Until last October, it seemed like The Maccabees would never play anywhere again, let alone at Glastonbury. The beloved British indie band’s 2016 break-up seemed like one of the most final splits in modern music history, with the five bandmates all immersing themselves in new projects and different fields in the years that followed.
Thankfully, though, that sense of absoluteness crumbled, with the band announcing their reunion nine months ago. Last week, they took to the stage again for the first time in eight years for a tiny charity gig and, after a series of intimate European warm-up dates, are now back in the sprawling space of Worthy Farm to headline The Park stage’s final day.
A heaving crowd is ready to welcome them back with open arms as they close out the hillside stage for the weekend. ‘Latchmere’ is the perfect opener, capturing the giddy excitement of a brilliant band making their return, while ‘Lego’’s punky exuberance lifts the mood even further. “Hey Glastonbury, guess what? We’re The Maccabees!” guitarist Felix White tells them afterwards – no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention, but a thrilling sentence to hear in 2025, nonetheless.
This could go down as one of The Maccabees’ most euphoric shows. There are few things more joyful than witnessing White grinning ear to ear as he hypes up the crowd between songs. Frontman Orlando Weeks, meanwhile, looks happier than ever, joining his bandmate in some rare instances of geeing up the crowd and looking truly appreciative of the moment.
“It’s a long time to hold your nerve with the faith you had in a band and then trek up a hill to see if you were right,” he shares after a scintillating ‘No Kind Words’. “’Land, are you OK?” White asks him seconds later before relaying the singer’s off-mic response to the audience: “He says he’s very good, he’s very, very, very good.”
That positivity imbues much of the setlist, too. ‘Marks To Prove It’, which opens with a roaring scream from White, fizzes with fire, while ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ sounds sweeter than ever. Songs like ‘Spit It Out’ and ‘Something Like Happiness’ sound beautiful and stately as they roll out over the hill, the emotion contained within them dialled all the way up as the glowing sun sets in the distance.
There’s time for another reunion, too, when Florence Welch – an old friend of the band – joins them for ‘Love You Better’ and a bouncing version of her own ‘Dog Days Are Over’. “Do we have any Maccabees super-fans in the crowd? ‘Cause we definitely have one on stage,” Welch shares between the two, the delight on her face a perfect reflection of the feeling in the crowd.
It’s only when finale ‘Pelican’ rolls around that the bliss that covers The Park stage starts to slowly fade. It feels too soon for The Maccabees to be leaving after living without them for so long, but the hour they spend on stage is perfect and not to be taken for granted. Now, their reunion rolls on to more UK dates and their big day out at All Points East. Start praying now that they decide to continue beyond that, too.
The Maccabees played:
‘Latchmere’
‘Lego’
‘X-Ray’
‘Feel To Follow’
‘Kamakura’
‘Wall Of Arms’
‘First Love’
‘Precious Time’
‘Can You Give It’
‘Spit It Out’
‘No Kind Words’
‘Marks To Prove It’
‘Something Like Happiness’
‘Toothpaste Kisses’
‘Love You Better’
‘Dog Days Are Over’
‘Pelican’
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2025.