Reading & Leeds has added even more names to the Bank Holiday weekend mecca of music, with over 70 names announced today across 6 phenomenal stages.
Leading the additions is New York hip-hop royalty Nas, who’ll be bringing his untouchable catalogue of defining anthems to Reading & Leeds this summer in a UK Festival Exclusive. Responsible for one of the most acclaimed and influential albums of all time; Illmatic, his heavy-hitting rhymes have kept him at the top for over 25 years. His set on the BBC Radio 1/NME Stage this summer is sure to be a welcomed reminder as to why he remains a true pioneer of hip-hop.
After breaking the record for consecutive appearances at Reading & Leeds last year with his ninth straight set, festival hero Frank Turner is set to make it a decade of singalongs and heart-on-your-sleeve performances as he takes to the stage this summer. His catalogue of distinctively British anthems has seen the troubadour stand as a true Reading & Leeds icon. Celebrating his tenth appearance in a row, Frank will open the Main Stage with a truly unique set this summer.
Frank Turner commented:
“I'm very happy to be making my tenth annual return to Reading and Leeds Festival this summer. That's the record, by miles, and I'm proud of it. They've always been supportive of my career, loyal to me, and I'm more than happy to repay that in kind. It's the best festival in the UK.”
Revered grime kingpin Kano cemented his reputation with his comeback album Made In The Manor; a collection of his classic rhymes and British flow, which he’ll be bringing to an electric headline set on the BBC 1Xtra Stage this year. Reading & Leeds have a strong history of musical icons taking the stages by storm and this year is no exception. Pop-punk trailblazers Good Charlotte will be returning to headline the intimate Lock Up Stage with track after track of euphoric classics in another UK Festival Exclusive. Coheed And Cambria are set for a mammoth return to the festivals on the Main Stage whilst Mastodon bring their heavy tectonic rhythms to The Pit with a hugely anticipated headline performance.
On their return to Reading & Leeds, Good Charlotte said:
"For us there's no better way to celebrate the GC comeback than to come do it at Reading and Leeds. Everyone's favourite festival. It will be a highlight for sure.”
Bringing together genres, generations and game-changers across the site, Reading & Leeds is delighted to reveal more top-calibre names taking to the stage for true festival moments this summer.
BBC RADIO 1/NME STAGE
With huge headline performances set from the already announced Jack Ü, Two Door Cinema Club and The 1975, new additions today include another UK Festival Exclusive from Australian rock morphers Tonight Alive; fresh from releasing their soundscape-filled third LP Limitless earlier in the year. Further additions include Mancunion buzz-rockers Spring King, the swirling pop dreams of Sunset Sons, translucent movers Haelos and the roaring heavy punch of Black Foxxes, who are all set to make the BBC Radio 1/NME Stage a roaring coliseum of altering and exciting game-changing soundtracks.
Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive said of their UK Festival Exclusive performance:
"We're over the moon to be returning to our favourite rock festival this year! We're coming back for our second round of Reading and Leeds, introducing the 'Limitless’ era.”
Black Foxxes commented:
“Reading and Leeds were always big festivals for us and we can’t believe we’ve gone from opening the smallest tent to the second stage in a year! Words can’t describe how stoked we are!!”
Tarek Musa of Spring King said:
"We’re ready for another wild year at Reading and Leeds Festival! It’s gonna be immense to play alongside some of our favourite bands!"
Sunset Sons who’ll be returning this year, commented:
"Reading and Leeds was our first taste of an iconic UK festival. We will always love playing it and are stoked to be back this year!"
Haelos said:
"Reading and Leeds were the first festivals we all went to as teenagers... Feels good to be playing this year."
FESTIVAL REPUBLIC STAGE
Previously announced headliners Maximo Park will take to the Festival Republic Stage this year where they’ll be joined in topping the stage by Australian euphoric dreamers The Temper Trap who’ll be ushering in the next phase of their acclaimed career with third LP Thick As Thieves due to land this summer. Also headlining the stage is Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon who’ll be bringing his emotionally charged debut solo release Painkillers to the festivals, as an exciting new chapter for an American cult hero begins at Reading & Leeds. Sungazing, psychedelica, pin-up BØRNS will bring his Electro Love to Reading & Leeds this summer, whilst the hotly tipped Americana-soaked Clean Cut Kid will touch down for a hotly anticipated set. Heroes for the Leeds heavy scene will be aplenty with Eagulls and Pulled Apart by Horses destined to tear down the tent, with the enigmatic and unpredictable sound of Ezra Furman also set to bring his universally acclaimed catalogue of tracks to the Festival Republic Stage.
