Secret Sets 2025

[joeruss]

Foals on the park stage was a great (not so) secret set! 

[wro_lap]

Secret sets make for some amazing "I was there" moments too. Often enough they're very hard to get into as the area gets shut early enough. Foals on the Park and Kasabian at Woodsies were very special

[CaledonianGonzo]

They were a lock anyway, but further hintage from Lauren Laverne today re Haim

[JoeyT]

56 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

They were a lock anyway, but further hintage from Lauren Laverne today re Haim

 

Think we will get them as part of the full lineup.

 

This from LL given her relationship with Emily and obviously the fact she works for the BBC / is well versed in keeping a secret no doubt to me suggests Haim won't just be a secret set but an announced slot.

Also, a warm up show (Margate) for a secret slot? I dunno, just doesn't make sense to me.

[Skip997]

On 12/05/2025 at 16:11, wro_lap said:

Secret sets make for some amazing "I was there" moments too. Often enough they're very hard to get into as the area gets shut early enough. Foals on the Park and Kasabian at Woodsies were very special

That’s because they aren’t secret sets, everyone knows who is playing well in advance. What they actually are is an officially unannounced set. Make them actually secret so it’s more luck being there. That would make them special 

[CR77]

15 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

That’s because they aren’t secret sets, everyone knows who is playing well in advance. What they actually are is an officially unannounced set. Make them actually secret so it’s more luck being there. That would make them special 

 

I agree!  There are "officially unannounced" sets, like you say... and then there are genuine secret sets, like Fred Again at Strummerville last year.  This was so secret that it wasn't even a TBA on Strummerville's timetable.  They'd even adjusted the set times on their timetable, before and after his slot, to hide the gap.  Plus even the majority of the crew there didn't know who was playing as any leak would have compromised crowd safety etc in that small Strummerville space.

[Ayrshire Chris]

Great that Haim will be a ‘secret set’. Some great tunes. They did the live from worthy farm thing in the dark days of covid.

Time to get some gurning practice in😉😊!

[Pateen]

Would be very happy with Haim

[CaledonianGonzo]

1 hour ago, Skip997 said:

That’s because they aren’t secret sets, everyone knows who is playing well in advance. What they actually are is an officially unannounced set. Make them actually secret so it’s more luck being there. That would make them special 

 

No-one forces folk to read on here or follow SecretGlasto.  In fact, its only a minority of people that do.

 

If people genuinely prefer to be left in the dark and to stumble upon things then that opportunity definitely still exists.

[Physical_graffiti]

1 hour ago, Skip997 said:

That’s because they aren’t secret sets, everyone knows who is playing well in advance. What they actually are is an officially unannounced set. Make them actually secret so it’s more luck being there. That would make them special 

you say that but that's cos we read here, many of the world just aren't as online. If you spoke to people at the festival speculating who churnups were there were some wild answers....

[CR77]

4 minutes ago, Physical_graffiti said:

you say that but that's cos we read here, many of the world just aren't as online. If you spoke to people at the festival speculating who churnups were there were some wild answers....

 

True!  I remember mentioning the Rick Astley + Blossoms thing to people, and was amazed they knew nothing about it.  Given that Glastonbury is known for secret sets, and that it's not exactly cheap, you'd think that the majority of people would google and track down things like Secret Glasto really easily.  But I guess not!

I like to know about secret sets (rather than avoid spoliers and be surprised etc!), but I do like to be surprised by guest appearances... such as Pet Shop Boys joining the Killers on stage in 2019... don't know if it had been rumoured at all, but that was a cool moment!

[bennyhana22]

36 minutes ago, CR77 said:

 

True!  I remember mentioning the Rick Astley + Blossoms thing to people, and was amazed they knew nothing about it.  Given that Glastonbury is known for secret sets, and that it's not exactly cheap, you'd think that the majority of people would google and track down things like Secret Glasto really easily.  But I guess not!

I like to know about secret sets (rather than avoid spoliers and be surprised etc!), but I do like to be surprised by guest appearances... such as Pet Shop Boys joining the Killers on stage in 2019... don't know if it had been rumoured at all, but that was a cool moment!

 

Mel C jumping on stage with Orbital last year.

 

Crowd went bonkers!

 

Ben

[fraybentos1]

2 hours ago, Skip997 said:

That’s because they aren’t secret sets, everyone knows who is playing well in advance. What they actually are is an officially unannounced set. Make them actually secret so it’s more luck being there. That would make them special 

There are plenty like that still. Fred Again played strummerville last year. Paolo Nutini I swear did a tiny one the other year too. No one knew about those ones. 

[fred quimby]

55 minutes ago, fraybentos1 said:

There are plenty like that still. Fred Again played strummerville last year. Paolo Nutini I swear did a tiny one the other year too. No one knew about those ones. 

Paolo did rabbit hole. I happen to stumble upon that one. 

