Reading/Leeds Festival Preview

The Reading/Leeds Festival takes place this August bank holiday weekend and Live4ever will be at the Leeds leg to report on all the highlights from what’s sure to be once again one of the biggest and best events in the musical calendar.

As ever, the festival boasts one of the most impressive list of headliners of any of the summer festivals, with three of the premier live acts in the world topping the bill over the course of the weekend.

On Friday, local heroes Arctic Monkeys will take to the stage for their only festival appearance of the summer. Along with popular hits from their first two albums ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ and ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ that have seen them become one of the biggest bands in Britain, fans will be eager to hear new material from their hotly anticipated new record ‘Humbug ‘, which is set to be released just a few days before their headline appearance.

Second on the Main Stage on Friday is The Prodigy, who’s highly charged dance-rock anthems are sure to be a huge hit with the crowd. Also appearing on the Main Stage will be Ian Brown, who will be hoping to bury the ghost of The Stone Roses‘ diasatorous headline appearence 1996. With the 20th anniversary of the group’s seminal debut album being celebrated this year, his supporters will be hoping to hear a few tunes from the classic album as well as tracks from his impressive solo back catalogue. Manchester band The Courteeners look set to debut new material alongside hits such as ‘Not Nineteen Forever’ and ‘What Took You So Long’ from their album ‘St. Jude’ which has acquired them a passionate following.

Over on the NME/Radio 1 Stage, American band Gossip top the bill, while Glasvegas and White Lies are among the other large draws who will be playing the stage on Friday.

Saturday will see veterans Radioheadbring a wealth of festival experience to the weekend. Their 1997 and 2003 Glastonbury headline appearences have become legendary, and the band’s first ever headline appearence at the festival is expected to be another special performance. With the news that the band have entered the studio to record new material, and with Thom Yorke already debuting a new song this summer, their loyal fans will be hoping to get a glimpse of new work as well as classic hits from the band’s long and varied career.

Bloc Party will be hoping to impress the Main Stage crowd when they support Radiohead on Saturday and Vampire Weekend will be looking to repeat their successes from last year which made them one of the hottest bands of the summer festival season. Scottish band The View’s catchy indie anthems are sure to go down well and Yeah Yeah Yeahs continue their run of festival appearences this summer which have all been met with widespread acclaim.

Welsh band Lostprophets top the Radio 1/NME Stage, which also sees other rockers such as AFI and Gallows appearing on a day which is sure to be a treat for fans of heavy rock.

Arguably, the best is saved to last as Sunday’s headliners Kings Of Leon crown the best 12 months of their career as they grace the festival which has seen some of their best live performances. Since their headlining appearence at Glastonbury last year, Kings of Leon have found even more success with new album ‘Only By The Night’ and their huge hit ‘Sex On Fire’ is sure to be one of the anthems of the weekend. After headlining spots at T In The Park and Oxegen this summer, Kings Of Leon have grown into their new found status and are sure to deliver one of their most memorable performances to date.

Hometown band the Kaiser Chiefs are guarenteed one of the best responses of the weekend and they’ll be hoping to put a tough few months for the band behind them with a memorable show. Legends Placebo are back with one of the strongest albums to date under their belt, and Deftones return to the festival for the first time since 2000.

Radio 1/NME stage headliners Faith No More will deliver a crowd pleasing, career-spanning set, while other highlights include recent Mercury Prize nominees Florence and The Machine and critically acclaimed Atlanta-based group Manchester Orchestra.

