Hip hop
If any festival could truly be described as a rite of passage, then it’s Reading and Leeds. A quick, cursory glance around the Clash office reveals some tawdry tales of teenage years, Sixth Form holidays transformed into something from Lord Of The Flies. One story even involves a future Klaxon – imagine that!
Another rite of passage is, unfortunately, complaining about the Reading and Leeds line-up. Once fans are out of their teens, it seems, nothing pleases them. Not enough metal, for some. Too much metal, for others. And what’s this pop stuff, anyway? Back in my day, we have proper bands, for proper people, and we turned out alright!
Ahem.
So, a few moments ago, the team at Reading and Leeds threw themselves into the breach once more, and delivered what must truly stand as the twin-site festival’s most bizarre line-up in history.
Honestly, just look at it for a minute. Fred again.. is in there, the producer having demolished Glastonbury and asserted his future-headliner status with a colossal set in front of an equally colossal crowd. Well, Reading and Leeds just trumped Eavis & Co. by getting in there first.
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Lana del Rey, too, made headlines at Glastonbury. Will she turn up on time for Reading and Leeds? A sublime BST Hyde Park set over summer proved that Lana can headline anywhere, any time, and pretty much leave you breathless.
Both bookings are forward-thinking, looking outside the traditional R&L remit.
Oh, but there’s more…
Scottish songwriter Gerry Cinnamon is headlining. He’s also headlining TRNSMT, so this isn’t really a coup. It’ll be popular, though – his sets are forever stacked out, packed to the gunnels with Scots-on-tour.
blink-182 are appearing. Now this should placate the hardcore, the sort of people – and they’re out there, believe us – who go to Reading and Leeds religiously, year after year. Just to keep them doubly happy, Liam Gallagher returns, in the same summer that ‘Definitely Maybe’ turns 30. It’s not the much-vaunted Oasis re-union, but it’ll be… fun.
And then, and then…
Do our eyes deceive us? Catfish & The Bottlemen are headlining Reading and Leeds. In the year of our lord 2024. While we are loathe to reference a press release, it does to go some pains to underline the appeal of frontman Van McCann – perhaps because no one else knows who is actually in the band anymore? As the meme would have it: we thought they were toast.
The thing is, each of these bookings has an argument behind it. Some – like Fred again.. and Lana Del Rey – are hugely persuasive. Others like blink-182 and Liam Gallagher should please the hardcore. It’s more seeing this six-piece as a set, the colossal stretch it takes to imagine someone – some singular person – genuinely wanting to see all half dozen, is… well, it’s a lot isn’t it?
All hail Reading and Leeds, then, and the most bonkers headliner announce in their history.
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Reading & Leeds Festival runs between August 21st – 25th.
Words: Robin Murray
