Reading and Leeds are technically the same festival, held over the same three-day weekend, with all the same bands performing across seven different stages. What’s the difference, then? Just that one is held in Reading, England, and the other is in Leeds, England. Reading is the original leg of the two, and is in fact the world’s oldest popular music festival still in existence. Leeds was added as a second festival site as the result of Reading just being too damn popular to accommodate the growing population of music hungry attendees. The festival always takes place on a bank holiday, and this year that falls on August 24-26. What better way to spend a bank holiday than to blow all your cash at a music festival? Genius.
Music happens simultaneously at both sites with the bands playing the same stages on different days and time slots, so which one you pick doesn’t really matter, although Reading continues to be the more popular site. There is a history of bottling being a long-carried tradition at Reading (i.e., bands getting forced offstage from having bottles and cans chucked at their face), so here are some bands that we reckon are safe bets for being the best music to see live, and less likely to have any disgruntled bottle-hoarders expressing how they feel a band is not as worthy for the stage.
On the main stage will be the iconic The Cure, (shown above- Image by Andy Vella ) who surprisingly haven’t played the festival since 1979, along with newer acts Band of Skulls, The Black Keys, Florence and the Machine, and OFWGKTA, to name a few.
On the NME/Radio 1 Stage festival goers will a fantastically eclectic mix with likes of Passion Pit, At the Drive-In, SBTRKT, The Horrors, Justice, Mark Lanegan Band, The Joy Formidable, and Django Django.
The Dance Stage is much smaller, but much…dancier? It’s where you’ll find Metronomy, Grimes, and Azealia Banks.
The Festival Republic Stage looks like a sure bet, with some of the best new indie bands like Veronica Falls, Alt-J, JEFF the Brotherhood, FIDLAR, Theme Park, 2.54, and Iceage.
All tickets must be purchased in advance, as there will be no on-site box office. As far as Reading goes, the festival anticipates all remaining weekend tickets to be sold out by August 20th, so ain’t no time to delay if you want to be a part of this legendary festival experience. It seems that more tickets are left for Leeds, if that’s more your fancy. Follow the latest news and whatnot on the festival Facebook and Twitter.
