PBS Favorites Hit the Glastonbury 2025 Stage

Music buffs will be familiar with the Glastonbury Music Festival, held every summer in the titular town smack in the middle of Somerset. The festival traces its roots back to the 1910s when it was initially a celebration of modern classical music as part of an imagined, forthcoming utopian society that would emerge after the Great War. When said utopia failed to materialize, the venture folded until the 1970s, when the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was founded and has since become the largest arts and music festival in the world.

Like many BBC live broadcasts, Glastonbury is geo-locked to iPlayer, with only highlights being uploaded to YouTube after it concludes. (BritBox, I'm just saying, do something about this.) As this year marked 55 years since the current version's founding (and 2026 will most likely be skipped due to the American 250th anniversary), the BBC made an extra big fuss, with the Player showing prior year performances all throughout the run-up to the festival's premiere at the end of June 2025.

Moreover, the performances didn't disappoint (Rod Stewart's slightly unnerving presence notwithstanding). As noted, several PBS favorites hit the stage as guest cameos over the weekend, which are now available on YouTube and social media to watch.

Technically, Little Mix never broke up; Jesy just wandered off to do her own thing. However, in recent years, the group has taken a break from being the U.K.'s most successful girl group of all time (Sorry, Spices) to pursue their own projects. While no one has gone and married a football player and started a fashion line, it wasn't a big surprise that member Jade Thirlwall was headlining a solo set at Glasto. 

What was a surprise was Ncuti Gatwa, who just finished his two-season run on Doctor Who, showing up to introduce her with a message of hope.

As our in-house Peter Capaldi stan noted, this isn't quite an acting cameo. Before he became famous, Capaldi was the lead singer/guitarist in a punk band, Dreamboys, with fellow Scotsman Craig Ferguson. However, he did not start releasing studio albums until after his stint on Doctor Who showcased his guitar skills, with the album St. Christopher released in 2021. 

His sophomore effort, Sweet Illusions, dropped in March 2025, so his cameo with Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand is as much marketing as anything else. Plus, it effectively capitalized on/lampooned the "surprise performance of a Capaldi at Glastonbury 2025" (aka, his pop star nephew, Lewis).

Last but certainly not least, the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ electronic outfit Scissor Sisters made an appearance at Glastonbury. Originally called Dead Lesbian and the Fibrillating Scissor Sisters, the band solidified in 2000. The band marked a quarter century together with a set that was a highlight reel of their greatest hits. 

Naturally, they also had their longtime fan and fellow LGBTQ+ artist, Sir Ian McKellen, 86 years old and still performing, come on stage to recite the spoken word section of the hit "Invisible Light." It's a reminder that anything can sound Shakespearean in the right voice.

For more clips from Glastonbury 2025 and previous editions, check out the BBC Music YouTube Page.