some headliners I'd probable not have any of those lot. I'm liking the Chapelle O'Rod possibility which really isn't my usual thing but i can get involved.

 

One persons "Car Crash" is another persons "Dream" and that's the joy / problem with music.

 

I'm liking it because it means i might see some headliners at other stages that i have not visited as much as i probably should have in the past and some of the rumours for the Park, Woodsies and West Holts look great for me.   

[jonnytee1]

1 minute ago, Ben7amin_ said:

ARCADIA is normally on from 9ish - so if you wanna party hard  in the headliner slot - there will always be an option 

Not just Arcadia  -  After attending last year for the first time in 12 years, the Dance  / party options we 10 fold what they were in 2012.

[FloopFiller]

7 minutes ago, beesboy said:

100% agree however the headliners on each stage should be the absolutely best possible booking. Out of the 5/6 headliners mentioned for the Pyramid or Other stages  I would avoid them all and I suspect many many other festival goers will feel the same. You can usually rely on at least one headliner appealing but this lot is a car crash as far as I'm concerned. 

Out of interest, what headliners would you want that are currently touring and available (for either Pyramid or Other)?

[beesboy]

4 minutes ago, jonnytee1 said:

I get it, if i could choose some headliners I'd probable not have any of those lot. I'm liking the Chapelle O'Rod possibility which really isn't my usual thing but i can get involved.

 

One persons "Car Crash" is another persons "Dream" and that's the joy / problem with music.

 

I'm liking it because it means i might see some headliners at other stages that i have not visited as much as i probably should have in the past and some of the rumours for the Park, Woodsies and West Holts look great for me.   

Agree with this. I have to be honest and say I've never seen a Park headliner and tended to only be there for daytime partying, so I hope to put that right next year. Chic in 2013 is one of my favourite headliners ever so I'll probably be spending a lot of time at WH if they can pull something decent out of the bag.

[Talcroft]

4 minutes ago, FloopFiller said:

Out of interest, what headliners would you want that are currently touring and available (for either Pyramid or Other)?

Charli XCX, Bicep, Fred Again, Chappell Roan, Pulp would all be more interesting/exciting than the 1975 at least. They in particular feel like absolute bilge. Olivia and Neil not for me but can accept them as talented at least. 

[FloopFiller]

4 minutes ago, Talcroft said:

Charli XCX, Bicep, Fred Again, Chappell Roan, Pulp would all be more interesting/exciting than the 1975 at least. They in particular feel like absolute bilge. Olivia and Neil not for me but can accept them as talented at least. 

Charli and Chappell both heavily rumoured to be playing in non-headliner slots. Fred was seemingly Plan A but dropped most of his big 2025 commitments and 1975 drafted in. Pulp have toured extensively over the past two years - not exciting at all as a headliner booking. Bicep still touring their Chroma thing for some reason, probably back touring properly next year, good contender to headline Other in ‘27.

 

* sorry, Charli rumoured to be headlining Other

Edited December 10, 2024 by FloopFiller

[beesboy]

4 minutes ago, FloopFiller said:

Out of interest, what headliners would you want that are currently touring and available (for either Pyramid or Other)?

Would have loved Fred Again or Barry Can't Swim. Would be amazing if Pulp headlined a stage. Prodigy are the only (possible) headliner that I'd be excited about that's been mentioned so far. Aside from those, just someone that's known, has a huge back catalogue of hits that the field can all rock out to. I know it would never happen now but would love Primal Scream subbing Prodigy for instance. Nile Rodgers will be class and I'll be there for the legends slot as Rod Stewart will do a good job of getting people swaying and smiling. 

[Justcalledtosay]

17 hours ago, jonnytee1 said:

It doesn't change the fact he will and should headline if he is there..........its just simple facts that people generally do not know his back catalogue or "hits" as much as other "legendary acts" or current artists. 

 

This is basically why, in 2024, i think he should be doing the legend slot and no more. Is he going to pull more than the capacity of the Other stage circa 60,000? I'm not so sure.

[Talcroft]

4 minutes ago, FloopFiller said:

Charli and Chappell both heavily rumoured to be playing in non-headliner slots. Fred was seemingly Plan A but dropped most of his big 2025 commitments and 1975 drafted in. Pulp have toured extensively over the past two years - not exciting at all as a headliner booking. Bicep still touring their Chroma thing for some reason, probably back touring properly next year, good contender to headline Other in ‘27.

 

* sorry, Charli rumoured to be headlining Other

 

Both deserve Pyramid. Young, female, massive, actually good... I don't understand how the 1975 are considered the better option there, except by virtue of simply being more vanilla and having a bigger back catalogue. But personally I'd rather have a 90min set of quality than 2 hours of Matt Healy. 

Fwiw I'm not particularly a massive fan of any of them but to me the 1975 just does not make sense right now. 

 

Agree on Bicep, they need that new album out in 2026 and it needs to be as good as the last two but then they would absolutely have earned the right to overturn the 'no dance on the pointy' rule. 

[fraybentos1]

15 minutes ago, Talcroft said:

Charli XCX

headlining other 

 

15 minutes ago, Talcroft said:

Bicep

played last year i think 

 

15 minutes ago, Talcroft said:

Fred Again

was asked apparently and pulled out 

 

15 minutes ago, Talcroft said:

Chappell Roan

probably subbing 

 

16 minutes ago, Talcroft said:

Pulp

could be there, but if they are not then I think that is their choice, not the festival's

[FloopFiller]

5 minutes ago, Talcroft said:

 

Both deserve Pyramid. Young, female, massive, actually good... I don't understand how the 1975 are considered the better option there, except by virtue of simply being more vanilla and having a bigger back catalogue. But personally I'd rather have a 90min set of quality than 2 hours of Matt Healy. 

Fwiw I'm not particularly a massive fan of any of them but to me the 1975 just does not make sense right now. 

 

Agree on Bicep, they need that new album out in 2026 and it needs to be as good as the last two but then they would absolutely have earned the right to overturn the 'no dance on the pointy' rule. 

 

They’ve already got Olivia headlining so don’t think it’s at all bad that they’ve got both Chappell and Charli in lower positions, especially considering they both only properly blew up over the last year. I’m no 1975 fan at all but by all accounts they’re big enough, put on a great show, and if rumours are true were most likely lined up for the 2021 festival that never was so were kinda inevitable somewhere along the line.