Silver Hayes’ club spaces

Can anyone recall Silver Hayes’ precursor, the Dance Village? It consisted of two tents – Dance East and Dance West. Great times were had, but as the scale of production at festivals has grown, and demand for electronic music has shifted, Silver Hayes has succeeded in making this corner of Glastonbury a draw across both the day and night. Two standout venues exemplified this fact in 2025.

The Sunflower Soundsystem stage – a bespoke six-stack system coupled with mycelium sound panelling – is the brainchild of Sam Shepherd, a.k.a. Floating Points. Walking into the stage build and seeing Sam with cable ties in hand, immersed in the construction, made it clear just how personal this project is. Line-ups were kept under strict embargo, but anyone passing through had the opportunity to see huge names such as Jamie xx, Joy O, Avalon Emerson and Pearson Sound in a truly intimate setting.

Assembly also continued to provide a more than worthy alternative to trekking to the South East corner, offering a spacious nightclub space in the heart of Silver Hayes. A “club” in every sense of the word, the smoke, darkness and disorientation you would want from an intense night out was replicated in the field – to powerful effect. The line-ups were typically punchy, with special mentions to those who closed Sunday: Daisy Moon b2b Lukas Wigflex, Hodge b2b Ploy, and first-timer Veracco, who kept a lot of the same people there all night long. TF

 

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Lorde, Woodsies, Friday

By the morning of Lorde’s secret set, it was hardly a secret. As rumours swirled, the singer confirmed her appearance the night before via two not-so-cryptic Instagram stories.

It can be a struggle to drag hungover punters from their tents before midday, but when the artist in question is Lorde, fans appeared at the stage as early as 8am, bleary-eyed and eager to catch a glimpse of her on the day of her album release. Virgin had dropped just hours earlier, but between the first big night of the festival and the early morning clamber over to Woodsies, few would have had a chance to hear it. That hardly mattered. Hearing the new album played live from front to back was a uniquely transcendent way to experience it for the first time. 

From just a few songs in, it was clear that Lorde had returned to form, mining the confusing, nostalgic haze of youth through throbbing synths and frenetic drum beats beneath tender, vulnerable lyrics delivered with the self-assured confidence of an artist who is shrugging off past insecurities to fully step into her own. There were no bells and whistles, just Lorde in a white t-shirt dancing convulsively beneath a blue light. The performance and the album were a pulsing, living, breathing thing – one you could dance and cry to at the same time. 

Crowds spilled out from the tent as far as the eye could see, while early risers were packed into the front to sweat out the night before. As the album closed with the fragile, haunting David, the set’s most euphoric moments peaked with Ribs and Green Light – two career-defining tracks that demand to be sung along to word for word. Fans might have trailed out of the tent in a daze, sweaty and knackered before it was even lunchtime, but this was a set that etched itself into your memory like the first MDMA come-up with someone you love.

 

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The NYC Downlow, Friday

Each year, as this special corner of Glastonbury grows in popularity, the scramble to get in starts earlier and earlier. The scale and range of the late-night programme exemplifies Block9’s ongoing commitment to ensuring two things: the party never ends (especially if you go to Maceo’s), and diversity remains at the cornerstone of everything the area represents.

Over a decade in, NYC Downlow still sits in a league of its own, where time can be consumed in a way that barely seems possible when you emerge into full daylight. On Friday, the bumping house drama of Prosumer, Crackazat and Grace Sands propelled the club’s crowd onward into the night, drifting from the stage to the cage, to the most social of smoking yards, to the under-appreciated Meat Rack Room Two. After eight and a half hours in the venue (a record for this reviewer), it seemed unlikely that any other area could offer so much in a single evening. TF

Kneecap, West Holts, Saturday

Ten days prior to their defiant Glastonbury performance, Kneecap member Mo Chara had appeared in London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court facing a terror charge for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag. Just days later, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she would ban the direct action protest group Palestine Action under UK anti-terrorism laws. 

