Reading and Leeds Festivals line-ups

The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds, England. The events both happen on the bank holiday weekend in August (on Friday, Saturday, Sunday), and share the same bill (occasionally with one or two exceptions). The festival's origins date to the Beaulieu Jazz Festival (1956–1961) which became the National Jazz Festival in 1961 (The National Jazz and Blues Festival in 1963) and settled in Reading in 1971. In 1999 a second leg was added at Leeds.
The following is a list of acts that have played at the festival.
The third NJF Festival saw the first non-Jazz acts appear, notably the Rolling Stones and Long John Baldry on the Sunday afternoon. The Sunday afternoon session featured the final heats of the National Amateur Jazz Contest featuring twelve jazz bands chosen from semi-finals held across Britain.
The Festival expanded to three days with the addition of a rhythm & blues themed Friday evening session. The Sunday afternoon session featured the fourteen best jazz bands from a National Amateur Jazz Contest chosen from regional contests held nationwide.
The Festival moved to the larger Windsor Racecourse venue in 1966 after five years at Richmond Athletic Ground. Cream were billed as 'Eric Clapton – Jack Bruce – Ginger Baker' as the band were still unnamed when promotional posters & advertising were printed.
Pink Floyd pulled out on Saturday evening due to singer/guitarist Syd Barrett's health problems and were replaced by The Nice. The Nice also acted as backing band for P P Arnold. A second "Marquee" stage was added on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Four bands played sets each night, three of which also appeared on the main stage on the same day.
The 1970 Festival was a four-day event for the only time in its history, with a South of England Local Talent session in the main arena on the Thursday evening. A 'Village' stage was added on Saturday and Sunday running from later afternoon to mid-evening.
In 1971 the Festival moved to its permanent home at Little John's Farm on the south bank of the River Thames in Reading, a venue it has remained at ever since (with the exception of two years in the 1980s when the Festival was banned by the Conservative Party controlled Reading Borough Council).
Roy Buchanan and Bert Jansch were scheduled to appear, but they did not play.
Frankie Miller, Widowmaker, Racing Cars, Blue, Tiger, and Hand Reef all made appearances, but their place on the lineup is unclear.
Thin Lizzy were scheduled to headline on Saturday but cancelled. After the Fire and The Ramones were also scheduled to play but cancelled.
Angel City withdrew and were replaced by Grand Prix, Q-Tips also pulled out, being replaced by White Spirit. Gary Moore's G-Force were also originally scheduled to play but cancelled. Headboys (replaced by Quartz) and Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz (replaced by Slade) were also cancellations, while The Pencils pulled out at the last minute when all of their equipment was stolen the night before.
Thompson Twins, Midnight Oil, Outlaws, The Marshall Tucker Band and Alex Harvey Band were originally scheduled to play but cancelled. Stan Webb's Chicken Shack pulled out due to illness and were replaced at short notice by Atomic Rooster.
The 1984 Festival was cancelled when the Conservative Party took control of Reading Borough Council. The announced line-up was due to be:
No festival held this year
Soundgarden were due to play but cancelled when Chris Cornell was diagnosed with polyps on his vocal cords.
Despite being billed as headliners on the Friday night, Rage Against the Machine played their set before The Prodigy
Curve were due to play on the Melody Maker stage on the Sunday but were replaced by Theaudience at short notice.
Liberty 37 (unknown position)
Also included Big Leaves, Black Box Recorder, Cha Cha Cohen, Chicks, Cube, Cyclefly, Dark Star, Dawn of the Replicants, Experimental Pop Band, The Jellys, Jim's Super Stereo World, Linoleum, Llama Farmers, Medal, Mercedes, The Motorhomes, Muse, Peeps Into Fairyland, Quasi, Rico, The Rocking Horses, Rosita, Seafood, Silt, Sonia Fariq, Stroke, Venni, The Webb Brothers, Witness
Orgy were due to open the Main Stage Reading Sunday/Leeds Monday, but pulled out days before the event. Lit filled in their spot.
Rage Against the Machine played their last UK gig at Reading before their break-up. They played their last gig three weeks later. Originally booked play on the mainstage Eminem had to pull out a few weeks prior for legal reasons in America. Elastica pulled out of their Leeds appearance.
This was the year that the Concrete Jungle Stage made its debut. Weekend tickets cost £80, day tickets £35. The Strokes were moved from the Radio One stage to the Main Stage.
