Olivia Rodrigo, Wolf Alice, Turnstile and more: all the coverage from Sunday at Glastonbury 2025

It’s no secret that Glastonbury is a festival that caters to a great musical many, but rarely has there been a year in which the event’s headliners have been so hotly debated, with conversations swirling around the old and new guard, and their various billings, across the weekend. But as Olivia Rodrigo returns to the Pyramid Stage for the event’s closing performance (after last appearing here three years ago, on the fateful day that Roe V Wade was overturned in the States), there is no doubting that she's truly the headliner that Glasto deserves.

Much like previous bill-topper Billie Eilish before her, Olivia’s status as a Gen-Z icon has already long been confirmed but tonight shows just how integral an artist she has become within pop music at large. Appearing on a line-up boasting Charli xcx, RAYE, JADE, CMAT and more, this weekend has proven that the shifting face of mainstream pop music is no longer dictated by old men in their industry white towers, but instead by the young women who have, for so long, raised pop aloft above all else. The giddiness of the gathered masses (the biggest crowd for a Pyramid headliner this weekend) is so palpable - with their voices a distinctly different pitch - that it’s impossible not to swept up in the frenzy of their adoration, making for a set that is wholeheartedly memorable for all of the right reasons. An early inclusion of her breakout hit ‘Driver’s License’ and the ensuing singalong is so huge that it’d bring a tear to even the steeliest of naysayers. What’s more, Olivia and her band are a force to be reckoned with, sounding heavier and more powerful than on record, giving the whole affair an invigorating edge. Take encore opener ‘Brutal’, which packs in more flames and pyro than most metal shows, as example; say what you will about pop girlies, but this lot are fierce.

But if you’re still not convinced of her credentials, then tonight’s special guest will likely do the trick. Having previously invited along big names such as David Byrne and Ed Sheeran, tonight she welcomes none other than - former headliner - The Cure’s Robert Smith onstage for a devastating one-two of ‘Friday I’m In Love’ and ‘Just Like Heaven’, in what feels like the perfect baton-pass of musical greats. By the time she concludes her set with the utterly massive, attitude-packed ‘good 4 u’ and ‘get him back!’ - wearing a pair of sparkly Union Jack hotpants, for good measure - the sense of unabashed joy in the air is quite breathtaking, much like being transported back to the ‘90s when the Spice Girls reigned supreme. Tonight is a lesson in pure euphoria, and the perfect way to keep us going until 2027.

Staring at the fairy-light bedecked Park Stage this evening, its distinctive patchwork bathed in a warm orange glow, it’s impossible not to feel as if there’s magic in the air. It’s the festival’s final night for two years; the weekend’s clouds have cleared to make way for a glorious sunset; and The Maccabees are back on Worthy Farm. While it’s not quite on par with the site’s pagan Stone Circle, there genuinely is a sanctity to their headline turn tonight, as they appear before a crowd bound together by their love for a band that, until eight months ago, they thought would never play live again.

And, right from the off, it’s evident that on-stage emotions are running just as high. Launching into fan-favourite ‘Latchmere’, the five-piece can barely wipe the grins off their faces; later, Orlando Weeks and Felix White become each other’s perfect foils, the former a figure of sincere, misty-eyed gratitude, the latter an audience-riling emcee of joyous energy. Pulling evenly from across their four album discography, the setlist plays out like a compilation tape of their most-adored cuts, none having been dulled from eight years of hibernation; indeed, as a field-full of people valiantly try to whistle along to the hopelessly romantic ditty that is ‘Toothpaste Kisses’, it’s almost as if The Maccabees have never been away.

But, of course, they have - as Orlando acknowledges, “it’s a long time to hold your nerve and keep the faith you thought you had in a band… and then trek up a hill to see if your faith was well-placed.” Tonight, though, we’re richly rewarded for our patience, as they gleefully welcome Florence Welch to join them in performing soaring, celebratory renditions of ‘Love You Better’ and ‘Dog Days Are Over’. A poignant testament to reunion and resolution, make no mistake - this is the stuff of Glastonbury lore. 

For a long time now, it feels as though Wolf Alice have been the name on everyone’s lips as the next British guitar band ready to take the step up to the big time, and based on tonight’s performance, that prophecy is about to come true. Despite having last played at Glastonbury three years ago - after an infamously stressful trip to the Pyramid thanks to a cancelled flight from the other side of the Atlantic - the band feel resolutely at home on Worthy Farm, and their graduation to the Other Stage’s sunset slot tonight offers up the kind of spine-tingly, full-circle moment that Glastonbury is so renowned for. It’s something, you sense, even the band themselves can tangibly feel, as frontwoman Ellie Rowsell wipes away tears during a tender, transformational rendition of ‘How Can I Make It OK?’.

What’s even more notable this evening is their stage presence. Gone is any of Rowsell’s former tentativeness; instead, she frequently moves out from behind her guitar and into the main spotlight, shifting from serene vocals to unhinged screams in the space of a few minutes. As she grabs a megaphone and holds it above her head before barrelling into a frenzied rendition of ‘Yuk Foo’ (the first track in an impeccable, adrenaline-fuelled mid-section), she’s clearly every ounce a rock star.

