Who is Patchwork? Glastonbury secret sets, rumours and hidden stages
This year's edition is no different, with the lineup's crowning artists – The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo – already being discussed alongside who else could be performing in you-had-to-be-there slots on various stages across the weekend.
Furious artists (and the Eavis family, who must grow tired of the gossip) have the likes of Foo Fighters, Radiohead and Fred Again… to blame: each has performed in a secret slot in past years. Meanwhile, the growing trend for headliners to bring out their starry pals – Paul McCartney having set the bar supremely high in 2022, when he recruited the help of Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl in ensuring his set went down in the history books – has risked dominating the headlines over the actual billed performances.
The rumour mill for 2025's edition ranges from the tantalisingly possible to the downright outlandish (never say never, but one imagines Taylor Swift's ginormous security team wouldn't be best pleased if the US superstar set her private jet down in Somerset unannounced).
From Britpop heroes Pulp, who will be on a convenient promotional run for their new album More during the festival, to popular folk-pop outfit Mumford & Sons (also promoting a new album) and acclaimed sibling trio Haim, the list of bands, artists and celebrities rumoured to be joining the Glastonbury lineup by stealth keeps getting longer and longer.
Here are all the rumoured secret sets, special guests – and hidden stages where the magic might happen.
Rumoured secret sets
Pulp
They're back with their first new album in 21 years, More, and now all that seems to be missing from Pulp's victory lap is a performance at Glastonbury. What has sent fans into overdrive most is the inclusion of a mysterious band called 'Patchwork' on the final lineup. Patchwork will play on the Pyramid at 6.15pm on Saturday, a primetime slot that looks set for a deservingly massive band to fill it: enter Jarvis Cocker and co. Keen fans even reported hearing keyboardist Candida Doyle talking about her passion for patchwork in a recent Radio 2 interview. Too much of a coincidence, surely?
Having headlined the festival in 1995 – when the band stepped in at the last minute to replace the Stone Roses – the Britpop heroes have form, and the hits still sound as fresh – and crowd-pleasing – as they did three decades ago. Just imagine the Common People singalong on the Pyramid, mid-afternoon, or the drunken, crying crowds crooning along to Something Changed!
Unfortunately for fans, however, Pulp have been rumoured for a secret set at Glastonbury for the last three years, and it's yet to actually happen. Only time will tell.
Lady Gaga
Ra ra ooh la la – watch out Pilton, Gaga's coming. Or not. It seems a far-fetched dream to imagine the star, fresh off the back of a record-breaking outdoor gig in Rio de Janeiro and a magnificent headline show at Coachella in the US, settling for a supporting slot on the lineup – especially considering she's yet to headline (though she did pop up unannounced on a tiny stage in 2009).
But with a fallow year on the cards for 2026, could Emily Eavis have persuaded Gaga to promote her Mayhem record on stage at the best party on earth – which just so happens to be one of the world's most popular musical broadcasts? If Gaga doesn't appear on the Pyramid this year, here's hoping for a proper Sunday night headline slot in 2027.
Lewis Capaldi
One of the most emotional sets at the 2023 festival was Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi's, who apologised to his massive Pyramid Stage audience for a myriad of problems with his vocals and health (a result of his Tourette's syndrome) that led to him cutting the set short. Two years on, rumours are swirling that Capaldi could be returning to Worthy Farm to finish what he started, on the Pyramid at 4.55pm on Friday, before Alanis Morissette.
Lorde
Gen Z's favourite melodramatic popstar is set to release her fourth album, Virgin, on the weekend of Glastonbury, and has made little effort to hide her love for the festival or desire to perform there again. She's been doing pop-up shows to promote the album in New York and London and is probably (here's hoping) already going to be on-site to do a guest appearance for close pal Charli XCX, so a surprise show of her own makes sense. We think Woodsies would be a perfect fit for those thumping basslines and angsty, singalong-ready lyrics; just get there early.
Haim
Sister trio Haim – made up of Alana, Danielle and Este – have been delighting fans with their mellow blend of indie and pop for years now, not least at Glastonbury: they've played five times. With new album I Quit set for release just a week prior to this year's festival, and their star power having received a turbo-charge from their support slot on Taylor Swift's massive Eras tour, it seems the perfect time for another visit to the farm. This seems one of the more likely of this year's rumours. I predict you'll find them in an afternoon slot in the Woodsies tent, where Kasabian played a surprise show last year.
Mumford & Sons
The folk-pop group's star power has waned slightly since they headlined Glastonbury for the first time in 2013, but they're still one of those acts guaranteed to provoke a massive singalong – perfect fodder for the BBC's roving cameras. Their new album Rushmere was released to positive reviews earlier this year and our critic Neil McCormick called a supporting gig in London a 'rambunctious, barnstorming show'.
So could they appear on Worthy Farm? If they do, I predict it will be another mid-afternoon Woodsies slot, as I'm not entirely convinced Mumford has the chops to command a gigantic Pyramid Stage audience (like Foo Fighters did with their secret performance two years ago) anymore.