Guns N' Roses played only in Leeds as they had a prior touring commitment in London on the day of the Reading event. In Reading they were replaced by Raging Speedhorn who appeared much lower on the bill. A weekend ticket cost £90, a day ticket was £39. Reel Big Fish pulled out of Leeds for undisclosed reasons. Antipop Consortium cancelled their Dance Stage appearance after they disbanded earlier that month. Feeder were invited by Melvin Benn to headline the main stage on the first day at Reading and the second day at Leeds. They later turned this down, as they did not want to play such a high-profile slot so soon after the death of their drummer Jon Lee in January of that year. As a result, Feeder would instead headline the Radio 1 Evening Session Stage.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club played as a replacement for The White Stripes, who pulled out after Jack White was in a car crash with his then-girlfriend, Renée Zellweger. Although they played second on the Main Stage, it was billed as with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, reflecting their smaller status. Jay-Z also pulled out, with The Darkness moving further up the bill to replace him. The Libertines were without Pete Doherty, who was at that time estranged from the band; he also missed their 2004 appearance. Other drop outs included Courtney Love, Lostprophets and Godsmack. A weekend ticket cost £95, a day ticket £40.
On the Radio 1 Stage, the Super Furry Animals headlined on the Leeds Saturday, with Graham Coxon second. This order was reversed when the bands played the Reading Friday. New Found Glory pulled out a few weeks before the festival. A weekend ticket cost £105, a day ticket £45.
In 2005 My Chemical Romance played Reading and Leeds on the same day, in an alteration from the original schedule, due to the MTV Video Music Awards. The Transplants were originally booked to play the festivals but pulled out in mid-August due to illness. Jimmy Eat World also pulled out due to other commitments. Other drop outs included Willy Mason, Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy (also due to the VMAs). A weekend ticket cost £125, a day ticket £60.
Shortly after the first line-up announcement, Feeder and Yeah Yeah Yeahs switched days, meaning that Yeah Yeah Yeahs would play Reading on Friday and Leeds on Saturday, and that Feeder would play Reading on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday. Audioslave pulled out of their slot due to the band being busy recording new material, The Shins pulled out for undisclosed reasons, and From First to Last pulled out due to the then lead singer (Sonny Moore) needing throat surgery, Paramore had to pull out because their singer (Hayley Williams) had throat problems and were replaced by Sonic Boom Six lower in the bill. Story of the Year and Bleeding Through also pulled out for undisclosed reasons. Flogging Molly played twice at both festivals, once in the punk tent and once on the main stage. Tickets were £135 for a weekend ticket and £60 for a day ticket.
Kaiser Chiefs played a secret slot on the Carling Stage at the Leeds leg of the event under the pseudonym of 'Hooks for Hands'. Peeping Tom were due to perform on the dance stage, but pulled out. +44 also dropped out. A weekend ticket cost £145 (plus a maximum of £7 booking fee).
The line-up for the Reading and Leeds 2008 festivals was announced on 31 March 2008, and tickets were made available thereafter.
Comedy: Doug Stanhope, Tim Minchin, Brendon Burns, Jack Whitehall, Junior Simpson, Sarah Millican, Tom Stade, Hugh Lennon, MC Matt Read, MC Martin Bigpig, Steve Gribbin, Kevin Bridges, Holly Walsh, Stephen Grant, Markus Birdman, Stuckey & Murray, Jessica Delfino, Dan Nightingale, Gary Delaney, Mark Olver, Daniel Townes, MC Dave Twentyman, Joey Page, Doc Brown, Jamie Kilstein, Joe Bor, Tomb.
Spoken Word: Aidan Moffat, The PeteBox, Kae Tempest, Mik Artistik, John Berkavitch
Debate: ID Instigate Debate
Late Night Entertainment: Smash N' Grab, Swap-A-Rama, Transgressive Records
Film: Le Donk screening plus Q&A session with Mark Herbert and special guests from the film, 3D Night Of The Living Dead, This Is Spinal Tap, Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
The line-up for the Reading and Leeds 2010 festivals was announced on 29 March 2010, and tickets were made available thereafter.
The line-up for the Reading and Leeds 2011 festivals was announced on 21 March 2011, and tickets were made available thereafter.
Weekend tickets cost £192.50 before booking fees. Pulp headlined over The Strokes at the Leeds Festival. Mouthwash pulled out due to the split up of the band, they were replaced by Fighting Fiction. The Twilight Singers pulled out and were replaced by Young Legionnaire. OFWGKTA pulled out of the Leeds Festival due to the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, but still performed at the Reading Festival. Jane's Addiction were due to headline the NME/Radio 1 Stage but cancelled both their appearances at the last minute – after arriving at the Reading site – due to frontman Perry Farrell falling ill. Rise Against played a secret acoustic set on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading after their mainstage slot.
