Longitude’s lineup is 94.74% male.

Yesterday, Longitude Festival’s 2025 lineup drop sparked not just disappointment, but significant concern due to its overwhelming male dominance. Of the 19 performers and artists announced, just one was a woman. This translates to a staggering 94.74% male representation and only 5.26% female representation, highlighting a persistent gender imbalance in music festival lineups.

Longitude is not alone in perpetuating this pattern. Across the festival landscape, women are continually relegated to the bottom of lineups, squeezed into early slots on smaller stages, or excluded altogether. Even after over a decade of advocacy and public criticism, progress has been excruciatingly slow. Last year, research conducted by Resident Advisor revealed that festivals booked 30% women in 2022 and 2023. This data was collected from 175 editions of 110 different festivals that ran between 2022 and 2023, and demonstrated that the issue had only improved by 9% on 2012.

This persistent imbalance doesn’t just affect the visibility of female artists—it impacts their entire careers. Festivals are a crucial platform for artists to gain exposure, connect with new audiences, and cement their place in the music industry.

In 2018, research from The Daily Edge (now the Journal) highlighted that only 28% of Longitude’s final lineup featured female acts, and most of the female acts they did book were playing much smaller stages and featured at the bottom of the lineup.

Although this is just Longitude’s first lineup drop, and more acts will likely be announced for smaller stages as summer approaches, the festival has already set a deeply concerning tone for its 2025 edition. First impressions matter. The message this sends is unmistakable: female representation is nothing more than an afterthought for Longitude this year.

A lack of female artists also inevitably contributes to a dull and uninspired lineup. Women in music are often the biggest risk-takers. Think of Doechii’s stage presence, Megan Thee Stallion’s festival dominance, or the sets from Charli XCX in 2024. By ignoring female artists, Longitude is depriving festivalgoers of not only a diverse lineup, but a good one.

Year after year, the same excuses are recycled across the industry—claims that there aren’t enough “big name” female acts or that the issue will be addressed with “later announcements.” But those claims have worn thin. It is 2025, and there’s no justification for a festival lineup with just one woman on it.

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