FESTIVAL season is in full swing, meaning the town is gearing up for one of the biggest events in the its calendar: Reading Festival.
This year’s event is already setting the stage for returning headliners and newcomers alike at Little John’s Farm, Richfield Avenue.
Fred Again, Lana Del Rey, and Blink-182 will top the bill when the festival returns next week, marking a triple-whammy of UK festival exclusives.
Blink-182 are making their first return to Reading and Leeds since their 2010 appearance alongside Arcade Fire and Guns n’ Roses.
Lana Del Rey is making her first appearance at the festival alongside Fred Again, who will also be performing on the main stage for the first time.
They also join the likes of Liam Gallagher, who first shot to fame as part of Oasis, festival stalwarts Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Gerry Cinnamon.
Also on the line-up are breakout star Jorja Smith, BRIT Awards record-breaker RAYE, hip-hop royalty 21 Savage, and seasoned veterans Pendulum.
This year will also see a return of indie icons Two Door Cinema Club, who have been climbing the bill at Reading for nearly 15 years, and The Wombats,
The Festival Republic Stage returns, which will welcome Reading’s own Only The Poets, punk-rock purveyors Lambrini Girls, The Japanese House, Dream Wife, Mannequin P*ssy, The Amity Affliction, and Matt Maltese.
The Radio 1 Stage boasts performances from Ashnikko, Beabadoobee, Confidence Man, The Beaches, and Alfie Templeman.
Meanwhile BBC Introducing is also back, bringing rising stars to the masses, including, Delilah Bon, Alessi Rose, Beren Olivia, Bottle Rockets, and Cameron Hayes.
Around 80% of acts on the line-up of the festival were championed by BBC Introducing.
This year marks the inaugural appearance of the new Chevron Stage, which will see an open-air stage adorned with the world’s first floating video canopy, made with Hundreds of thousands of programmable LEDs.
The 40,000-capacity stage will see the likes of The Prodigy, Denzel Curry, Sonny Fodera, Skrillex, and Jaguar, as well as playing host to the new after-hours silent disco.
The festival will see another new stage, The Aux Stage, which will bring live podcasts and spoken word slots to the event for the first time outside of the comedy tent.
Among the offerings is Dork’s Down With Boring live podcast, Unplugged with Bradley Simpson, Antics with Ash, Gym Girls Locker Room, M1 Podcast, and The Useless Hotline.
Reading Festival, along with its sister festival in Leeds, is one of the largest dedicated music festivals in the UK, welcoming 240,000 attendees across the two sites when the events kick off next Thursday, August 22.
Reading Today will be bringing you all of the latest news ahead of the festival, as well as previews, reviews, and interviews from across the weekend.
Reading Festival takes place in Richfield Avenue from Thursday-Sunday, August 22-25.
Full details and tickets are available via: readingfestival.com
