Lorde has responded to rumours that she is due to play a secret set at Glastonbury 2025.
The Kiwi pop star is due to release her fourth studio album, ‘Virgin’, on June 27 – the Friday of this year’s festival. That day, there’s a 35-minute ‘TBA’ slot on the Pyramid Stage, ahead of sets by Alanis Morissette, Biffy Clyro and headliners The 1975.
- READ MORE: Lorde’s ‘What Was That’ takes us back to the dancefloor for another emotional, electric journey
During an interview on BBC Radio 2 last night, Jo Whiley asked Lorde if she was planning to return to Worthy Farm later this month following performances at Glasto in 2022 and 2017.
“Wow! You know… I’m pretty keen, honestly,” she responded. “I feel like… ‘cause the album’s gonna be coming out right around that time…”
When host Whiley suggested that the “timing would be good”, given ‘Virgin’ will have just dropped, the singer replied: “I am quite tempted by what’s going on because I’ve got lots of friends playing as well.
“We’ll see, we’ll see if I can pull some strings and get there.”
Lorde went on to recall her previous set on the Pyramid Stage three years ago, calling it “so cool and crazy”. “[It was] absolutely unbelievable – enormous,” she continued. “I was shooketh at the scale […] So beautiful, so amazing.
“Then in 2017 we played the Other Stage, which was so amazing. That was kind of [at] sunset and really moody. It’s just the best – it’s the best festival in the world.”
Lorde then hinted again at a potential surprise return, adding: “I didn’t really party [when she played there before], so I would be able to… I’m keen to come and play. We’ll see. I’ve gotta talk to the powers that be.”
Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds.
As Lorde alluded to in the chat, her friend and collaborator Charli XCX is headlining the Other Stage on the Saturday night (June 28). The pair performed their ‘Girl, So Confusing’ remix together at Coachella 2025 in April, having previously done so in New York.
What’s more, Lorde made another unexpected appearance at a Lorde-themed party in Australia last month. In April, she played her comeback single ‘What Was That’ for fans at an impromptu event in New York, shortly after police shut down a pop-up gig.
Glastonbury 2025’s secret set on Friday night is scheduled to take place between 16:55 and 17:30. This week’s announcement of the festival’s full stage splits and timings led to speculation over numerous mystery slots on the line-up.
Curiously, there’s an unknown act called ‘Patchwork’ on the Pyramid Stage between 18:15 and 19:15 on Saturday night. Rumoured names for this slot include Pulp, Ed Sheeran, Yungblud and Mumford & Sons.
If Jarvis Cocker and co. do pop up, it’ll coincide with the 30th anniversary of their Glastonbury headline slot in 1995, and come in support of their new album ‘More’ (out today, June 6).
Giving a possible clue in another interview with Jo Whiley, Pulp keyboardist Candida Doyle said: “I used to do patchwork when I was on tour, and I made a really nice bit of patchwork.” This came after Cocker responded to rumours about a Glasto comeback recently, saying the Sheffield band would play “if it was a life-or-death situation”.
In 2023, Foo Fighters performed a surprise Pyramid Stage slot under the alias The Churnups. Before that festival, Pulp were named again as a potential act for the slot.
Looking ahead to 2025’s edition, there are also ‘TBA’ slots lined up for the Woodsies stage and The Park – with Haim among the acts rumoured for the latter. The LA trio are playing a one-off UK show the day before at Dreamland Margate, and release their new album, ‘I Quit’, the week prior (June 20). Additionally, they are currently in Europe for Primavera Sound in Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Lorde is set to embark on her UK, European and North American ‘Ultrasound’ tour later this year. She recently promised fans that the forthcoming gigs “could be our masterpiece”.
Last week saw Lorde release a new single about gender identity, ‘Man Of The Year’.
Glastonbury 2025 will be headlined by The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo. Visit here for all NME‘s latest coverage.
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