Lewis Capaldi says drummer was in ‘floods of tears' at secret Glastonbury set
The 28-year-old performed a 35-minute surprise performance on the Pyramid stage, having taken a two-year break from performing after his last appearance at the Somerset festival, and revealed he had to leak his own secret set after he was worried people would not turn up.
Capaldi said: 'I'm not great at keeping secrets, I wanted it to be a surprise, but we had to start leaking it out a couple of weeks before because it would have been strange to come out to an empty field.
'By that weekend it was the worst-kept secret. It was genuinely the best day of my life, I loved every moment of it.
It was weird, I knew it was going to be fine this time around. I had nerves and butterflies, but it wasn't the same as 2023 when I was so stressed and I knew something bad was going to happen. It was spectacular
'Almost immediately, I was overcome with emotion and I started to well up, so I was like, 'get it together', but then I turned around and looked at my drummer, and he was in floods of tears.
'It was weird, I knew it was going to be fine this time around. I had nerves and butterflies, but it wasn't the same as 2023 when I was so stressed and I knew something bad was going to happen. It was spectacular.'
Capaldi was speaking as part of the launch of Apple Music's Music That Soothes Me series of curated playlists, with the singer himself putting together a track list including the likes of Fontaines DC, Lana Del Rey and The 1975.
The series, which features music intended to help listeners relax and unwind, also features playlists curated by Renee Rapp and Bring Me The Horizon.
Speaking about how he relaxes, the Scottish singer said: 'I use music in meditation a lot – ambient music, not what I usually listen to. But when I'm going to bed, I'll listen to a lot of green noise and rain noises, especially when I'm trying to get to sleep, to soothe me.
'Slowing down and being outside helps, I like meditation, and I also go to therapy, which has really helped me with stress.
'I'm not someone who enjoys going for long walks or spending a ton of time outside, but I force myself to do it these days because the effect it has on my mood and my stress levels is just mind-blowing.
'I think for a long time I was either working or going to the pub, and these days I spend a lot more time with friends in a way that isn't just going out.
Lewis Capaldi performing on his Glastonbury return (Yui Mok/PA)
'Doing wholesome things with friends is always a nice change. Get outside, go to therapy, do some meditation and hang out with people.'
The singer says he plays the 'older' work of rapper Eminem and his own demos to relax, joking that the latter 'really knocks me out'.
Capaldi recently said he had the 'most incredible, surreal feeling' after his 17-date UK and Ireland comeback tour sold out.
During the 2025 Glastonbury show, Capaldi performed his new track Survive, which has since gone to number one on the singles chart, and ended his performance with Someone You Loved, the track that Glastonbury crowds helped him to sing when he struggled with his Tourette symptoms in 2023.
Tourette syndrome causes sudden, repetitive sounds or movements and while there is no cure, treatment can help manage the tics.
Prior to the festival slot, the Glaswegian star performed a number of secret gigs and guest appearances, saying in an interview with therapy charity BetterHelp that he felt a 'rush of adrenaline' before managing to calm himself before his first warm-up gig in Edinburgh.
Capaldi has had six UK number one singles, including Before You Go, Pointless and Wish You The Best. He has also seen both of his studio albums reach number one in the UK albums chart.
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Irish Times
2 days ago
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Nobody exits a CMAT show thinking she hasn't left it all on the stage. She's a capital-P pop Performer, regularly seen dramatically fainting to her knees or playing coy pantomime with the crowd. On her Saturday night show, Co Meath's finest surveys the huge crowd in front of her and confidently estimates it must indeed be more than the population of said town. After a summer of heavy touring ahead of the release of third album in four years Euro-country, she and the self-described Sexy CMAT band aka "the greatest Irish country rock and roll band" are all the screaming masses want. And boy do they get it. Eleven songs in about 75 minutes, it's not only the show of the weekend (sorry Fontaines DC) but probably the best gig in six years of All Together Now. She revels as frontwoman, stomping across the stage, waving her butt, joking "no school tomorrow" as she cracks open a can. She finishes, as usual, with Stay for Something, jumping into the moshpit for a bop. The set began with five old songs; it could easily be CMAT karaoke such is the fervour with which they're roared by the crowd. But it's the new songs that will take CMAT's star higher. Take a Sexy Picture of Me enjoyed a viral dance moment earlier this year. Penultimate song and latest single Euro-country is performed live for the first She mentions emigration and various other social ills, pinning it on the government of 20-25 years ago. The song is brilliant, detailing "all the Berties, all the envelopes who really hurt me" and how "I was 12 when the das starting killing themselves all around me". It all adds up to one of the great festival performances. 9 Irish acts As well as the headliners, there are plenty of impressive Irish acts scattered throughout the festival. During the afternoon, the queue to get into The Last City area is about a dozen deep, with DJ Rory Sweeney hosting a series of rappers as part of the Irish Hash Mafia Cypher. Enniscorthy rapper Lil Skag has built a connection with the young audience, just a "regular man doing regular activities". Morgana on stage at All Together Now 2025. Trapattoni, referencing the former Ireland soccer manager, is a smart track that marks Skag out as one to keep an eye on. Over at Something Kind of Wonderful, it's a rare outing for traditional Irish music foursome Landless, whose voices weave together majestically. The crowd is sitting and lying down letting the sound wave over them. Just over two years on since her death, they finish with a beautiful cover of a Sinéad O'Connor song, In This Heart, which they dedicate to the people of Palestine. Meanwhile, at Lovely Days, Morgana, formerly half of Saint Sister, is revelling in her new disco-pop direction. 10 Good vibes It felt busier than previous years at All Together Now 2025. But the vibe of the festival has not changed at all. Everyone is friendly and drinking it all in, enjoying themselves. It's a beautiful atmosphere - helped perhaps by the nice bank holiday weather. It also comprises age groups from young - fair play to the dad pulling his two kids up a hill with all his might during the afternoon - to savvy veterans with camping seats at hand.
