Olivia Rodrigo admits to Glastonbury crowd-size fears: “Everyone was freaking out”
Olivia Rodrigo has reflected on headlining Glastonbury in 2025, admitting to having fears about the number of people who would show up.
The Pyramid Stage headline slot ended Worthy Farm with a bang last summer, with Rodrigo attracting a huge crowd to see her prove herself on the biggest stage in British music.
In a new conversation with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Rodrigo, who recently released her new album, You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So In Love, on June 12th, cast her mind back to Glastonbury, describing it as “the best”.
However, shortly before the set began, the crowd was yet to be filled to be close to capacity, according to Rodrigo.
She admitted, “But my friends were up there and they were really nervous because five minutes before I went on, the field wasn’t a quarter of the way full because everyone was coming from another thing. And they were all like, ‘Oh, my God, no one came to see Olivia’s Glastonbury set.’ Everyone was freaking out.”
As anyone who has attended Glastonbury before knows, this isn’t anything out of the ordinary for Pyramid Stage headliners unless they are huge stars like Elton John or Paul McCartney and are exempt from the rule.
Once the show began, those fears were eradicated as the crowd filled up with Rodrigo explaining that it was due to people “filtering in from other places” across the vast festival site.
In response to Lowe saying that must have been “terrifying”, she replied, “I know, I know. Honestly, oh, God, it was such a beautiful experience. It was one of the best experiences of my life career-wise.”
She added of the memorable concert, “It was a huge dream of mine to have done that and have done it surrounded with a bunch of people that I love and with Robert [Smith] who I love was just… Yeah, I love it.”
During her set, as Rodrigo mentioned, she performed with Robert Smith for the first time, teaming up to deliver versions of The Cure’s ‘Friday I’m In Love’ and ‘Just Like Heaven’.
Recently, Smith made another guest appearance alongside Rodrigo at Primavera Sound in Barcelona to preview their collaboration, ‘What’s Wrong With Me?’, which appears on her new album.
Subsequently, following their latest on-stage reunion, Smith told BBC 6 Music that he was “in awe” of Rodrigo, who he also described as a “very effortless, very natural” performer.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.