Sunday has some chilled vibes punctuated by a lot of drum and bass and rap. Plenty of good music but if you are looking for guitars, you will have to move around to find them.
The Grid
10:05 to 11:25pm – Chase and Status: Saul Milton and Will Kennard are absolute legends of the drum and bass genre. No More Idols is fifteen years old, but the duo have lost none of their bite. A new album should hit before the end of the year, new singles ‘Disgruntled’ and ‘Homework’ will go down nicely alongside all the classics. Expect at least one high profile special guest. The only issue is Chase and Status against Kneecap is a horrible, horrible clash – the worst of the festival. Kneecap are so great live it is going to be hard to consider not going to see them.
7:55 to 9:10pm – Florence + The Machine: Florence Welch is beyond a legend – a national treasure, an icon. This is most definitely the unmissable set of the day. This is the band’s first appearance at the festival since 2012. On the back of the brilliant album Everybody Scream they are at the top of their game. ‘Dog Days Are Over’ will be an iconic Reading 2026 festival moment.
6:00 to 7:00pm – Role Model: We are surely approaching the end times caused by global climate collapse, as country music is somehow cool again. Country music is not cool, as all Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans know, it is the music of pain. Role Model is not straight up country, but his guitar-pop has a heavy country edge to it. It is enjoyable in a disposable sort of way.
4:30 to 5:30pm – Loyle Carner: If all the bitches and n****s of some rap artists leave you cold, here is one of the great antidotes. Carner is thoughtful, intricate, absolutely one of the best in the rap game. Last years album Hopefully was a beautiful addition to his canon. A true British star.
3:15 to 4:00pm – Special Guest: Well, we know Royal Blood are doing a secret set but that seems to be on Friday, leaving this one wide open. Possibly someone who would guest with Chase And Status later on like Tom Grennan, Becky Hill or Stormzy? Our other wildly inaccurate guesses are: 1) Annual Foo Fighters Secret Set rumours might have more credence as Violet Grohl is playing 2) Lewis Capaldi – he owes the festival a set 3) Lola Young – She owes the festival a set. 4) Biffy Clyro 5) Esdeekid
1:55 to 2:35pm – Arthur Hill: If you want a fun afternoon set then this is where you want to be. Uptempo guitar music with a sunshine vibe.
12:35 to 1:20pm – 54 Ultra: One of the more intriguing bookings this year. A singer, songwriter and producer from New Jersey. Comes across like a time refugee from the 1970s. Has a good voice though and was the singer on the massive ANOTR hit ‘Talk To You.’
The Gallery
10:05 to 11:15pm – Kneecap: This Irish rap-group are utterly phenomenal. They have bought down the wrath of the establishment over the last year, due to their unwavering support of Palestinians and underdogs the world over. They have survived the onslaught and come out the other side, it did make for a slightly more mature, battle hardened second album, compared to their sillier, more flippant earlier work. Despite really wanting to see Chase And Status and Paris Paloma we will probably end up here and IT WILL BE WILD.
7:50 to 9:15pm – KETTAMA: Evan Campbell is an Irish electronic music producer and DJ. His style incorporates house, techno, trance and electronic influences.
5:50 to 7:05pm – Chris Stassy: Dutch producer and DJ,various styles of house music.
4:15 to 5:15pm – Men I Trust: A Canadian indie band that has been around for twelve years. Released their sixth album last year. Indie-pop/dream-pop vibes, very laid back.
2:45 to 3:25pm – Julia Wolf: Talented American singer mixing alt-rock with indie-pop.
1:40 to 2:20pm – Holly Humberstone: An unfortunate clash with Westside Cowboy, as we absolutely love Holly, but will probably have to pass on this set. She is a great live performer and her second album, out this year, had some fantastic tracks on it. A mix of indie-pop and a bit of synth-pop.
12:50 to 1:20pm – After: An American duo describing themselves as “trip pop.” A mix of trip-hop and various styles of pop music. Pleasant, inoffensive music with a late nineties/early noughties feel.
12:00 to 12:30pm – Mulaa Joans: Singer-songwriter who started off by posting covers on Tik-Tok. Soulful pop and a great voice. One to keep an eye on.
