For many artists and attendees, Reading Festival was the last of festival season, and notably the end of an extremely dry summer as panic-bought ponchos became the fashion trend of the Bank Holiday weekend. With a significant rebrand, last year’s themed approach to the festival (with a whole day dedicated to rock and metal headlined by Bring Me The Horizon) instead seemed to move to embracing the unfiltered and heterogeneous music tastes of fans finding their top tracks through TikTok.
After a plea to festival organisers to be added to the line-up last minute, Jamie T opened the main stage with a secret set, dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses, an outfit echoed by Declan McKenna later that day, and inviting the gathered audience for “a little dance”. He took advantage of the expansive stage: “I feel like Bono out here… I’ve got a walkway”, warming up early risers (not particularly early at mid-day) with crowd-favourites like ‘Zombie’ and his latest single ‘3310’.
One of many artists making their Reading Festival debut (including JADE, for whom it was a “bucket list” performance) was York-raised and London-based singer-songwriter Beth McCarthy. Opening with her 2024 hit ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’, the waving crowd were soon named as looking rather “hot and stupid”, before the 2025 track of the same name. Queer anthem, ‘Good Bi’, saw McCarthy strutting the walkway like an artist who has waited a lifetime for the opportunity, and working the audience like someone who has played main stage many times. Her top song on Spotify, ‘She’s Pretty’, garnered a huge crowd reaction before segueing into last year's headliner, Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’.
“It’s been a dream to play a stage like this for my entire life. I’ve been doing this since I was 13 and I’m now 29”. McCarthy lived out her rockstar dreams in ‘Treat Me Like A Rockstar’: “Reading, I want to see you jump”, before premiering her upcoming single ‘Pretty Villain’. With a jaw-dropping outfit reveal to launch her new evil era and villainous alter-ego, McCarthy reappeared in a floor-length leather coat with pointed shoulders, soon shrugging it off before closing her set with a mysterious unknown track: “Don’t get to call me a b*tch / it’s you who left me like this / what the hell did you expect / now I’m going E.V.I.L”.
With a 50:50 gender-split for the headliners, there was also a strong thread of female artists throughout the line-up. With posters across the site declaring “The Baddest B*tches Are In Reading”, Adéla brought a dramatic set to The Gallery. “I need you to jump with me on the chorus”, she cried in ‘Go’, before further riling up the crowd in a performance of ‘DeathByDevotion’ that saw dancers pirouetting with immense skill; “that was not loud enough, we were just on pointe doing ballet you have to cheer for that”. The Slovak performer is perhaps most widely known for her viral hit and latest single, ‘Ain’t In LA’: “I always had a really big dream of being a pop star on a stage like this. I felt a little too far away from reaching that dream…You always hear about LA and New York. You never hear about Reading getting its flowers.” Closing out on ‘SUPERSCAR’, her name lit up on screen as she invited the crowd to pose for a photo.
Reading Festival’s major rebrand has brought criticism for dropping the BBC Introducing stage, instead replacing it with The Canopy, which some have dubbed a “nepo baby stage”. One band in question are rock band VILLANELLE, whose frontman, Gene Gallagher, is the son of Oasis lead singer, Liam Gallagher. Critique aside, VILLANELLE boasted a set including “oldie but goldie[s]” and unreleased ‘Attitude’ filled with lengthy instrumentals, and fresh guitar-led rock. Later tracks even received a baby mosh pit.
Hotly anticipated Charli xcx co-headlined the first day of the festival under the rapidly setting sun, her only UK festival appearance of the summer. With no audience interaction, fans instead stepped into what felt like the set of a music video as she performed 23 songs back-to-back. Walkway turned runway in ‘Card Declined’, dancers removing their T-shirts in slow motion, a move cementing this era far away from the messy hedonism of ‘brat’. Strobe lighting and the addition of sunglasses complemented visits to her 2024 discography, including ‘365’ and ‘Guess’. Aside from a brief diversion to 2020’s ‘party 4 u’, Charli xcx rounded off her Reading Festival performance with six tracks from ‘Music, Fashion, Film’, concluding with the words of David Cronenberg, featured on ‘No One Lasts Forever’: “They are dead / They are gone / No one lasts forever / Oblivion is freedom”.
