2027 Headliners

[incident]

1 hour ago, VCK2 said:

Willie Nelson is a legend, but being a legend doesn't always equate to being a worthy Glasto headliner. Would the festival book Ian Brown to headline the Pyramid?

Depends who he brings with him tbh.

 

Assuming he actually does bring someone, and doesn't just press play on an old cassette deck.

[charlierc]

On 11/10/2025 at 08:46, TheSheriff said:

I’m the biggest Willie Nelson fan around to the point it’s a running gag with my mates, but not even I could see him headline Glastonbury not in a month of Sundays. 
 

His previous set in 2010 was amazing and I still think of it fondly, but his stock has not changed in those 17 years, yes Country has had a revival but go to any of those shows and hardly anyone knows the legends. I was wearing my patch jacket (photo below) and people were asking who the people were. 
 

He is a bonafide legend yes but he doesn’t headline, afternoon on the Pyramid, an outside the box Park Headliner or Acoustic headliner. I would take him in any spot!!!

 

 

Was it genuinely to the level that people were asking who Johnny Cash was? I'm not even that arsed by country music and I know he was a great singer.

[charlierc]

14 hours ago, incident said:

Depends who he brings with him tbh.

 

Assuming he actually does bring someone, and doesn't just press play on an old cassette deck.

Certainly you'd like to think they'd know better than booking that karaoke session. 

[DomDom1984]

Ian Brown was the third support act I ever seen, and by God, I wish it was a karaoke act, because his singing gave me second hand embarrassment. 

[rock_on]

2 hours ago, charlierc said:

Was it genuinely to the level that people were asking who Johnny Cash was? I'm not even that arsed by country music and I know he was a great singer.

 

I'm assuming he meant the people on the front of the jacket rather than Cash. Can't really blame people for not knowing who Charley Pride and Waylon Jennings are if they aren't into country music but not knowing who Cash is would be odd. 

[charlierc]

35 minutes ago, rock_on said:

 

I'm assuming he meant the people on the front of the jacket rather than Cash. Can't really blame people for not knowing who Charley Pride and Waylon Jennings are if they aren't into country music but not knowing who Cash is would be odd. 

True, although I reckon by process of elimination there must be someone whose really into this new country craze that doesn't know who Cash is.

[charlierc]

I wasn't sure where to write this but anyone find watching full concerts on YouTube now to be a pain in the arse of an exercise with it cutting to ads frequently and in the middle of songs?

Edited October 12, 2025 by charlierc

[TheSheriff]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

True, although I reckon by process of elimination there must be someone who’s really into this new country craze that doesn't know who Cash is.

I’ve come across someone who said they loved Country music and didn’t know who Johnny Cash was

[charlierc]

9 minutes ago, TheSheriff said:

I’ve come across someone who said they loved Country music and didn’t know who Johnny Cash was

Bingo.

[rock_on]

3 hours ago, TheSheriff said:

I’ve come across someone who said they loved Country music and didn’t know who Johnny Cash was

 

Oh dear!! Oh dear!! Bit like claiming to be an England football fan and not being able to name a 1966 World Cup winner. Insanity. 

[mufcok]

On 11/10/2025 at 17:54, VCK2 said:

Willie Nelson is a legend, but being a legend doesn't always equate to being a worthy Glasto headliner. Would the festival book Ian Brown to headline the Pyramid?

 

Ian Brown solo - not a chance. I do like to revisit his Other Stage 2005 headline set from time to time, though. Wonderful.

 

They tried for The Stone Roses in 2017 but the offer was laughed off.

 

As for Willie Nelson - I see we've entered the 'nobody really has a clue just throw random names out' phase. Legend Slot would be all you're getting there.

 

[Andy0808 v5]

*Runs to Google after seeing Willie Nelson’s name being banded around*
 

 

[gfa]

On 11/10/2025 at 10:26, rock_on said:

 

Apart from the crowd size, the length of the set and the calibre of artists booked. But yeah apart from that nothing is headliner sized...

They play at about 5pm when there's naff all else on!

 

The length of the set thing is pointless as well!

 

Charli XCX played an hour and a half this year (as did heaps of acts, heck some DJs probably played for 3 hours - are they double headliners?), had a big crowd and played at headline time (which the legend act doesn't!), is she also a pyramid headliner?