The Ballroom
9:50 to 10:50pm – Paris Paloma: A great talent, and a fiercely feminist singer-songwriter. Debut album Cacophony was full of brilliant songs and her second album is out on the 4th of September. Could end up being one of the most important artists of her generation.
7:30 to 8:30pm – Wisp: American artist with an alt-rock/shoegaze style. If you like Deftones and mid-nineties alt-rock you might just be in heaven here. We want to go but can we really miss the start of Florence + The Machine?
5:50 to 6:50pm – Whatmore: From New York USA. A mix of proper hip-hop with some sunshine indie-pop and skate-punk. We need to have a proper listen as a surface skim is fascinating.
4:05 to 4:55pm – Chloe Qisha: Malaysian alt-pop singer who moved to the UK aged sixteen. Fans of Holly Humberstone and Olivia Rodrigo will feel right at home.
2:45 to 3:20pm – Dexter In The Newsagent: South London R&B singer Charmaine Ayoku goes by the handle Dexter In The Newsagent and featured on Jim Legxacy’s last album. Pleasant, soulful music.
1:45 to 2:25pm – Westside Cowboy: Riding high right now on a wave of BBC Radio playlists, festival appearances and a fantastic debut album. Quite simply one of the most exciting young indie bands in the country and an essential watch at Reading Festival 2026.
12:50 to 1:20pm – Betty: Indie-pop singer-songwriter with a hint of Lily Allen about her. Not to be confused with several American groups of the same name.
The Canopy
6:15 to 7:00pm – F3MIII: Irish singer-songwriter and producer mixing alternative R & B with electronic music . The name is pronounced Femi. With 15 million monthly listener’s on Spotify he probably shouldn’t be on The Canopy. Fans of The Weeknd will enjoy this.
5:00 to 5:45pm – Violet Grohl: Yes, she might be the daughter of Dave Grohl, she might of had a great team of people around her, but her recent debut album was seriously impressive stuff. Dad’s alt-rock playlists growing up clearly rubbed off on her and we are very much looking forward to this one. She is also playing a sneaky set at The Barfly in Camden next Tuesday that ought to be great fun.
4:00 to 4:30pm – Kilu: Mentions Radiohead, Fontaines and Foo Fighters as influences. Knows how to construct a song with a deep emotional core. Worth checking out.
3:00 to 3:30 – Untitled: Alt-rock band from Los Angeles. Fans of Nirvana will enjoy it.
2:00 to 2:30 – December 10: A seven piece boy-band put together by Simon Cowell for a Netflix series. With a number of instrument players amongst them they are like a slightly more boy-bandy Only The Poets. Nowhere near as bad as I was anticipating.
1:20 to 1:40pm – Raynor: Played The Facebar supporting Master Peace in June, but we got there late and only caught the last track. Extremely talented 19 year old from Peterborough. If you like a proper guitar band then this one not to miss on Sunday.
12:40 to 1:00pm – she’s green: An American dream-pop/shoegaze/indie-rock band from Minneapolis, formed in 2022. Doing a small UK tour around the Reading and Leeds dates.
12:00 to 12:20pm – Alex Spencer: At 19 years of age Alex Spencer is one the great new hopes for proper indie music. From Manchester, already a great performer. ‘Nightmares’ was on the EA Sports FC25 soundtrack.
The Bus
6:15 to 7:00pm – Kwazi: Decent rapper from Bristol.
5:30 to 6:15pm Nori: Another very talented rapper, this time from St Albans. Makes “video-game grime.” A bouncy, beep take on grime music.
4:30 to 5:00pm – Precious Pepala: Alt-pop with a bit of soul and gospel from this Sheffield based artist.
3:30 to 4:00pm – Frey
3:00 to 3:30pm – Eva: Haven’t been able to determine which artist called Eva this is.
2:00 to 3:00pm Original Sin: Quality British drum and bass producer.
1:00 to 1:30pm – $ebbuku: Rapper and producer from Norwich.
12:00 to 12:30 – Anjeli: British R & B musician.
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