Loyle Carner was joined by Jorja Smith and Sampha for a personal headline set on the Other Stage at Glastonbury 2025.
The British-Guyanese rapper was playing the biggest Worthy Farm set of his career to date, surpassing his headline appearance on the West Holts Stage in 2023, and he made it his own.
Opening with the introspective, contemplative ‘In My Mind’ from his new album ‘Hopefully!’ – released just a week ago – Carner was in control of the pace and the mood from the get-go.
“My name is Loyle Carner, this might be the biggest show we’ve ever played in our whole fucking lives man,” he told the crowd at the start of the set, but if he was nervous, it was not obvious.
‘All I Need’ gave way to ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’, a track that dates back to the rapper’s roots a decade ago; other tracks from debut ‘Yesterday’s Gone’, such as ‘Damselfly’, are among the best received of the night.
Loyle Carner on the Other Stage at Glastonbury 2025. CREDIT: Derek Bremner for NME
It was on ’Desoleil (Brilliant Corners)’ that Carner was joined by Sampha, who reprised his original vocals from the version on 2019’s ‘Not Waving, But Drowning’ album, while Smith did the same on the cathartic ‘Loose Ends’.
Cool jazz trumpet and keyboard interludes and gospel samples give depth to ‘Hugo’ tracks ‘Homerton’ and ‘Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)’, with Carner signing off the latter by exclaiming: “Fuck Nigel Farage, man, I’m sorry.”
Carner introduced new song ‘Lyin’ with a story of how his son – who he mentioned regularly throughout the set – calmed his anxiety on the drive to the festival by putting on music that the two sang along to together. “That’s why I sing – not because I’m good at it,” he explained. “It feels good, you get me? This is only the fourth time in my life that I’ve sung in front of an audience I don’t know, so be easy on me.” The gentle, deep tones of his voice visibly moved members of the crowd.
Loyle Carner on the Other Stage at Glastonbury 2025. CREDIT: Derek Bremner for NME
He took a seat on the edge of the stage and delivered a spoken word rendition of ‘Purpose’ from the new album, and fought back tears on ‘About Time’, which ended with a sample of his son’s voice, before rounding out the set with ‘Ottolenghi’ from ‘Not Waving, But Drowning’.
Loyle Carner played:
‘In My Mind’
‘All I Need’
‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’
‘Yesterday’
‘Damselfly’
‘Horcrux’
‘Desoleil (Brilliant Corners)’
‘Homerton’
‘Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)’
‘Lyin’
‘Loose Ends’
‘Ice Water’
‘Speed Of Plight’
‘Still’
‘Purpose’
‘About Time’
‘Ottolenghi’
In a four-star review of ‘Hopefully!’, NME wrote: “His lyrics and instrumentals may be more intricate than before, but they come together more coherently than ever.”
“This isn’t just Loyle Carner at his most refined, it is the start of a new chapter. As for what may come next, the answer is probably best explained in the lyrics to ‘Time To Go’: “Who am I supposed to be today? I don’t know / All I can do is take it slow.””
Carner will be heading on a UK headline tour in November, kicking off with four dates at London’s O2 Academy Brixton. See the full list of dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
Friday at Glastonbury has seen an emotional, redemptive set on the Pyramid from a returning Lewis Capaldi, a surprise set from Lorde where she played her new album ‘Virgin’ in full, alongside gigs from established names such as Franz Ferdinand – who were joined by Peter Capaldi – Biffy Clyro and Supergrass, as well as breakout sets from CMAT, Lola Young and Wet Leg, among others.
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2025.
English (US) · 