Radiohead
Wishful thinking, eh? Radiohead's appearance on Worthy Farm would make many, many fans very happy indeed (this one included). But is the timing right considering its member's recent controversies (lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood was forced to cancel two shows with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa after protests from pro-Palestine activists) and other projects, namely alternative band the Smile?
The Oxford rockers did a secret show back in 2011, however, so it's not impossible. Just highly unlikely. Fans will probably have more luck just rewatching their wondrous 1997 set on YouTube, the rain and thunder no match for Thom Yorke's majesty.
Green Day
Somehow, the punk rockers have never played at Glastonbury. It's arguably an indictment of the festival's alleged sidelining of heavy rock and metal genres in favour of crowd-pleasing indie and pop – or maybe they were simply too busy headlining the likes of Download and Isle of Wight. Either way, having released their 14th album, Saviors, last January, and with a new, younger generation having got into their music thanks to a combination of April's Coachella set (and Charli XCX's perceived snubbing by Green Day being chosen as headliners) and frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's prolonged, expletive-filled rants about President Trump. It seems a far-fetched dream for fans that Green Day will appear, but they could easily pack out a mid-afternoon Pyramid slot – just imagine the singalongs to American Idiot!
Timothée Chalamet
The Sun reports that the Hollywood actor could even make an appearance... as Bob Dylan. The star portrayed the US rock legend in Oscar-nominated film A Complete Unknown, and could now bring his brooding take on Dylan – and his hits, from Mr Tambourine Man to Like a Rolling Stone – to the farm. Fans hoping to catch the rumoured set should head to the Acoustic Stage on Saturday to catch tribute group Not Completely Unknown. I wonder if Chalamet's girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, could hop along to enjoy the show too… though the Kardashian family never did give 'I love mud and wellies' vibes.
Sir Keir Starmer
Glastonbury has a long, proud tradition of providing politicians and activists with a platform, and has hosted everyone from Jeremy Corbyn to Volodymyr Zelensky (the Ukrainian president appeared via video link in 2022). Punters were convinced that some of the Labour Party's leading figures, whether that be Sir Keir, Angela Rayner or Rachel Reeves, would make an appearance in 2024 to ramp up their charm-offensiveness over the Tories. But then the General Election happened, and campaigning from the Pyramid took a backseat to door-knocking and newspaper interviews. So could this year, now he's firmly (depending on who you ask) in government, be The Year of Keir at Worthy Farm?
Potential special guests
Special guests have become part and parcel of Glastonbury headline sets: from Macca roping in the services of the Boss back in 2022 to Elton John's decision to champion rising talents (Gabriels' Jacob Lusk, Stephen Sanchez, Rina Sawayama) over established stars in 2023, or Kylie bringing out Nick Cave during her 2019 Legend's slot to sing their duet Where the Wild Roses Grow.
They've become so regular they're now expected – to the detriment of certain performances. John criticised the incessant rumour mill ahead of his career-crowning headline slot in 2023, when his rumoured special guests ranged from Eminem to Britney Spears, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles.
But this year's headliners seem the perfect bunch to actually be willing to recruit the help of some old friends. My predictions? First up, Rod Stewart to bring out his Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood. Charli XCX, who should pull in one of the biggest crowds of the weekend on the Other Stage on Saturday night, would be silly not to charter a plane for Brat-collaborators Lorde or Billie Eilish.
Neil Young, up against Charli in that same slot but on the Pyramid, might just tempt Stephen Stills out of (semi) retirement to rattle through Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young classics. And finally, could Sunday night headliner Olivia Rodrigo lure her multitude of admirers (Talking Heads' David Byrne, or Lily Allen, who Rodrigo last duetted with on Worthy Farm in 2022) out to Pilton?
I'm a Glastonbury regular – these are the best hidden stages
If you've been to Glastonbury, you'll be all too aware of its sprawling size: the tens of thousands of steps you'll bash out, the blisters you'll take home as souvenirs, the feeling that – never mind how many times you visit – five days on Worthy Farm is nowhere near enough to see and do everything. If you haven't, hearing just how big it is will be hard to grasp: the site is the equivalent of more than 500 football pitches, big enough to hold 200,000 revellers.
The site's size means there are countless stages to check out, from the big ones whose sets make it to television – the famous Pyramid, Other, West Holts, Park and Woodsies – to the havens for dance music fans (the Levels, Arcadia or Glade) or the circus, comedy and art tents dotted further afield.
There's also the much-feted South East Corner, home to hedonistic late-night areas Shangri-La and Block 9, where some of the world's best DJs gather under the cover of darkness to delight revellers more keen on escaping the hustle and bustle of the main arena.
Festival goers looking for even more secretive offerings should head to Strummerville, located within a wooded area at the top of the site, where like-minded, more mellow punters gather around a giant open fire and sing folk songs until the early hours. Or, nestled near The Park, go on a trip to the Rabbit Hole, a famous bar that is also home to a secretive second speakeasy whose exact location changes every year. Basically, whatever you're looking for, you'll find it at Glastonbury – if you're willing to head off the beaten track.
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