2025 Headliners

[Jack The Stripper]

3 hours ago, charlierc said:

Objectively, they're not a rarity. My local sweatboxes still seem to be filled by bands and there's even a few showcases for local bands, same as there ever was.

 

The rarity part is more that since some point in the early 2010s, there's not really been all that many guitar bands rise to headliner status in the way there were in the 90s & 00s. Sure, a couple have come through to be arena level, and a few have even gone to higher levels than that, but it's not to the same degree as what came before.

In an episode of The Rest Is Entertainment they noted that a “band” has only been in the number 1 spot for 3 weeks this entire decade, one of which was the Radio 1 allstars for a charity single (most of whom are soloists) and the others were The Beatles and Little Mix. This is compared to 141 weeks in the first 5 years of the 90s.

Edited January 21, 2025 by Jack The Stripper

[Suprefan]

5 hours ago, charlierc said:

 

I'm not sure many festivals would choose such a trio but... eh. It's in keeping with the everything everywhere all at once vibe of a lot of festivals these days.

Its.... in Memphis. The regionality of the u.s plays a big part in how certain lineups come together. This hits the right spot for the city pretty much. 

[Suprefan]

4 hours ago, FKA SOSOTWS said:

 

So they once again spent all their money on the lineup and will neglect all the proper organizational costs and matters?

 

Maybe. We'll see. Iowa doesnt have much going for it so people will go and theyll get away with things. The fest got called out big time last year after the first day and things didnt go well. They tried to make it better but the damage was done. Its tough when you have a single stage festival and a limited amount of space so nobody moves around. 

[Stokesy10]

5 hours ago, Skip997 said:

Missy Elliott would be a fantastic shout for a WH headliner 

Big time.

[Stokesy10]

6 hours ago, charlierc said:

 

I'm not sure many festivals would choose such a trio but... eh. It's in keeping with the everything everywhere all at once vibe of a lot of festivals these days.

Man I use to absolutely love the Missy Elliot track Ft. Ludacris "Gossip Folks".

 

Get them both on WH so I can channel my inner 16 year old from 2002 and recite every word 🤣

[CaledonianGonzo]

I think Missy's health means her live shows are pretty phoned in.

[NorthernSoul52]

She's not cheap either, is she? 

[The_Fish]

13 hours ago, dumbsaints said:

 In this individualistic climate where guitar bands are a rarity and the industry is focused on solo artists, you would think the idea of a British guitar band headlining Glastonbury for the first time in their career would be more welcome, whether you like The 1975 or not 🙂

 

They are objectively big enough to headline Glastonbury. As is Neil Young, same for Rodrigo. I think the setup is fine too, guitar band, legend and female pop star. The problem is as a trio it's rather underwhelming. 

 

The 'legend' is nowhere near Elton John or Paul McCartney levels and leaves a lot of people asking 'who?'. Rodrigo is the latest pop star who is in the right moment for the right kind of audience and there is no doubt to me that the 1975 are big enough but I personally think Healy is a bit of a tosser and have 0 desire to go see him. 

 

Having 2 of those headliners along with someone who elevates it would make them a lot more palatable. Like if it was Stevie Wonder instead of Neil Young, lots could say 'Yeah Healy is a prick and I don't like pop music, but wow, Stevie Wonder should put on an amazing show' or if it was Lady Gaga instead of Rodrigo I could say 'Yeah obviously I'm not keen on watching Neil Young giving off old man yells at cloud vibes, but Lady Gaga closing the festival should be a right party'.

 

Obviously lots of this is subjective and I know people here are really excited to see these headliners and I wish I was one of them. Speaking to quite a few mates in various circles to see if I'm the out of touch one (turning 40 in a few weeks...) but I'm getting similar vibes from them too. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

I'd actually place Stevie on the same sort of footing as Neil.

 

Obviously it's 15 years ago now but I remember folk at the time griping at him being booked as a headliner rather than the Legend Slot.

[CaledonianGonzo]

21 minutes ago, NorthernSoul52 said:

She's not cheap either, is she? 

 

Stack of cash for a 45 minute PA.

[Someoni]

8 hours ago, Stokesy10 said:

Man I use to absolutely love the Missy Elliot track Ft. Ludacris "Gossip Folks".

 

Get them both on WH so I can channel my inner 16 year old from 2002 and recite every word 🤣

Hello my fellow 1986er

[gfa]

17 hours ago, Suprefan said:

 

except it was a shitshow last year.

I did see stuff saying that

 

Can't have been bad financially though if they have Lana and Tyler this year lol

[henry bear]

3 hours ago, The_Fish said:

The 'legend' is nowhere near Elton John or Paul McCartney levels and leaves a lot of people asking 'who?'. 

How many more acts in that bracket are there, other than the likes of the Stones and Springsteen, and I’d be surprised to see either of those again on the farm?

 

For those unacquainted with NY’s work, they have plenty of time to do just that and they’ll possibly find that, although he might have the big hits and album sales of some of his peers, he does have an amazing body of work, is consistently a force of nature live, and an absolute legend that was doing this at Woodstock, 56 years ago

Edited January 22, 2025 by henry bear

[Superscally]

16 hours ago, Skelts said:

That truly is shocking behaviour! 😃

One of my big regrets that I never got to see them live 😥

I think a 21 year old not being mad into REM is pretty legit tbf, just as I'd expect the majority of 21 year old not to be into the National... 🙂

3 hours ago, The_Fish said:

The 'legend' is nowhere near Elton John or Paul McCartney levels and leaves a lot of people asking 'who?'.