Closing day one of Reading Festival was Fontaines D.C, one of the many Irish acts featured on the line-up. Anticipation soon turned to frustration as the crowd were given a long wait, appearing to be due to technical difficulties, soon forgotten with the charisma of frontman Grian Chatten, who proved no stranger to a walkway. Their latest single, ‘Marianne’, the lead of their upcoming album, ‘Dopamine Chamber’, garnered a huge crowd reaction, whilst their set also included unreleased ‘Six Shot Morning’, which saw Chatten lifting a Palestine flag to cheers heard across the field. An emotive dedication was made to their late manager, Trevor Dietz, a heartfelt “love you, Trev” shared after ‘Favourite’, and “Trevor Forever” written on the side of the electric guitar left lingering onscreen after ‘Starburster’ closed the night.
Day Two
“Thank you for being here in the pouring rain”, cried Absolutely, dressed in an outfit she later described as feeling like a “little bird in”. Her enchanting set, the first of the three sisters playing Reading Festival (the most widely known being headliner, RAYE), opened Saturday’s main stage. Absolutely drew the crowd in with conversational introductions; her enthusiasm to acknowledge a fan’s outfit- “Doesn’t she look beautiful?”- a testament to the connection she has with her audience. ‘Paracosm’, the title track of her new album, was so captivating that it even saw the rain clouds part; “the sun even came out for a moment that was so cute”.
Soon after, Amma packed out The Canopy stage for a set far too short, although fans enjoyed her reappearance later that day alongside sisters Absolutely and RAYE. Candidly sharing about her struggle with stage fright, and the apparent similarity of audiences to ants, “I forgot how scary this is”, her performance of ‘If You Don’t Love Me’ would have got the audience waving all six legs if they had been invertebrates. A cover of ‘Unwritten’, the first album Amma owned, prompted an echoingly loud sing-a-long, before closing her set with unreleased ‘Baby Blues’, written about “not knowing where you are going in life”, a feeling perhaps shared by the young audience.
Boasting what could be the most audience interaction of the festival, Kingfishr’s love for the festival and their fans shone throughout their set. ‘Shot In The Dark’ saw the band come to The Gallery’s barrier, lead singer Eddie Keogh clasping the hands of fans they appeared so grateful for. An acknowledgement that bandmate Eoin Fitzgibbon was taking a break from touring became a plea for the audience to look after each other and themselves, a message echoed by many artists across the festival. Despite being one of many who shared they were struggling vocally: “my voice was completely gone at 9 am”; this did not seem to impact Keogh’s lilting vocals, but only seemed to spur the crowd to sing louder. Fans were treated to unreleased ‘How Lonely’ full of mandolin inflexions, breakout hit ‘Killeagh’, self-proclaimed as “savage” - we have to agree - and to close an electric performance, ‘Caroline’ soundtracked the dancing crowd.
For most of Reading Festival, the First Aid tent was the place to avoid. Yet, American singer-songwriter Sombr made one of the most dramatic entrances of the weekend in the back of an ambulance, joined by Slayyyter. A self-indulgent stage presence balanced the poignant lyricism of his set, which included his UK debut of ‘My Body Isn’t Ready’. His love for the UK was palpable as he teased returning soon, now confirmed with already fast-selling 2027 UK tour dates. For his first time in Reading, it seemed Sombr could’ve run the length of it, with a barricade walk (‘back to friends’) carrying a flag carefully spray-painted with “Sombr heart Reading” that lasted an unprecedented amount of his set.
Following an exhilarating set from co-headliner DAVE, with surprise appearances from Central Cee and Kano, RAYE’s illuminating set was only let down by her iconic name sign breaking, her positivity clearly encouraging everyone to “pretend it’s shining”. Opening with ‘Escapism’, her vocalists, live band and on-stage orchestra spared no effort to transform Reading Festival into a RAYE concert. Sharing the same conversational interludes as sisters Absolutely and Amma, the crowd were soon practising their call and response (‘Beware… The South London Lover Boy’), learning about crescendos (‘Oscar Winning Tears’) and taking part in a “modern version of heads shoulders knees and toes” (‘Skin & Bones’).
