FEATURE:
A Balanced (and Extraordinary) Bill
IN THIS PHOTO: RAYE is one of the headline acts for this year’s Reading & Leeds festivals
Reacting to the Reading & Leeds Line-Ups
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THE smaller festivals…
around the world are quite good when it comes to a balanced bill. I am not sure why a lot of the major ones struggle when it comes to gender and fair representation. Female artists are dominating music and there are ample choices. However, every year sees our biggest festivals struggling to balance things. Glastonbury last year created evenness through the bill, though the headliners on the Pyramid Stage were once again male-heavy. I do hope that, when it is on in 2027, that more women headline. There are plenty of options! I have been hard on Reading & Leeds before because they have been very male-heavy when it comes to their line-up. Look at their headliners from throughout the years, and it is enormously male-dominated. Getting this reputation as not recognising women and sticking rigidly with Rock and Alternative acts, they have been in hot water because of unwise comments when it comes to gender imbalance. However, the headliners this year are both fantastic and there is a balance: Charli XCX, Dave, RAYE, Chase & Status, Florence and The Machine, and Fontaines D.C. RAYE has just released one of the best albums of the year with This Music May Contain Hope. Charli xcx should have headlined Glastonbury last year, so this is an overdue chance for her to mount her music on a major stage. Songs from her “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack coming to life. Florence + The Machine released Everybody Scream last year. One of the best of 2025. I think they are the most exciting acts headlining. Dave is sensational and will be great, though I do wonder about the age thing. I mentioned this when highlighting how Glastonbury book male artists over forty as headliners but not women (though Florence + The Machine’s Florence Welch turns forty on 28th August - pretty much half-way through the festivals’ run) . Maybe wanting to keep the headliners younger, there are iconic and legendary artists who you would love to see headline. Even so, it is a big step forward for Reading & Leeds.
This article reacted to the recent wave of new names added to the Reading & Leeds billed. There are even more names to come. Pleasingly addressing previous gender inequality whilst keeping things pure but also eclectic in terms of genres, it does bode well for the future. I am genuinely concerned about some major festivals when it comes to headliners and that reliance of male artists. Let’s hope that Reading & Leeds keep up this evolution and next year sees some incredible queens headline. There are brilliant artists like Slayyyter delivering spectacular albums that warrant a headline outing. The fact the headlining women are British too. There will be a lot of support for Charli xcx, RAYE and Florence + The Machine:
“Reading & Leeds has dropped a hefty second wave of names for its 2026 edition, adding more than 60 artists to an already stacked line-up topped by Charli xcx, Chase & Status, Dave, Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C. and RAYE.
Leading the new additions are Gunna and Loyle Carner – both set for Reading only – alongside Declan McKenna, Maisie Peters and James Marriott. Elsewhere, indie and alt-pop are well represented with Men I Trust and Viagra Boys (both Reading only), Arthur Hill, The Lathums (Leeds only), Holly Humberstone, Julia Wolf and Clara La San joining the bill, while Paris Paloma, Kingfishr, Slayyyter and The K’s (Leeds only) round out a broad sweep of rising and established names.
The festival has also confirmed the debut of a new arena for 2026 – The Warehouse – a purpose-built space dedicated to dance music. Promising a full club experience, the stage will pair high-spec sound with immersive lighting, signalling a clear push into late-night territory. Among those set to take it over are Max Dean b2b Luke Dean (Reading only), Hybrid Minds and a pair of Skepta link-ups – with Prospa in Reading and East End Dubs in Leeds. The line-up leans heavily into underground and crossover club sounds, with sets from Rossi., Mall Grab, Omar+, Hedex, Silva Bumpa and Notion, alongside appearances from Bou (Reading only), Luuk Van Dijk (Reading only) and a Joss Dean b2b Nafe Smallz set at Reading. Leeds exclusives include Alisha, Locky, [IVY] and Jack Marlow, while Hamdi, Riordan, IN PARALLEL and Meeshy are among those playing both sites.
Beyond the headline-grabbing additions, the latest drop digs deep into emerging talent across genres. YT, Niko B and Bassvictim join the weekend’s line-up, alongside bar italia, SPEED and Frost Children (Reading only). Clementine Douglas, Jane Remover (Reading only) and dexter in the newsagent add further depth, with Cardinals, Westside Cowboy and Say Now also confirmed. New names continue across both sites, including The Lilacs (Leeds only), Overpass, Radio Free Alice (Reading only) and Gurriers (Leeds only), while Seb Lowe, Chloe Qisha and Fliss are among the Reading exclusives.
The bill stretches into a new generation of acts too, with Cruz Beckham and The Breakers, Violet Grohl and The Guest List appearing alongside a raft of buzzy newcomers including Mulaa Joans, Amma, Day We Ran and People I’ve Met. Elsewhere, artists such as Ruby Roberts, Raynor, Pozzy and she’s green underline the festival’s continued focus on discovery.
Set to take place across the August Bank Holiday weekend, Reading & Leeds 2026 is shaping up to be one of the festival’s most expansive editions yet – balancing chart-topping headliners with club culture incursions and a deep bench of next-wave talent”.
It is not only that Reading & Leeds have addressed the male-skewed headline acts and in the process broadened the sound and feel. That will appeal to a wider sector of festival-goers. The entire line-up is a lot more ambitious and eclectic. I think there are purists who turned their nose up at how the festivals are moving away a bit from guitar-based music. Or that older image where a lot of the artists were Alternative, Indie or Rock. Even if Glastonbury is still the biggest British festival, I sort of feel Reading & Leeds have taken bigger steps and done something that Glastonbury did not do last year. That relates to ensuring that their biggest slots represent the amazing women who are contributing so much to music. There is always that issue that a festival may lapse and go back to the older ways. However, you do feel that Reading & Leeds have this new commitment and ethos – and it is great to see! I love the artists that they have announced so far. From Violet Grohl to Men I Trust, Maisie Peters and Loyle Carner. Those incredible and diverse headlines. Chase & Status alongside RAYE. I think that RAYE’s headline slot may be one of the best and most extraordinary the festival have seen. I see Slayyyter is on the bill, yet I feel next year could be one where she headlines. We have artists playing festivals for the first time. Absolutely and Cruz Beckham will play. There is very much something for everyone! With Glastonbury on a fallow year, there is that void and demand that I feel Reading & Leeds have covered! I feel it is one of their best lines-up ever. Some future stars and modern greats standing alongside one another. Their bills are quite diverse and always interesting, yet that male-dominated headline trait and bias was worrying and rightly received criticism. Now that this has been addressed – and let’s hope it is now the norm! -, it really is…
SUCH a relief!