Reading and Leeds Festival drop a whopping 81 more names

An already massive line-up has swelled almost exponentially overnight, as Reading and Leeds drop a whopping 81 more names to play the coveted highlight of the August bank holiday weekend.

First, we had the (even for Reading and Leeds) particularly ridiculous set of headliners — Imagine Dragons, Billie Eilish and The Killers from America, and Sam Fender, Lewis Capaldi and Foals from closer to home — as well as a stellar supporting cast, featuring the likes of Mercury-nominated Loyle Carner, Grammy-and-Brit-award winning Wet Leg, a host of the be-all-and-end-alls of British rock music — You Me At Six, Nothing But Thieves, Don Broco, The Snuts — and just a veritable treasure trove of talent for all genres and tastes, from Becky Hill and Chase Atlantic to Yung Lean and Baby Queen.

But that was barely scratching the surface for the lineup — even the drop today promises yet more to come. Yet, even as your eyes notice that there’s likely a few more bands to be added to the poster, you can’t help but be amazed at what’s just been added as the lineup almost tripled in size. From punk-rock heroes and anonymous, masked metallers (Worship.) to melodic singer songwriters, post-punk prodigies and some just incredible indie rock outfits, there’s a bit of everything — but let’s go through a handful of the highlights, shall we? (Ordered by Reading day, sorry Leeds!)

Friday: we’re talking the likes of Palaye Royale, Yonaka, Normandie, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Sea Girls, The Murder Capital, NOISY, Mother Mother. Yard Act. Knocked Loose. Magnolia Park, Meekz, Koven. Even just as a small cross-section, it’s a hell of a day already, and finishing the day frolicking with Seventeen Going Under or bopping to My Number can’t hurt either!

Saturday: joining The Killers and Lewis Capaldi come Holly Humberstone, Arlo Parks, Easy Life, Sleep Token, KennyHoopla, Zand, Jaguar, Kenny All Star, Graphic Nature, Jamie Webster. There’s not only a bit of everything, there’s a lot of it - whether you want to rock out or chill out, Saturday has you covered.

And, finally, Sunday: despite Imagine Dragons and Billie Eilish, pretty indisputably two of the biggest artists worldwide, headlining, there’s plenty to see whether you’re impatiently waiting or if you’re wondering wondrously at everything around you — we’ve got Rona Sawayama, The Amazons, Hot Milk, COIN, Tom Odell, Vistas, Giant Rooks, Metrik, TV Girl, all alongside everyone already announced.

The full list of everyone added is below, but, to cut a long story short — Reading and Leeds 2023 is going to be big.

Arlo Parks

Artemas

Austin Millz

Bakar

BZ

Caity Baser

Charlie Tee

Clavish

COIN

D Double E

DJ Target

Dylan John Thomas

Easy Life

Ekkstacy

English Teacher

Ethel Cain

Finn Foxell

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn

Friction

Games We Play

Giant Rooks

Girls Don’t Sync

Graphic Nature

Gryffin

Harriet Jaxxon

Hedex

High Vis

Holly Humberstone

Hot Milk

J Fado

Jaguar

Jamie Webster

Jbee

Jesse Jo Stark

Joesef

K-Trap

Kenny Allstar

KennyHoopla

KiLLOWEN

Knocked Loose

Koven

Lancey Foux

Magnolia Park

Malaki

Meet Me @ The Altar

Metrik

midwxst

Mimi Webb

Mother Mother

Nieve Ella

Nippa

NOISY

Normandie

Palaye Royale

Pinkshift

Proph

Queen Millz

Rina Sawayama

Royel Otis

Sainte

Sammy Virji

Scowl

Sea Girls

ShaSimone

Sleep Token

Soulecta

Sub Focus B2B with Dimension

Temz

The Amazons

The Last Dinner Party

The Murder Capital

Tom Odell

TV Girl

Vibe Chemistry

Vistas

Wallice

Yard Act

Yonaka

ZAND

Words by James O’Sullivan

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