 

Hozier in the piano bar thing last year, maybe year before, according to friends who happened to be there

[Suprefan]

3 hours ago, CR77 said:

 

True!  I remember mentioning the Rick Astley + Blossoms thing to people, and was amazed they knew nothing about it.  Given that Glastonbury is known for secret sets, and that it's not exactly cheap, you'd think that the majority of people would google and track down things like Secret Glasto really easily.  But I guess not!

I like to know about secret sets (rather than avoid spoliers and be surprised etc!), but I do like to be surprised by guest appearances... such as Pet Shop Boys joining the Killers on stage in 2019... don't know if it had been rumoured at all, but that was a cool moment!

90% of attendees hear rumors but never dive into it. they always assume green day and thats it. so people on here have a big advantage for knowing whats gonna happen and to plan. like Idles in BBC Intro. i made it inside the tent before it got truly rammed so was happy about that. even in 22 with George Ezra and them announcing it very early it took time for crowds to show up. killers in 2017 did not get out of control til frank carter. i was in the tent during king gizzard and it was perfectly fine. if mumford is on pyramid it wont be that big of a deal cause anyone will be able to see them without issue. i also think people just want to be at these to tick off a box, not like for genuine excitement.

[CantWaitForGlasto22]

3 hours ago, Suprefan said:

i also think people just want to be at these to tick off a box, not like for genuine excitement.

I don’t agree. At secret sets I’ve been to, the vast majority of people seem to be there because they like the artist and are excited to see them (or at least like them more than whoever else is playing at the same time). Judging by how the crowd sing along to all the songs, I don’t think they’re all just box ticking! 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Yep.  Given that they're often a ballache to get into why would you sacrifice a chunk of your afternoon to wait around for a band you dont like?

[adequate8]

14 hours ago, fred quimby said:

Paolo did rabbit hole. I happen to stumble upon that one. 

 

Hozier in the piano bar thing last year, maybe year before, according to friends who happened to be there

I knew about Paolo, told secret glasto and I’m sure they said Glasto told them not to announce it due to crowd issues it’d cause. Correct decision! 
 

Had to let a lot people down in the crowd who were waiting for Harry Styles though

[Ayrshire Chris]

1 hour ago, adequate8 said:

I knew about Paolo, told secret glasto and I’m sure they said Glasto told them not to announce it due to crowd issues it’d cause. Correct decision! 
 

Had to let a lot people down in the crowd who were waiting for Harry Styles though

I’d love to see Paulo back on the pyramid or Other. 

[Euphoricape]

17 hours ago, fraybentos1 said:

There are plenty like that still. Fred Again played strummerville last year. Paolo Nutini I swear did a tiny one the other year too. No one knew about those ones. 

Crows nest can have random secret sets too. Pure luck if u are there at the time. These are the real secret sets, the TBA sets are known by everyone beforehand so may as well just be officially named on the line up imo.

[fraybentos1]

37 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

I’d love to see Paulo back on the pyramid or Other. 

I was so sure he was gonna play in 2023 or 2024. He'll not be back now till like 2030 at the earliest knowing him.

[dg.bandol]

43 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

I’d love to see Paulo back on the pyramid or Other. 

We seen him close out Sunday night at Kendal Calling in 2024.  I was underwhelmed.  Musically him and the band were excellent but the fairly esoteric reworkings of most of his hits weren't exactly a good fit for a Sunday night crowd singalong.  I know he's been doing that for 15+ years now, but many in the crowd weren't aware, were hoping for the big singalong and it never really arrived.  I feel he would be much better in an arena of his own fans these days rather than a festival environment.

 

That said, it was still better than when I seen him in George Square in Glasgow in the early 00s one Hogmanay and he could barely string two words together because he was so hammered!

[fraybentos1]

52 minutes ago, Euphoricape said:

, the TBA sets are known by everyone beforehand so may as well just be officially named on the line up imo.

But they allow bigger acts to play in lower down slots as it's a 'secret set'. Foo Fighters aren't gonna be billed third down on the pyramid as a normal set, Killers playing the tent in 2017 etc. Being a TBA allows this to happen as it's also a novelty for the bands too I imagine. 

[Physical_graffiti]

19 hours ago, CR77 said:

 

True!  I remember mentioning the Rick Astley + Blossoms thing to people, and was amazed they knew nothing about it.  Given that Glastonbury is known for secret sets, and that it's not exactly cheap, you'd think that the majority of people would google and track down things like Secret Glasto really easily.  But I guess not!

I like to know about secret sets (rather than avoid spoliers and be surprised etc!), but I do like to be surprised by guest appearances... such as Pet Shop Boys joining the Killers on stage in 2019... don't know if it had been rumoured at all, but that was a cool moment!

Yeah, much preferable for me to know who it is as a) I can make a judgement whether I want to commit to turning up (i.e. am I a fan of them) knowing the area will probably be closed off early, and b) if it's truly a secret, I've got like a 0.01% chance of randomly being there, so it's not gonna happen!

[CurrySauce]

How near to the event do those TBAs on the introducing stage get discovered? I can't seem to remember from previous years if it's pre fest or on the day. 

 

Hoping English teacher end up doing on as reckon that Friday afternoon will be a clash pile up