Reading & Leeds is once again leading the way in fresh new music and the headliners of tomorrow before anyone else, with further names announced for the Festival Republic Stage today including VANT, The Magic Gang, Blaenavon, The Hunna, LANY, The Sherlocks, Rationale, Beach Baby, Transviolet, Isaac Gracie, Lewis Del Mar, Otherkin, Anteros, The Beach, The Vyrll Society, Area 52 and Tibet.
Speaking about his headline slot, Brian Fallon said:
"Very excited and honoured to be apart of Reading and Leeds this year in celebration of my first solo album. See you all there! Stay in love with everything!”
Leeds locals Pulled Apart By Horses said:
"We're pretty god damn excited about coming back this year. We're geared up with new album material to play and can't think of a better place to road-test it than at Leeds and Reading Festival!"
Blaenavon are looking forward to the weekend, saying:
"Reading and Leeds were the festivals we grew up with. I remember seeing At The Drive-In in 2012 and having my face utterly melted. We've only played Leeds before, so we're very stoked to have a proper go at both this year - the Festival Republic tent is probably our favourite stage as well. We'll have some new music out too, so it'll be wicked to try it out in a proper, frenzied festival scenario: abject dirt."
Eagulls commented:
"Us Eagulls love fests and Reading and Leeds. To us, it’s got to be up there as one of the most important fests. "
Gus from The Magic Gang commented:
"We’re so excited to play Reading and Leeds Festival for the first time, we can’t wait.”
VANT said:
"We can't wait for Reading and Leeds Festival 2016. We all went as kids and dreamed of playing it one day. It's such an honour to be there again this year on a bigger stage. See you in the pit!"
Rising pop movers Transviolet said:
"This year's line up is insane! So unreal to be a part of this!"
The Sherlocks said:
"Big love for Reading and Leeds! We hope that the tents are pegged down properly because we are going to blow the roof off! We'd urge everyone to get down extra early, last year the tents were rammed, this year it is going to be absolute carnage!!! We'd hate for anyone to miss our set, it's going off!"
THE PIT/LOCK-UP STAGE
With an incredible array of names from across the rock world, The Pit/Lock-Up Stage is the go-to home of all things heavy. Alongside Good Charlotte returning for a incredibly special headline set and stone drivers Mastodon topping the bill, Californian rock pioneers Thrice will return with a hotly anticipated set filled with classics and fresh cuts alike. Hacktivist will be bringing an unparalleled live experience to the stage this summer, whilst the anthemic refrains of Nothing More and the grunge kicks of Milk Teeth are destined to steal the stage with some truly breathtaking performances.
In a seismic coming together of rock icons, supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra will make a landmark appearance at the festivals as members of Alice in Chains, Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, Dethklok and The Mars Volta combine for an unmissable performance. Further additions include the potent and brash rhymes of MGK, Heck, ROAM, Beach Slang, SWMRS, Superheaven, Big Spring and Waterparks as The Pit/Lock-Up Stage takes it to another level this summer.
Thrice drummer Riley Breckenridge said:
“It’s always an honor to be a part of a festival as steeped in tradition as Reading and Leeds. We’ve had some memorable shows in front of some incredible (and massive) crowds at both sites over the span of our career, and we can’t wait to get over there and do it all over again.”
Heck’s Matt Reynolds said:
"Reading and Leeds fest is like the holy grail of the festival circuit to us. It's a festival we've grown up going to every year and last time we played was probably one of our favourite shows to date. To be asked back to wreak our awful racket once again is an absolute honour."
Hacktivist co-frontman Ben Marvin commented:
"We're so hyped about playing again this year! It’s our third time playing but this time we have our debut album out so it's gonna be the most rowdy yet. See you in the pit."
Matt Roskilly of ROAM says:
"It really is a huge honour to be invited to play Reading and Leeds festivals this year. I've attended Reading festival for the last 5 years and it has always been mine and my friends favourite festival every time. Having the chance to play a stage, where over the years I have witnessed some of my favourite bands play is beyond exciting. This is a huge deal for me and the band, and is definitely one to cross off of the bucket list!"
Superheaven said:
"It's been a dream of ours to play this festival for some time now. It's exciting to get the opportunity to play."
Waterparks said:
“These festivals have been on my bucket list for years and it’s surreal that we actually get to be a part of it. See y’all there.”