The initial line-up announcements for the festivals were made on 12 March 2012 – with the tickets made available for purchase shortly afterwards.
Tyler, the Creator had originally been booked to play on the NME Stage, but was forced to cancel these shows after being refused entry into the United Kingdom. Modern Baseball had planned to play the Lock Up Stage, but withdrew the week before the festival due to the lead singer's decision to focus on tackling his depression. Mastodon had originally been booked to headline the Pit stage, but pulled out when they cancelled their European tour, citing a 'personal family matter.' It was later revealed that this was due to bassist Troy Sanders' wife being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Parkway Drive had pulled out of Leeds due to 'family issues', this meant that Skindred played for a full hour while a new band called Judas played the rest of the time slot. A$AP Rocky pulled out of Leeds festival at the last possible moment due to travel problems. He was however capable to perform at Reading. Fetty Wap was due to play on the NME stage, but had to pull out from doctors orders due to a severe ear infection. HAIM were supposed to play on the NME stage but cancelled their European tour to focus on finishing their second album. G-Eazy who was one of the headliners for the Radio 1Xtra stage pulled out of the festival for unforeseen circumstances, and was replaced by Wiley. Travis Scott was also a headliner for the Radio 1Xtra stage, cancelled all remaining UK tour shows also due to unforeseen circumstances, he was replaced by Stormzy. Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots was pulled down into the crowd during their performance of "Car Radio", at Reading 2016 and their set was cut short.
The band PWR BTTM were lined-up to perform on The Lock Up stage, but after allegations went viral that band member Ben Hopkins had initiated sexual abuse, the festival pulled them from the line up. Several artists dropped out of Reading & Leeds for currently unknown reasons, this included Bishop Briggs, Katy B, A2 and K.I.D. On the first day of the festival, Royal Republic, who were the opening act on the main stage for Friday at Leeds, cancelled for personal reasons, they were replaced by the Xcerts. Don Broco performed on The Lock Up stage under the name 'The Prettyboys' as a secret set. Queens of the Stone Age and Wolf Alice also had secret sets at the festival.
Skepta was billed to headline the Radio 1 tent on Sunday but was removed from the lineup, with "logistical issues" being cited as the reason. He was not replaced, but Diplo was bumped up to headline rather than sub the stage. Other notable removals were Ski Mask The Slump God who pulled out due to touring commitments and was replaced by Bhad Bhabie and Brunswick who was also due to play the Dance Stage but was replaced by Madam X, Skinny Girl Diet were due to open the Radio 1 Stage on Sunday but were replaced by Twisted Wheel, Famous Dex was to play the Radio 1 Stage on Sunday but pulled out and Playboi Carti cancelled not long before the festival for personal reasons. He was due to perform on the Radio 1 Stage.
English indie rock band Blaenavon was to be a headlining act on the Festival Republic Stage, but on 20 June pulled out due to 'on-going health issues'. Crystal Fighters was announced as their replacement. G Flip, who was also due to perform on the Festival Republic Stage, also pulled out of the festivals for unknown reasons. UK drill rapper Loski has also been removed from the line-up. This may be because the rapper was arrested for being in possession with a firearm. Fellow UK drill rapper Unknown T was also removed after he was charged with murder and violent disorder after allegedly stabbing 20-year-old Steven Narvaez-Jara during a party. Geko was also supposed to perform on Radio 1Xtra Stage. It is unknown why he was removed. Brunswick who was also due to play on the Radio 1 Stage last year, was pulled from the line up again this year for unknown reasons. Two days before his performance at Leeds, Lil Uzi Vert pulled out of the festival for 'unforeseen circumstances'. Acts were pushed up, Yungblud and Mayday Parade swapped places, and SWMRS was upgraded from Festival Republic to the Main Stage. Comethazine and Masicka were replaced by DJ Grevious and M Huncho. King Princess was due to perform on the NME Stage, but had to pull out due to illness. Aitch was moved from the Radio 1Xtra tent, and took their slot. Drenge performed a secret slot on the BBC Introducing stage, Enter Shikari performed a secret acoustic slot on the same stage. This was the band's third set through the festival.
Juice Wrld was scheduled to perform at Reading on the Friday of the festival but a minute before his scheduled appearance, the crew announced that he had been cancelled due to "flight issues".
Blade Brown wasn't able to perform at Reading due to being stuck in traffic.
The 2020 Festival was cancelled for health concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announced line-up was due to be:
The 2022 Festival is due to be held on 26–28 August 2022. As of 21 August 2022, the announced line-up consists of the following.
The 2023 Festival is due to be held on 25–27 August 2023. As of 21 August 2023, the announced line-up consists of the following