In this context, the band’s West Holts performance felt like an act of resistance and solidarity as much as a festival set. Palestinian flags flew high above the crowd. In between their vigorous Irish-language rap bars, the band led a series of chants, including “Fuck Keir Starmer”, “Free Mo Chara” and “Free Palestine.” They also called out this year’s legends slot artist Rod Stewart, who, days before, had come out in support of the Reform Party and Nigel Farage. Amid the raucous chants and snide digs, there were more considered speeches and calls to action that condemned the 800 years of British colonialism in Ireland while noting that the Irish “were never bombed from the sky with nowhere to go. The Palestinians have nowhere to go, literally.” Mo Chara did not shy away from speaking about the court case either, stating: “It’s not the first time there was a miscarriage of justice for an Irish person in the British justice system.” 

In the weeks leading up to the festival, Glastonbury organisers faced mounting pressure from mainstream media and politicians, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to cancel Kneecap’s set. Just 45 minutes before they were due on stage, a notification was sent out announcing that West Holts had reached capacity and the area was closed off – a clear sign that the media panic had only made the trio bigger than ever. SLW

 

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Doechii, West Holts, Saturday

For her first-ever UK festival performance, Doechii took us back to school for a lesson in pencil-sharp rap flows and hip-hop finesse. In the lead up to Glastonbury, the big question on everyone’s lips was, “Who are you seeing on Saturday night?” The headline clashes had been dubbed the Clash of the Titans, as festival-goers had to choose between Neil Young on the Pyramid Stage, Charli xcx’s high-energy Brat show on the Other Stage, Doechii lighting up West Holts, and the Scissor Sisters delivering a euphoric dose of 2000s nostalgia at Woodsies. There were some tough decisions to be made, but it was Doechii’s performance that truly felt like something fresh.

Before opener Stanka Pooh, tartan skirt-clad backing dancers took a seat at school desks on stage, waiting for their teacher to arrive. Doechii blasted through tracks from her Grammy-winning mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal in a 45-minute set that was fast, slick and utterly relentless. It was funny too, with a cheeky nod to her viral Met Gala umbrella controversy with her dancers surrounded her with umbrellas during an outfit change as she shouted, “Where the fuck is my umbrella? I don’t want Glastonbury to fucking see me!” The saying goes that “those who can’t do, teach”, but here Doechii proved she’s more than capable of both. SLW

 

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Pulp, Pyramid Stage, Saturday

After last year’s mysterious ‘Churnups’ billing turned out to be a surprise set from Dave Grohl’s merry men, Glastonbury decided to pull the same trick again. This year, rumours were flying over the weighty 6pm Saturday slot, billed as ‘Patchwork’. Haim, Chappell Roan, Sam Fender, and even Robbie Williams were all added to the speculation, but it always felt like this was Pulp’s show. It marked almost 30 years since they stepped in to headline in 1995, and they had a genuinely lauded new album too. 

While Pulp’s music will indelibly be tied to Britpop culture, it truly transcends the tired tropes of over-excess from that era. As such, their set was a glorious reminder of how timeless songs about sex, teenage curiosity and social life, viewed through the lens of the working class and weird, remain as potent as ever.

The opening salvo of Sorted For E’s & Wizz, quickly followed by Disco 2000, set the tone. While Cocker placed importance on the current moment over wistful nostalgia – ripping up his speech from their 1995 headline set – the pre-Different Class deep cuts still hit hard too. For the frenetic U.O. (Gone Gone), from the 1993 compilation Intro: The Gift Recordings, the audience was recruited to provide oohs and aahs as backing vocals. Before launching into 1994’s Acrylic Afternoons – a song about shagging under a table then having an afternoon cuppa while the children play outside – Jarvis Cocker threw a pack of tea bags out into the crowd. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Cocker communicates, with a certain limb-jerking humility, the undimmed brilliance of Pulp’s hits with a shimmering underdog magnetism. The Red Arrows going over during Common People was the kind of wild moment that will endure as a Glastonbury all-timer – one that leaves you feeling like you really did leave an important part of your brain somewhere in a field in Glastonbury. TF + SLW