The quartet also lean deliciously into their close dynamic, gathering together for a gorgeous acoustic rendition of ‘Safe From Heartbreak’ before a thoroughly cathartic ‘Bros’ becomes a proper up-on-shoulders, flares-aloft moment. Throughout, there’s a playful but confident ease to the band’s movements, further exemplified during their bombastic comeback single ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, which acts as a lynchpin to their set: a perfect marrying of the more reflective and explosive sides of their musical coin. Elsewhere, a perfectly-pitched cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ and the noodling riffs of The White Stripes and Black Sabbath (added to a storming ‘Giant Peach’) only help to rubber-stamp their status as a proper, all-in rock band. Today’s set may only mark the very beginning of their next chapter - as we draw close to the release of fourth album ‘The Clearing’ - but, even in its infancy, it’s a triumphant, otherworldly turn from the London quartet, and we can’t wait for more.

While Glastonbury has always been a haven for guitar bands, it’s safe to say that hardcore is not a genre that’s often been explored on Pilton’s hallowed grounds. That’s all change today though, as punk rock pioneers Turnstile take to the Other Stage for an utterly incredible turn. Currently in the midst of a hefty festival run following the release of their third album ‘NEVER ENOUGH’, the Baltimore quintet are already well-honed as they take to the stage today, and despite the crowd feeling a little sparse before they begin, it soon packs out with enthralled onlookers. 

Today arguably doubles as the best illustration to date of their incredible crossover appeal; despite their roots lying in the more underground, territorial genre, this crowd are hooked in by their ability to so slickly switch up from groovy rhythms to punishing riffs. Granted, the band themselves don’t say a whole lot - instead letting their boundary-pushing offerings and slick stage-show do the heavy lifting - but when frontman Brendan Yates climbs down to crowd-surf across the front few rows after the action is all over, you get the sense they know how special this has all been. Could this be the start of a heavier contingent appearing at Glastonbury? Watch this space for 2027…

While some names on this weekend’s lineup - Rod Stewart and Neil Young, we’re looking at you - might not mean much to the myriad Gen Z-ers about, the mono-syllabic stage moniker of Stranger Things star Joe Keery certainly will. Taking to the stage up at Woodsies this afternoon, Djo may look like he’s stepped straight off a Hollywood set - all dark-tinted sunglasses and bouffant hair - but what follows is far from role play.

Zipping through tracks from his latest album ‘The Crux’, he revels in the buoyancy of its retro-tinged sonics: the bridge of lead single 'Basic Being Basic' takes on the same chant-like quality as 'We Didn't Start The Fire' when rendered live, and the likes of 'Link' and 'Gap Tooth Smile' nod delightfully to '80s glam-rock. Elsewhere, he rewards longtime fans by giving 2019 debut single 'Roddy' enough space for an extended drum solo, while 2022's mega-viral hit ‘End of Beginning’ proves a predictably arms-aloft, singalong moment. In all, it's a show that deftly flexes some well-honed musical muscles to emphatically prove himself a true multi-hyphenate.

Despite any efforts to assure pearl-clutchers of the contrary, Glastonbury is an inherently political place; and, perhaps more than most, activism is in the very bones of Dublin quartet Sprints. It should come as no surprise, then, that the band’s early afternoon slot at Woodsies is imbued with vital, vociferous messaging: here, between riotous cuts from their blistering debut ‘Letter To Self’ (as well as lead LP2 single ‘Descartes’), calls to free Palestine and protect trans rights are proudly placed front and centre - rallying calls from an outfit who, as front woman Karla Chubb notes, “have a platform [and] intend to use it”.

But make no mistake - as protest-charged as this set is, it’s also bags of fun. Balancing well-justified anger with a sense of joyous release, Sprints tap into the other end of the emotional spectrum with equal prowess, bringing out none other than Kate Nash for a storming ‘Foundations’/‘That’s Not My Name’ mash-up cover that perfectly paves the way for Karla’s triumphant concluding crowd-surf. It’s community as resistance in action; the very epitome of the Glasto ethos.

These days, it often feels like a different artist is touted as ‘The Next Big Thing’ on an almost weekly basis, such is the ever-chugging social media hype machine. Few, though, have as credible a claim to the title as Westside Cowboy, whose opening turn at Woodsies today exemplifies precisely why the judges of Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition - including Michael and Emily Eavis themselves - crowned the band winners this year. It’s by no means their first performance of the festival (over the past few days, WSCB have delivered at least three other sets), but it’s by far their biggest; looking out over the crowd - which continues to swell as curious passers-by are drawn in - guitarist/vocalist Reuben Haycocks marvels, only half joking, that more people are present now than at all of their previous shows combined. The Manchester quartet, however, remain utterly unphased: effortlessly shifting gears between goosebump-inducing four-way harmonies and traditional folk motifs, and jaw-droppingly tight slacker-rock, theirs is a seriously impressive showing of fully-formed soundscapes and dizzying potential. 

Tags: Olivia Rodrigo, Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Glastonbury, Festivals, Reviews, Live Reviews