The Libertines write another magical chapter in their Worthy Farm story at Pilton Party review • DIY Magazine

“This is a big thank you to the people of Somerset for putting on the best festival in the world,” declares a buoyant Peter Doherty halfway through The Libertines’ triumphant return to Worthy Farm. With starry-eyed charm and a grin fitting for the occasion, he continues: “Glastonbury is the one thing that makes me proud to be English, and this is all for you Michael and Emily.”

Billed as an annual fundraising thank you show for villagers and workers, Pilton Party has long been the ultimate end-of-summer bash, with past headliners including indie royalty from The Stone Roses to Florence & The Machine and Wolf Alice. Tonight, even as the day’s relentless downpour tries to dampen the affair, a party atmosphere prevails as locals brave the mud and rain to see off summer.

In true Glastonbury spirit, the festival once again platforms grassroots emerging talent, from competition winners The Sway and Somerset local Alex Lipinski, who both seize their moment. Following her Worthy Farm debut in 2023, Dublin’s CMAT handles support duties with all the charisma and star power you’d expect off the back of her Mercury Prize nomination.

The Libertines, of course, have their own indelible love affair with the farm. Doherty might eventually joke that, “Finally! The Libertines are headlining Glastonbury on a Friday night,” but the band have had no shortage of magical moments over their two-decade career, most notably a surprise slot on the Pyramid Stage that held headline romance and majesty in 2015.

Tonight, though, is all about proving they can still command such big stages. It’s very much down to business as the four figures arrive onstage in front of that iconic typewriter-punched logo beyond clouds of smoke and clear skies. They kickstart the set with ramshackle battlecry ‘The Delaney’; a track swirling with all the chaos, romance and nostalgia that The Libertines so easily conjure, it’s a fitting signal of what lies ahead through the next hour and a half.

Doherty and Barât’s chemistry is as bright as ever as they deliver generation-defining anthems such as ‘Up The Bracket’ and ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’. At this point in their career, they’re arguably the most well-oiled machine they’ve ever been, having settled old scores and been touring regularly since reforming properly a decade ago. Given it could have all gone so differently, it’s heartening in itself to see the band loving every moment onstage.

Though there’s no denying the impact and power of their first two albums, which are belted back from a joyous crowd suitably filled with farmhouse cider and ale, it’s a testament to the band that the set doesn’t wane through newer material. ‘Run Run Run’ and the world-wary ‘Merry Old England’ come as clear highlights from latest studio album ‘All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade’. Following anthems ‘Music When The Lights Go Out’ and ‘What Katy Did’, there’s no doubt that The Libertines continue to be their own British treasures.

Just before rounding off the evening with ultimate closer ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’, Doherty leans into the occasion: “Thank you for all of the beautiful memories Pilton.” As locals slip and slide across the mud to the shuttle buses back to nearby towns, the festival has clearly delivered another of those special moments tonight.