With so many great bands packed into the weekend the only conundrum is how we can manage to be in three places at once to make sure we catch all the acts we want to see…

31 bands just added to The BBC Introducing Stage line-up :

To The Bones
The Old Romantic Killer Band
Ellen and the Escapades
Frontiers
British Intelligence
Our Fold
Soft Toy Emergency
Screaming Lights
Everything Everything
Come on Gang
Kasms
Kutosis
The Ruling Class
What Makes You Beautiful
Goldheart Assembly
Minnaars
Bear Driver
Sixty Watt Bayonets
The Teeth
A Plastic Rose
Horse Guards Parade
Suprise…Fire
Punch & The Apostles
The NEAT
Boney Black
Lovvers
The Living Daylights
Wonderswan
Chickenhawk
Milk White White Teeth
Kinch

Main Stage

READING FRIDAY (AUGUST 28)/LEEDS SUNDAY (30)
Kings Of Leon
Kaiser Chiefs
Placebo
Fall Out Boy
Deftones
Funeral For A Friend
New Found Glory
Alexisonfire
Madina Lake
Sonic Boom Six

READING SATURDAY (29)/LEEDS FRIDAY (28)
Arctic Monkeys
The Prodigy
Maximo Park
Ian Brown
The Courteeners
Enter Shikari
Eagles Of Death Metal
The Rakes
Fightstar
El Bronx

READING SUNDAY (30)/ LEEDS SATURDAY (29)
Radiohead
Bloc Party
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Vampire Weekend
Brand New
The View
The Living End
Noah And The Whale
Kids In Glass Houses

NME/Radio 1 Stage

READING FRIDAY (AUGUST 28)/LEEDS SUNDAY (30)
Faith No More
Jamie T
Friendly Fires
Florence And The Machine
Jack Penate
The Horrors
Little Boots
The Airborne Toxic Event
The Virgins
Manchester Orchestra
Dananananaykroyd

READING SATURDAY (29)/ LEEDS FRIDAY (28)
Gossip
Glasvegas
White Lies
The Maccabees
You Me At Six
Patrick Wolf
Metric
Spinnerette
Delphic
Dinosaur Pile-Up

READING SUNDAY (30)/ LEEDS SATURDAY (29)
Lostprophets
AFI
Gallows
The Gaslight Anthem
Crystal Castles
Passion Pit
Metronomy
Frank Turner
Lethal Bizzle
In Case Of Fire
Broadway Calls

Lock-Up Stage

READING FRIDAY (AUGUST 28)/ LEEDS SUNDAY (30)
Billy Talent
Anti-Flag
Alexisonfire
Bouncing Souls
Leftover Crack
The Aggrolites
Streetlight Manifesto
Fake Problems
Riverboat Gamblers
The Flatliners
Ghost Of 1000
The Plight

READING SATURDAY (29)/ LEEDS FRIDAY (28)
Rise Against
Thursday
The Bronx
Mad Caddies
Rival Schools
Set Your Goals
Snuff
Municipal Waste
A Wilhelm Scream
Chuck Ragan
Polar Bear Club
The Computers

DANCE TENT: LEEDS SATURDAY (29)/ READING (30)
Deadmau5
Vitalic
MSTRKRFT
Chase And Status (DJ set)
Lady Sovereign
The Crystal Method
The Qemists
Das Pop (Reading only)
Mixhell (Leeds only)
Chipmunk
3 Oh! 3
Master Shortie
L’Amour La Morgue (DJ set)

Acts set to appear on the Festival Republic Stage (days and scheduling yet to be confirmed) this year are:
65daysofstatic
A Day To Remember
A Place To Bury Strangers
Amazing Baby
Atreyu
Baddies
Bear Hands
The Big Pink
The Blackout
Black Lips
Bombay Bicycle Club
Bring Me The Horizon
Broken Records
The Chapman Family
Detroit Social Club
Fight Like Apes
Go Audio
Golden Silvers
Grammatics
Hockey
The Hot Rats
Jack’s Mannequin
The Joy Formidable
La Roux
Lightspeed Champion
Magistrates
Marmaduke Duke
Marina And The Diamonds
Middle Class Rut
Middleman
Pulled Apart By Horses
The Rumble Strips
Skint And Demoralised
The Soft Pack
Soulsavers
Sweethead
The Temper Trap
The XX
Titus Andronicus
White Denim

For more info please visit the Leeds Festival Homepage

(Dave Smith)