Rod Stewart Summons Ronnie Wood and Rock Legends to Glastonbury’s Dreamstage
The festival field lay awash with electric expectation, a symphony of hearts drumming in unison as Sir Rod Stewart claimed his throne under the Somerset stars. In a shimmering display fit for mythic bards, the raspy-voiced rocker unfurled his greatest hits on the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage, weaving a tapestry of nostalgia and rebellion. With the first chords of “Maggie May” spiraling into the night air, the crowd rose as one, every soul a flickering torch in the summer breeze.
Let loose like a lyrical tempest, Stewart’s setlist coursed from the sultry swagger of “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” to the tender waltz of “Have I Told You Lately.” Each note seemed to tremble on the verge of transcendence—yet the night’s true sorcery began when the iconic silhouette of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood emerged from the shadows (“Rolling Stone,” June 2023). Their reunion sparkled with the grit of shared history as they traded guitar licks on the Faces-era classic “Stay With Me,” a moment Billboard hailed as “pure rock communion” in its live review.
The evening’s alchemy continued with whispers of a Jeff Beck cameo, though the guitar luminary ultimately remained in the wings (Billboard). Even so, the mere promise of that electric collision lent an undercurrent of thrilling possibility. Backed by a tight band whose rhythmic pulse echoed like a heartbeat, Stewart tore into “Hot Legs,” his fervent performance punctuated by pyrotechnic flares that painted the Somerset skyline in molten gold.
Glastonbury’s legends-turned-worshippers danced in muddy euphoria beneath a canopy of laser light, bear-hugging perfect strangers in ecstatic surrender to the music. The sage of soft rock then dipped into “Twistin’ the Night Away,” an homage to his early soul-infused roots, before sealing the night with a soaring rendition of “Forever Young.” Each chorus unravelled like a poet’s final stanza, charged with both celebration and the bitter tang of time’s passage.
While the Stones connection provided the evening’s greatest thrill, Stewart’s own star gleamed brightest of all—an ageless troubadour whose cadences still crackle with defiant warmth. And as the final note lingered, fading into whispers and applause, one wondered if this was an ending or merely the next verse in an epic yet unwritten.
A bittersweet ending, or merely the beginning?
Sources: Celebrity Storm and NY Post Entertainment, Rolling Stone, Billboard
Attribution: Iwi Onodera (Creative Commons)
