Neil Young headlined the Pyramid Stage on day two of the festival, but viewers were left struggling to hear him properly as they complained about the sound and audio
As the sun set on Glastonbury Festival’s Saturday, legendary headliner Neil Young took centre stage on the iconic Pyramid Stage.
Over 200,000 revellers have descended upon Worthy Farm this weekend, but Saturday, June 28 wasn’t without its hitches amidst the numerous musical highlights. In the lead-up to the festival, Belfast-based group Kneecap found themselves at the centre of controversy, with the BBC opting not to broadcast their performance live.
This decision came after band member Liam Og O hAnnaidh made headlines following a charge of a terror offence, allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah and declaring “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” during a gig in November last year
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A spokesperson for the BBC explained: “As the broadcast partner, the BBC is bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers. While the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines.
“We don’t always live-stream every act from the main stages and look to make an on-demand version of Kneecap’s performance available on our digital platforms, alongside more than 90 other sets.”
In another unexpected turn of events, Deftones were forced to pull out of their highly anticipated primetime slot, with rapper Skepta stepping in as a last-minute replacement, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Meanwhile, Pulp made a triumphant return to Glastonbury after a 30-year absence, taking to the stage under the secret moniker Patchwork to surprise and delight fans. Neil Young took centre stage on the Pyramid Stage while Charli XCX rocked the Other Stage.
The 79 year old rock legend sparked a bit of a stir when he “pulled out” of Glastonbury, stating at the time: “We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
However, the musician later withdrew his earlier remarks, clarifying that there had been an “error in information” and expressing that he’s “looking forward” to playing at the festival. Those tuning in from home shared a common gripe about the audio during Neil’s set, complaining that they couldn’t hear him properly.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), @mostly_grumpy commented: “Neil Young has 60+ years in showbusiness but hasn’t mastered singing into a microphone”. Another viewer, @rjc99999, chimed in with: “someone tell Neil Young to sing into a microphone”, while @Cheewence responded: “Sound needs turning up like ffs, he’s shredding that axe and you can hardly hear it”.
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