In Photos: Block9 at Glastonbury 2025

Genosys, IICON and NYC Downlow returned to Worthy Farm with fierce energy, political fire and a brand-new daytime party.

Despite media furore reaching a deafening pitch in 2025, Glastonbury has always been political. Ahead of the weekend, as part of this year’s Block9 installation, a Second World War veteran drove a tank over a Tesla with a license plate reading “FASCISM.” The 98-year-old said, “We’ve crushed fascism before, and we’ll crush it again.”

While the festival’s legendary dance music area is usually associated with after-dark-til-dawn antics, this year, it was equally enticing during the day. Block9’s first-ever twin-venue Daytime Block Party took place across both Genosys and NYC Downlow on Saturday afternoon, before the area became completely rammed following the main stage headliners. Heading down in daylight also allowed for a proper look at the Send Them To Mars installation by political campaign group Led By Donkeys, which featured the crushed Tesla. An adjacent wall depicted a cast of nefarious characters, including Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Benjamin Netanyahu and J. K. Rowling, whose faces were increasingly vandalised as the weekend went on. Elon Musk sat inside the spaceship, sending up his fascist-style salute with the words “Send Them To Mars…While We Party” written around the sides.

As usual, Block9’s nighttime offerings proved once again that this corner of Worthy Farm remains one of the best nightclubs in the world. Queer heaven NYC Downlow provided bumping house music to dance and sweat to from day til dawn, with a stacked line-up including Prosumer, Gerd Janson and Block9 co-creator GIDEÖN. Meanwhile, the venue’s second room, the Meat Rack, saw sets from Shanti Celeste, Nabihah Iqbal and NIKS. Over at IICON, anonymous duo Two Shell lit up Friday night with their punchy, hyperactive club set, while Blawan brought his signature experimental techno on Saturday. Elsewhere, Genosys looked to the future of dance music, welcoming Block9 first-timers Tai Lokun, IMOGEN and Mina Galán alongside Glastonbury veteran DJs like Midland, Craig Richards and Artwork. 

Our on-site photographer, Khali Ackford, was there to capture all the beautiful chaos as it went down.