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Trans-Atlantic 90s nostalgia

On Friday, Busta Rhymes rattled through hits on the Other Stage, while En Vogue, resplendent in black disco outfits, brought sincere energy and a standout vocal performance to West Holts. Elsewhere, 90s angst legend Alanis Morissette drew a huge 6pm crowd to the Pyramid Stage, racing through her sing-along big hitters, harmonica in hand. Her powerhouse vocals proved to be as earth-shattering as ever. The high-energy show incorporated hair flips and helicopter swirls as she delivered each track with an infectious smile. Opener Hand In My Pocket set the pace, quickly followed by Right Through You, during which harrowing statistics about violence and discrimination against women and girls flashed up on the screen behind her. In the age of “trad wife” influencers and a troubling resurgence of anti-feminism, her performance served as a powerful reminder of a time when women’s rights were progressing with hope, and how 90s female artists like Morissette helped drive that empowerment forward. TF + SLW

Skepta, Other Stage, Saturday

The Other Stage felt reinvigorated entirely this year, both in terms of programming and sound. After last year’s crowd issues, the field’s larger space was utilised, and the stacks were further back, delivering premium sound quality no matter where you were. No one took more advantage of this than Skepta, who rushed to the rescue on Saturday after Deftones pulled out due to last-minute illness.

This set was a 30-minute bomb blast from a character who resonates with old and new gen alike. The beats hit hard and fast, as did Skepta’s energy. No time for guests here; he played five covers in the short set, including Playboi Carti’s TOXIC and A$AP Rocky’s Praise the Lord (Da Shine). Then, of course, there were the inevitable bursts of Shutdown and That’s Not Me, landing with a large and mainly young crowd who were with him from the off. Later that night, he was spotted at Block9’s Maceo’s, suggesting this victory lap was more like an 800m sprint. And why not? TF

 

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Turnstile, Other Stage, Sunday

Three days before Glastonbury, Rod Stewart said: “give Nigel Farage a chance.” On Sunday afternoon, his performance clashed directly with arguably the hottest band in the world right now – Turnstile. The fact that such extreme-sounding music was being given a chance to be platformed at the same time as someone whose Benny Hill impression is as big a talking point as his music felt… pointed. The perfect counterpoint to the “sexy” shenanigans going on at the Pyramid.

The 28-degree temperature didn’t deter the first third of the crowd from absolutely going in from the off, with new album title-track Never Enough moving into the post-hardcore electricity of what is now a very established back-catalogue. The bedlam of their earlier material punctuated the new album’s softer and more contemplative moments, resulting in a set that felt assured, energised – and went some way to explaining why they’re winning over legions of new fans by the day. TF

 

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For Those I Love, Lonely Hearts Club, Sunday

In the fragile emotional state of a Glastonbury Sunday, For Those I Love’s impassioned performance hammered home the heartache. In an interview with Crack Magazine, the Irish artist – real name David Balfe – told us that when at a festival, he’s most likely to be found crying in a field after watching an emotional set. During his own performance, many tears were shed in the crowd as he combined new material with tracks from his self-titled debut album, a profoundly moving love letter to his friend and spoken word poet Paul Curran, who took his own life in 2018. In the electronic interludes of the set’s closing track, I Have A Love, Balfe turned back to watch the screen behind him as it showed a montage of photos of him and Curran together over the years. 

The short, 30-minute set was fuelled by vulnerability and rage, with tracks from his upcoming album poetically traversing themes of national identity, social class, mental health and grappling with loss. Dance music, piano riffs and dubstep rhythms were foregrounded by razor-sharp spoken word bars that sat beautifully at the intersection of love and grief. 

It was Balfe’s first ever Glastonbury and his first time playing his own music in three years. Seeing the show in the searing summer sun was a far cry from the dark, intimate venues he toured for his first album, but it was a potent reminder that there is joy to be found in feeling things deeply and that dance music stages at festivals can be as good a place as any to feel it all. SLW