A live debut of ‘The WhatsApp Shakespeare’ proved that even Grammy-nominated performers can be overly self-critical; “if it sucks I hold my hands up I’m sorry I’m just gonna try, and if it's really bad we’ll stop it and start it again”. Wanting to keep a celebratory tone, and perhaps aware of the attention spans that an audience of “only ten” over-thirty-year-olds shared, a shortened version of ‘I Know You’re Hurting’ lit up the field with sparkling flashlights; "Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?", she asked her bandmates. RAYE’s infamous rave section became ever more popular with the younger audience, whilst her support for her two sisters was clear when they joined her onstage in ‘Joy’, declaring Amma “ate down” before asking the question of the night with a climactic performance of 'WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!'.
Day Three
Contrary to the name, Reading Festival’s secret sets were only a surprise to a few. Announcing her set via a cryptic newsletter, and the night before at Electric Picnic, Lola Young performed a surprise set despite declaring she “really can’t keep a secret”. Her triumphant performance felt like a full-circle moment, a celebratory comeback after pulling out of the 2025 line-up. Closing a set that oozed with confidence and played up to the cameras, she invited the audience to sing along to her sensational hit ‘Messy’, as it soon became clear that her appearance would be the highlight for many.
Another artist whose lyrics left little need for the imagination was Chloe Qisha, who, surrounded by the sleek chandeliers of The Ballroom, boldly asked the crowd, “Is anyone horny?” Gifting a sneak peek of an unreleased track, ‘Question Of The Day’, one of ten coming out in October, her effortless vocals and charismatic stage presence were met by “the perfect crowd”. Role Model gave a tongue-in-cheek set: “I guess we’ll play Sally about 600 million more times”, with perhaps one flirty smile too many, but that went down a storm with adoring fans.
Under the dimming light of dusk, smoke floating across the stage, Florence + The Machine set the tone as co-headliner with a subdued, yet sparkling instrumental introduction that soon became a dramatic soundtrack to a coven of dancers. Acting as the last tour date of her 2026 tour, they opened with a dramatic rendition of ‘Everybody Scream’. With an era-spanning set, as Florence Welch floated down the walkway with a sweep of black lace, her ability to build a magical connection with even the largest of crowds was felt. “Know I am with you” rang out after conducting the audience in ‘Shake It Out’, a message echoed as she met fans at the barrier in ‘Sympathy Magic’. A new generation of Florence + The Machine fans were haphazardly thrown up on shoulders to be “offerings” for ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’, many ironically born the year of its release. The perfect artist to be playing amidst a storm, the lyrics of ‘One Of The Greats’ fell as heavy on the audience as the raindrops: “You'll bury me again, you'll say it's all pretend / That I could never be great being held up against such male tastes”. As the audience put their phones away, dancing to ‘Dog Days Are Over’ with undistracted abandon served as the perfect (almost) end to Reading Festival.
For those with eclectic tastes still braving the abrasive rain, the romance of the storm soon depleted without the soundtrack of Welch’s ethereal vocals; a clash of Chase & Status, Kneecap, and Paris Paloma caused difficult decisions. With other artists alluding to dark times and shouts of “Free Palestine”, Kneecap hid behind nothing as they projected “UK Government funding genocide” onto the screens (‘THE RECAP’). Another artist not a stranger to a politically fuelled speech was Paris Paloma, whose set followed perfectly in tone from Florence + The Machine. Yet, perhaps not being broadcast on the BBC allowed for an angrier edge. She shared her disgust for generative AI: “it makes us all sound the same and lose any individuality” (‘Miyazaki’), and the patriarchy: “why are you upholding a system that will betray you” (‘Good Boy’), as well as sharing a striking unreleased new track: “Take my first name out of your mouth”. Paloma closed out Reading Festival 2026 with “every single person singing every single word” to ‘labour’, a moment of catharsis and unifying anger felt across the tent.
This year saw a 50:50 gender split in headliners across the Bank Holiday weekend. With outcries about the patriarchy embedded in the music industry from artists performing across the festival, Reading 2027 has the opportunity to commit to showing them the fruits of their labour.
Maisy Neale