Edited October 13, 2025 by gfa

[WhoOdyssey]

On 10/10/2025 at 17:11, rock_on said:

 

Again that was 15 years ago. The reputation of country has completely changed in that time, I'd guarantee you he'd pull a bigger crowd than that these days. Luke Combs isn't a headliner - his only decently successful song is a cover of Tracy Chapman's Fast Car - he's done nothing on his own merit. Bro-country is an awful degeneration of the genre and none of it's stars deserve to headline regardless of how many streams they get they'll never match up to the likes of Willie Nelson as artists.

 

Willie doesn't rattle through his back catalogue these days either, he only played 15 songs in an hour looking at his recent sets compared to the 30 he played in the same amount of time in 2010. A considered two-hour set would fit nicely on the Saturday night. Get Jackson Brown and James Taylor as the subs and you've got a fantastic night. If the kid's don't like it stuff them seen as every other act on the bill would likely be to cater to them.

Nobody is headlining Wembley Stadium on the back off one cover.

 

In the UK, Luke Combs has 3 other Platinum singles, and several more Golds & Silvers - and isn't bro-country.

[Olshansky]

I think for likely legend slot we will probably either see Robbie Williams, Stevie Nicks or Chaka Khan.  I still want it to be Annie Lennox but I don't think that's likely. 

[rock_on]

2 hours ago, WhoOdyssey said:

Nobody is headlining Wembley Stadium on the back off one cover.

 

In the UK, Luke Combs has 3 other Platinum singles, and several more Golds & Silvers - and isn't bro-country.

 

I never said Luke Combs was bro-country though did I? Don't put words in my mouth. Although his stuff has about as much artistical merit as bro-country, i.e not very much!! And he is literally headlining Wembley off the back of that cover, I guarantee you most of the audience wouldn't be able to name one of his own songs without using google. He'd be playing the o2 Arena without that cover not a stadium. 

[rock_on]

5 hours ago, gfa said:

They play at about 5pm when there's naff all else on!

 

The length of the set thing is pointless as well!

 

Charli XCX played an hour and a half this year (as did heaps of acts, heck some DJs probably played for 3 hours - are they double headliners?), had a big crowd and played at headline time (which the legend act doesn't!), is she also a pyramid headliner?

 

You could easily have had Charli XCX as pyramid headliner and Neil Young on the other stage this year if done by demand to see them and if the festival wasn't so worried about upsetting Young's ego. Didn't Charli XCX get a bigger crowd out of the two as well? 

Edited October 13, 2025 by rock_on

[stuie]

On 11/10/2025 at 12:26, rock_on said:

 

Apart from the crowd size, the length of the set and the calibre of artists booked. But yeah apart from that nothing is headliner sized...

Crowd size is for nostalgia and the vibes… mostly 1h 15 sets. Kylie, DiRo, Shania, Dolly, Yusef are not Glastonbury headliner sized whatever way you talk it up.

 

[rock_on]

12 hours ago, stuie said:

Crowd size is for nostalgia and the vibes… mostly 1h 15 sets. Kylie, DiRo, Shania, Dolly, Yusef are not Glastonbury headliner sized whatever way you talk it up.

 

 

If SZA can do it then all of those acts can...

[Justcalledtosay]

21 minutes ago, rock_on said:

 

If SZA can do it then all of those acts can...

She couldn't though.

[gfa]

Such a silly argument - didn't Rag N Bone Man get a gigantic crowd a few years ago too. Get him headlining i say

[MEGABOWL]

1 hour ago, rock_on said:

 

If SZA can do it then all of those acts can...

She wasn’t big enough either. She isn’t a comparison to use at all.

[Quark]

Logs on for the first time in a while.

 

First post I see is discussion of Willie Nelson in the 2027 headliners thread.

 

Never change, efests. Never change.

[rock_on]

1 hour ago, MEGABOWL said:

She wasn’t big enough either. She isn’t a comparison to use at all.

 

The festival clearly thought she was big enough and all the other artists in the post I was replying to are far bigger than her so there's no reason to suggest the festival couldn't book them to headline. 

[rock_on]

Ok then how about:

 

Sam Fender / Taylor Swift / Madonna (Legend: Neil Diamond)