This year is already shaping up to be an insane bank holiday weekend with an incredible line up (full line up can be found here with more to be announced soon!) and new campsites! This year has introduced new campsites on top of The fields (main) and quiet camps; Meadow (eco), Garden (calm), The Valley (solo camping), Glitterball Grove (community camp) and Pink Moon Boutique Village (pre-pitched tents) so you can choose which is best suited for you via their guide here. They have also confirmed that there will be proper toilets in every camp, more showers and GRWM stations as well as more activities (workshops, pop-ups, clothes swaps, wellness sessions) onsite this year.
Now on to the line up! This year’s line up caters for all, from the pop princesses to the heavy music enthusiasts to the hip-hop enjoyers! So here is a breakdown of some artists you may see dependent on your music taste!
Pop
Photo Credits: Lucienne Nghiem, Lily West, Dillon Matthew, Tallulah Shepheard
Starting off strong in the Pop category with Chappell Roan, who as everyone knows is ‘your favourite artist’s favourite artist’ and will have everyone singing along! She is sure to amass a large crowd to dance along to Hot to Go with her! But if that’s not quite your thing, you can join Lola Young to sing your heart out and bop along to her highly relatable songs like ‘Messy’. Conan Gray is there to fulfil your needs if you need a second to cry along to ‘Family Line’ before carrying on boogying to ‘Never Ending Song’. You can catch Nieve Ella‘s set and scream along to ‘Ganni Top’ or catch Alessi Rose‘s set to sing along to ‘eat me alive’ or maybe even a cover of ‘What You Waiting For?’ by Gwen Stefani like she has been on tour!
Indie Pop
Photo credit: Nick Davarias, K Gilfillan
For Pale Waves‘ set, you can expect a mixture of slow indie pop ballads and more upbeat songs with indie rock riffs, either way you’ll be in for a good time and will be swaying along by the end of their set. But if you are looking for a more nostalgic vibe, Del Water Gap is the artist for you! His upbeat melodic tunes are full of introspection and make for a wonderful set to listen to. Now you’ve probably heard of Royel Otis from their viral covers of ‘Linger’ and ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ but those are not their only hits! This Australian duo have a broad catalogue of catchy hits and are bound to bring that summery festival vibe to the UK this August.
I recommend ‘Jealousy’ by Pale Waves, ‘Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat’ by Del Water Gap and ‘Sofa King’ by Royel Otis and if you don’t already know these, it’s time to start learning the lyrics before August!
Electropop
Photo credit: Gracie Hall, David Apatino, Pierre Tissot
If you’re not quite ready to leave Brat Summer behind yet, you can keep the party going with The Dare and his insanely well-produced and curated dj sets with live vocals. If you prefer a more emo electropop approach you can hear AViVA and her song ‘Queen of the Freaks’ all the way from Australia! For a more grungy industrial sound, check out Heartworms who also has an upbeat set prepared, combining post-punk, gothic rock and electronic dance music together.
Alternative Rock
Photo credit: Tallulah Shepheard, K Gilfillan, Nic Howells
If alternative rock is more up your lane, I highly recommend Voilà with their catchy beats and incredible lyricism, go check out ‘Drinking With Cupid’ now! South Arcade are going to bring the heat with their catchy beats, heavy riffs and integrated sound effects in ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ while Mouth Culture are sure to get the energy up with ‘Ratbag’. Luvcat will put on a show with her romantic rock ballads like ‘Matador’ while Wallows brings that summer feel with their unique sound and heartfelt lyrics like in ‘Calling After Me’. Or if you’re looking for an artist with incredible stage presence who puts on an insane storytelling spectacle while playing multiple instruments, you can check out Sofia Isella and her song ‘Crowd Caffeine’. Hozier is sure to have the whole crowd singing along to ‘Take Me to Church’ while worshipping his multi-instrumental talents. Enter Shikari will be putting on a politically-charged genre-blending show with a crazy rave-like light show for those that want their feelings to be heard, theme-tuned by good music with heavy basslines.
Punk Rock
Photo credit: Nic Howells, Magda Campagne, Nick Davarias
If punk rock is more up your alley, you can find a group of like-minded individuals at politically-charged sets like Soft Play, Amyl and the Sniffers, Lambrini Girls and Snayx. Let your frustrations about the system out to a funky beat and join in the mosh pits to let off some steam and forget about the current political climate for a little while. If you are unfamiliar with these bands I recommend checking out ‘Punk’s Dead’ by Soft Play, ‘ Tiny Bikini’ by Amyl and the Sniffers, Lambrini Girl’s ‘Cuntology 101’ and Snayx’s ‘Sink or Swim’.
Metal
Photo Credit: Nick Davarias
If Metal is more your niche, you can find the mosh pits over at Bring Me The Horizon and Limp Bizkit‘s sets which are sure to amass big crowds and swirling chaos in the pit! You can join everyone to headbang and 2-step along to fan favourites ‘Break Stuff’ and ‘Rollin” during Limp Bizkit’s set before Bring Me The Horizon’s headline set. There will be pyro and one hell of a light show to accompany Oli Sykes’ roars and screams. Be sure to go and sing your hearts out to ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ with other Bring Me The Horizon fans for a cathartic moment! If you’re looking for something more unique, you can catch Bilmuri who combine post-hardcore with ‘country metal’ as well as pop, punk, jazz and electronic influences for a standout set with their high energy performance and distinctive sound that’s unlike any other band.
Hip-Hop/ Rap
Photo credit: Henry Hwu, Justine Trickett, Niclas Glasberg
If punchy lyrics and heavy beats are more to your liking, you’ll find those over at Travis Scott, AJ Tracey and Trippie Redd‘s sets. You can expect catchy rhymes and incredible light shows during Travis Scott’s sets and who knows, there may even be some surprise guest appearances and fireworks! AJ Tracey is returning ‘live and direct’ to Reading & Leeds this year after his appearance in 2019 and cancelled sets in 2021. He has become a British festival staple amassing a huge following of loyal fans at his performances and is sure to get the weekend started in Reading. For Trippie Redd, you can expect a slightly more chill atmosphere and maybe even some tracks from his collaborative EP ‘genre: sadboy’ with MGK
Who are you most looking forward to seeing this year?