Christmas comes early with a stacked talent line-up for the 2026 edition!! Includes day split information.
After the Radio One reveals of the last few years it was all change this year. Florence + The Machine, Chase and Status and Fontaines DC were all asked to announce their attendance through Instagram in a drip feed that had punters wondering if the whole first lineup was coming out that way. Instead, a line-up poster was dropped early Monday morning, with six headliners, a couple of special guests and a few elements of mystery yet to be revealed. With only 18 names it is down on the info-dump of 60 that we had this time last year, but the 2026 edition is off to a flying start.
Having been heavily linked to headlining last year, until Glastonbury got there first, it is unsurprising to see Charli XCX at the top of the bill. She has a strong history with the festival with four previous appearances.
We had thought Dave a very likely candidate for headlining next year right until he announced a massive concert series for March. Last year Reading and Leeds headliners were locked up in tight contracts so we didn’t expect it would be possible for him to appear. Clearly the contracts didn’t have the desired effect – despite the exclusives only one day of the three was fully sold out.
This year all six headliners are described as being on UK Festival Exclusive contracts, so all are free to do their own events should they wish to. Florence + The Machine also have a big tour in February.
The final headliner is Raye, fresh off the back of a very successful appearance at Reading and Leeds in 2024. Her megastar wattage has only increased in the time since. Fontaines D.C. also appeared that year. Florence Welch hasn’t been at the festivals since her triumphant sub-headline set in 2012.
There are two special guests. Skepta is enjoying a fantastic year with all the big hitters in the UK rap and dance world giving him their due. When Sammy Virji got him out during his set on the Chevron Stage at this year’s festival, the place went wild.
Sombr is an undoubted talent. Only 20 years old he has already had 3 top 10 UK singles. ‘Back To Friends’ and Undressed’ have been a large part of the musical background this year. His music is earnest and richly textured.
We are delighted to see Kneecap back, another wonderful highlight of the 2024 Festival. Controversy has followed them since then, but they have stuck to their simple and clear message and much of the rage in their direction has felt horribly manufactured and unnecessary. It would all be a side-show if their music wasn’t utterly fantastic.
Geese are having a huge year, it will be wonderful to check out these new kings of indie that we have not yet had the opportunity to see. Their September album ‘Getting Killed’ is a wonderful piece of work that we didn’t quite find time to cover. It will feature in our top 50 albums of the year.
Keo continue their rapid ascent, only on the BBC Introducing Stage this year, but one of everybody’s top tips for 2026. They plough a similar furrow to Wunderhorse with their mix of grunge and Radiohead type influences.
Leeds Festival get a major one-over on Reading this year with Kasabian appearing as Thursday headliners there. Sadly, the Reading license doesn’t permit live music on the Thursday night, so we are all stuck with the silent disco.
Some big puzzles remain. To start with, Bloc Party were the first in a new ‘Icons’ slot last year. Who will fill that hole in 2026? Secondly, the poster has one hidden name on it. Clearly this is someone who will announce soon but for some contractual reason is unable to this week. The last mystery concerns the brilliant Declan Mckenna whose name appeared on a line-up poster briefly put onto Kasabian’s Instagram when they announced themselves, but was quickly removed. Is it a secret? Has he had to change his plans already? Is his the currently covered name? We shall see.
Day splits at Reading:
Friday: Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., Skepta, Josh Baker, Geese, Skye Newman, Keo.
Saturday: Dave, Raye, sombr, Jade, Adéla.
Sunday: Chase and Status, Florence + The Machine, Role Model, Kneecap, Kettama, Chris Stussy.
With 5 of the 6 artists being British and the last being Irish this feels like a major celebration of the current music scene in Britain and Ireland. This is the first time in a while we would very happily sit through every headline name announced and absolutely enjoy ourselves. Roll on the next announcement!
Tickets at: http://www.readingfestival.com and http://www.leedsfestival.com
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