Well they weren't Legends, they were headliners and Rod is definitely up there with Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Cat Stevens and Tom Jones. Maybe not Dolly, but he is absolutely on par for the Legend slot.

[The_Fish]

22 minutes ago, Superscally said:

I think a 21 year old not being mad into REM is pretty legit tbf, just as I'd expect the majority of 21 year old not to be into the National... 🙂

Well they weren't Legends, they were headliners and Rod is definitely up there with Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Cat Stevens and Tom Jones. Maybe not Dolly, but he is absolutely on par for the Legend slot.

 

Yeah I have no issue with Rod, I should have worded it better. I don't think Neil Young is a good headliner in 2025. 

[CR77]

22 minutes ago, henry bear said:

How many more acts in that bracket are there, other than the likes of the Stones and Springsteen, and I’d be surprised to see either of those again on the farm?

 

I've been saying this for a while.  We were spoilt world-class-legend wise having Paul McCartney and Elton John playing in consecutive years... that's not the norm, but it's no wonder the 2024 line-up, and seemingly the 2025 line-up, both look underwhelming in comparison.  But like you say, who is left of that scale who hasn't done Glastonbury before?  In terms of the Top Ten artists of all time, the only artists who haven't done Glastonbury, and who could feasibly still do it, are Queen (with Adam Lambert, obvs!), Madonna and Rihanna (Taylor Swift is just outside the Top Ten).  And in all fairness, I consider Rihanna and Swift as recent/current artists, rather than "legends" - LOL!  After Madonna and Queen perform (if they ever do) where do you go after that in terms of world-class legend headliners, without booking Macca or the Stones yet again? (Ok, Oasis... but even they are nowhere near the Top Ten in terms of worldwide sales.)

 

[The_Fish]

37 minutes ago, henry bear said:

How many more acts in that bracket are there, other than the likes of the Stones and Springsteen, and I’d be surprised to see either of those again on the farm?

 

For those unacquainted with NY’s work, they have plenty of time to do just that and they’ll possibly find that, although he might have the big hits and album sales of some of his peers, he does have an amazing body of work, is consistently a force of nature live, and an absolute legend that was doing this at Woodstock, 56 years ago

 

Yeah that's a fair point, there aren't too many on their level. I think Neil Young is so far below it though. 

 

I tried listening to him on Spotify after the announcement and it does nothing for me, especially for a headline set. I also watched a video of him on YouTube last year playing Heart of Gold and whilst his voice is surprisingly good for a man of his age, it still did nothing for me. 

 

As I said before though, it's subjective and lots on here are very keen on him, we'll see in June whether booking him was a good call or not.

[Superscally]

2 minutes ago, The_Fish said:

 

Yeah I have no issue with Rod, I should have worded it better. I don't think Neil Young is a good headliner in 2025. 

Ah ok, I get why you and others think that, but he's up there in the conversation and won't f**k it up...

[Franky]

10 minutes ago, The_Fish said:

 

Yeah I have no issue with Rod, I should have worded it better. I don't think Neil Young is a good headliner in 2025. 

Agreed

[CaledonianGonzo]

33 minutes ago, CR77 said:

 

I've been saying this for a while.  We were spoilt world-class-legend wise having Paul McCartney and Elton John playing in consecutive years... that's not the norm, but it's no wonder the 2024 line-up, and seemingly the 2025 line-up, both look underwhelming in comparison.  

 

 

Some years it happens, some years it doesn't.  If they'd manage to pull off Madonna last year then the combination of her and Coldplay is inarguable.

 

Neil Young isn't at that level, but he is at only about one level below it.  

[duke88]

43 minutes ago, CR77 said:

 

I've been saying this for a while.  We were spoilt world-class-legend wise having Paul McCartney and Elton John playing in consecutive years... that's not the norm, but it's no wonder the 2024 line-up, and seemingly the 2025 line-up, both look underwhelming in comparison.  But like you say, who is left of that scale who hasn't done Glastonbury before?  In terms of the Top Ten artists of all time, the only artists who haven't done Glastonbury, and who could feasibly still do it, are Queen (with Adam Lambert, obvs!), Madonna and Rihanna (Taylor Swift is just outside the Top Ten).  And in all fairness, I consider Rihanna and Swift as recent/current artists, rather than "legends" - LOL!  After Madonna and Queen perform (if they ever do) where do you go after that in terms of world-class legend headliners, without booking Macca or the Stones yet again? (Ok, Oasis... but even they are nowhere near the Top Ten in terms of worldwide sales.)

 

Taylor Swift isn't in the Top 10 artists of all time, but Rihanna is?!

[CR77]

1 minute ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

 

Some years it happens, some years it doesn't.  If they'd manage to pull off Madonna last year then the combination of her and Coldplay is inarguable.

 

 

Oh absolutely... and Madonna looked like a definite booking at one point.  But even then I was thinking, where do you go after her, other than Queen?

[CaledonianGonzo]

3 minutes ago, CR77 said:

 

Oh absolutely... and Madonna looked like a definite booking at one point.  But even then I was thinking, where do you go after her, other than Queen?

 

Queen would be a controversial booking and I don't think it would be met with unanimous support by a long chalk.

[CR77]

2 minutes ago, duke88 said:

Taylor Swift isn't in the Top 10 artists of all time, but Rihanna is?!

 

Indeed!  Taylor currently 14th... Rihanna 8th.  This is an interesting list... especially from a Glasto headlining POV!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

[CaledonianGonzo]

Imagining 6 months of posts on here going "I'm not being funny right but am I the only one that thinks Queen just aren't the same without Freddie Mercury?" and coming down with a bad case of the heebie-jeebies.