Providing the closing headlining slot on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage might sound like a tough task, but it suited Olivia Rodrigo down to the ground. Weary punters who’ve been here since Wednesday (June 25) took a back seat as a fresh wave of attendees entered the festival grounds on Sunday, with free tickets distributed to local residents by way of thanks for the disruption to the area.
With them came a contingent of clear-eyed youngsters, but Rodrigo’s appeal spans generations. Her music taps into universal emotions: self-worth (“Pretty Isn’t Pretty”), revenge (“Get Him Back!”), and vulnerability (“Drivers License”) that resonate regardless of age, gender or circumstance.
This was Rodrigo’s second appearance at Worthy Farm, having made a blistering arrival at the festival back in 2022 which included a guest appearance from Lily Allen. Her huge crowd earmarked her as future headliner material, and her trajectory hasn’t slowed with the success of her second album Guts and a brilliant global tour.
Back in 2022, Billie Eilish headlined the same stage with just two albums under her belt. While the crowd were eventually won over, it takes serious performing chops to hold a stage this big. Rodrigo managed it with gusto during a hits-laden set which included references to her love of the U.K., why Glastonbury is her favorite festival (she was spotted dancing in the crowd at Pulp on Saturday afternoon), and brought out The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith for a brilliant duet on two of the goth rocker’s classics.
Check out the finest moments from Rodrigo’s Glastonbury 2025 headline slot.
Rodrigo’s 2021 single “Drivers License” was the smash that started it all. The song went to No. 1 in the U.K. and topped the Hot 100 quickly upon release. When she introduced it during her set, she reflected on the journey it had kickstarted: “I can’t believe this is my life,” she said with a beaming smile. Therein followed one of the biggest singalongs of the night and the whole festival.
Headliners with little original material can prove tricky. Arctic Monkeys struggled in 2007 (sound issues didn’t help) and Billie Eilish also took time to warm up the crowd in 2022. It appeared less of a problem for Rodrigo, who opened with “So Obsessed,” a song from the deluxe edition of Guts (2023) before dropping “So American” midway through; both earned strong responses, ensuring even the deep cuts resonated.
Robert Smith is no stranger to Glastonbury with his band The Cure headlining several times, most recently in 2019. Rodrigo introduced him as “a personal hero” and “perhaps the best songwriter to come out of England” before the unlikely the pair duetted on the Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love” and “Just Like Heaven.” A few unbothered faces from younger audience members on the barrier did little to dampen this moment of additional star-power, and the packed crowd swooned and swayed to some classics.
Rodrigo is undoubtedly an Anglophile, and spends much of her time in the U.K., owing to her British boyfriend Louis Partridge. On Saturday, she was spotted on Partridge’s shoulders during Pulp’s set on the Pyramid, and she told the crowd she loves the fact that in England it’s “normal to have a pint at noon,” a habit many at the festival clearly indulged in all weekend. “So American,” a tongue-in-cheek look at her American habits in comparison to her adopted homeland, was a highlight of her set.
On the previous two evenings, the Pyramid stage was short on theatrics. The 1975 played a conservative set which ran through their back catalogue, and Neil Young’s no-frills set featured noisy versions of some rock classics but, little showmanship. Rodrigo’s encore gave the festival a dazzling send off with flames and a firework display as “Brutal,” “Good 4 U” and “Get Him Back!” closed out a brilliant finale.
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