BBC 1XTRA STAGE
Bringing together the hottest names from both sides of the atlantic, the BBC 1Xtra Stage is set for its biggest lineup to date, with Kano, Travi$ Scott and G-Eazy headlining across the weekend. New additions today include teenage slacker-rap sensation Yung Lean who has taken the world by storm with his unique flow and style, underground US wordsmith Hoodie Allen, the soulful tones of Maverick Sabre and the in-demand producer responsible for the most played and revered hip-hop tracks of recent times after working with Drake, Kanye West, Future and many more; Metro Boomin.
Recently named in Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’, the influential tales and torments of Little Simz will take to the BBC 1Xtra Stage stage, whilst the unmistakable rise of grime continues with Fekky, Geko and Manchester’s finest Bugzy Malone all dropping in across the weekend for quick-fire and relentless rhymes. Critically acclaimed US star Logic will be bringing his very own slant to proceedings alongside appearances over the weekend from K.Flay, Franko Fraize and Radio 1’s Clara Amfo; making it a huge hip-hop superstar take over on the BBC 1Xtra Stage at Reading & Leeds this year.
Franko Fraize said:
"Absolutely buzzin’ to be part of Reading and Leeds this year! I've always had a proper good do as a punter so I'm proper excited to be the other side now and be the one bringing the party!"
BBC RADIO 1 DANCE STAGE
Already soaked with unmistakable dance royalty, the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage will be full of electronic boundary-pushers throughout the weekend, with new additions today including PC Music titan SOPHIE; whose superactive original sound has seen PC Music rise from bedroom concern to global festival stages. Fellow PC Music stalwart Danny L Harle will also bring the tectonic beats this summer, with the deep blues and soul of Brighton’s Rag’n’Bone Man also destined to serenade the stage with his gritty blue-eyed charm. Dark bass honcho Friction will take to the decks over the bank holiday weekend, with further drum and bass takedowns set from Fred V & Grafix and Delta Heavy.
After recently supporting The 1975 on their world tour, the hotly tipped electro-soul soother The Japanese House will mesmerise Reading & Leeds with her emotional masterclass. The Girl Is Mine chart supremos 99 Souls are set to bring the sunshine across the weekend, with experimental-house heavyweight Redlight and neo-soul groovers Lion Babe bringing their own refreshing beats that are sure to get the masses moving at Reading & Leeds 2016. With further performances from Zac Samuel, Tkay Maidza, Hermitude, Lemaitre, Low Steppa, Draper and James Organ over the weekend, the electronic souls and sounds are set to ring out from the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage this year.
Chart supremos 99 Souls said:
"Can't wait to be back at Reading and Leeds... If you look at the vids on our social media, Reading was our craziest crowd of 2015... We're hoping to do an even bigger set and have an even bigger reaction this year!"
Draper says:
"Reading and Leeds is going to be awesome and an amazing opportunity to perform what I've been working so hard on! Can't wait!"
Redlight commented:
"Love playing at Reading and Leeds. Always a sick one. Can't wait to come and have a party..."
Lemaitre says:
"Excited to play our first festivals in the UK at these two legendary festivals alongside some of our favourite artists."
Rag’n’Bone Man commented:
"I'm really excited to play Reading and Leeds. I actually always wanted to go as a punter but never got the chance, now I get to go as a performer, it's gonna be a banger!"
On joining the line up Tkay Maidza said:
"Reading and Leeds is one of my bucket list festivals that I wanted to play before I had even released a song. It's also the first festival I'll play in the UK so I'm super excited!"
Friction says:
"Reading and Leeds! As well as historically being one of the greatest festivals on the planet, it has a vibe like no other. So pleased to be back again for this year!"
Low Steppa commented:
"Can't wait to take my sound to Reading and Leeds festival! Been looking forward to this for ages!”
Drum and bass titan Delta Heavy says:
"We're really looking forward to playing at Reading and Leeds for the first time this year. Having been to Reading many times over the years as punters it's exciting to be able to come back and play as artists on the Radio 1 Dance Stage."
With over 70 names added today, Reading & Leeds 2016 boasts the biggest names, sounds and festival moments for another unmissable year. With 5 Headliners Across 3 Days, over 28 UK + European Festival Exclusives and an untouchable blend of musical legends and future stars announced so far, Reading & Leeds has it all for the defining festival weekend.
Published on 21 April 2016 by Ben Robinson
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