Festival Review: Reading Festival // August 2023
As one of the UK’s most popular festivals, Reading never fails to deliver. Each year, the event displays some of the world’s biggest artists: with this year being no different. Huge headliners and countless brilliant acts filled the three days. Tens of thousands would be witness to what was an epic weekend.
As usual, the festival hosted the hardcore attendees on the Wednesday, with a plethora of music fans descending upon Richfield Avenue with early-bird tickets. This must be admired, since the event offers no live music on either the Wednesday or Thursday, so those making their way to Reading on these days really are up for it. There always is a real buzz around the campsites on these days, though. This year, most spent their days drinking with friends before taking on Thursday’s silent disco. The excitement for the weekend’s upcoming entertainment was undeniable.
Friday rolled around soon enough, and any hangovers were cleared up nicely by the acts of the day (as well as a few more cans). Kicking off the Festival Republic stage were Essex outfit Bilk, who have been sending shockwaves through the music scene of late, with the group taking to Instagram post-set to say “Bilk are bringin back rock n roll and we’re only just getting started ya fuckas”. Their belief in what they’re doing was evident on stage, and they killed their set. The three-piece didn’t need to tell the crowd to jump, to mosh, nothing. Chaos just ensued from the second they started their set. The tent was full of energy, despite it being so early in the day. The group seem to be exploding in terms of popularity, going from the BBC introducing stage last year to the Festival Republic this time around. Their set showed off tracks, new and old. Most notable was ‘Daydreamer’ which kicked off in the same way that it always does. Sheer bedlam. Bilk really are something special.
Friday was well and truly underway and choosing who to see was a most difficult task, with the day’s line-up being peppered with talent.
Next up was Sea Girls on the Main Stage West, whose set-time was moved to around 3 o’clock instead of the originally planned 1:20. The later time suited them perfectly, and the sun came out just in time. To nobody’s surprise, they absolutely nailed every minute of their performance. Beginning with ‘Damage Done’, the group gripped the attention of the Reading crowd immediately. Frontman Henry Camamile involved himself with the audience straight away, hopping over the barrier to sing the brilliant chorus of the opening track with hundreds who screamed it back to him. Their set went from banger to banger, with the first track being followed by the perfectly apt ‘Ready For More’. This one always feels important when it’s performed live. It’s almost a message to new fans, that the group will be giving the people more music, as they grow in popularity. Those in attendance certainly were ready for more after this one. Their performance showed off a brand new track, named ‘Weekends and Workdays’. Despite having been heard by almost nobody in attendance, the track was so well received. It has everything you could ask for from a Sea Girls track: it shows off brilliantly catchy choruses with a beautiful band performance.
All too soon, it was the latter end of the group’s appearance. They closed out with brilliant tracks, and the performance culminated with the final track ‘Call Me Out’. Camamile had a task on his hands being louder than the crowd for this one. Every person in attendance belted it out at the very top of their lungs. With this, their time on the Reading main stage was over… for now. Sea Girls absolutely smashed it.
On the opposite Main Stage was Isle Of Wight group Wet Leg, who have really caught peoples’ eye after hugely successful support gigs for the likes of Harry Styles. They didn’t look out of place in the slightest up there on the biggest stage, and it’s no surprise. Their relentless touring really has transformed them into an extremely professional outfit. They delivered their tracks perfectly, with a vocal display from lead singer Rhian Teasdale seriously impressing those in attendance. This was particularly true for tracks like ‘Supermarket’, where the vocalist really had the crowd in the palm of her hands.
The group filled their time on the stage with huge, memorable tracks that would leave the crowd wanting more. I’m sure this won’t be their last visit to the festival, although they may need a later stage time, with their music proving more and more popular with every performance that they give. Smash tune ‘Chaise Longue’ was the perfect display of what the band can do. They had the audience belting this one back to them. Wet Leg made sure that people would be talking about them after their set. This appearance isn’t likely to be forgotten by festival goers for a while.
Since the introduction of the two main stages at the festival a few years back, it’s become a challenge to see both the headliners of the Main Stage West as well as East, or at least to see both from a ‘good’ spot. Unfortunately, due to obtaining a close spot for Sam Fender, I had to sacrifice the opportunity of seeing Foals, who-by all accounts- absolutely killed it with their performance.
Nonetheless, the arena was packed, and tens of thousands waited at the Main Stage East for North Shields’ finest, Sam Fender and his brilliant band. There was real anticipation ahead of this one, with Fender having played the opposing main stage a few years back, preceding headliners Catfish and The Bottlemen. This time around, though, it was all about him. The final act of the day, centre stage. All eyes were on him.
The time came for the Geordies to take to the stage, walking out to Frank Sinatra’s ‘The World We Knew (Over And Over)’, before blasting out their own instruments. Fender and co gave the audience a surprise with the opening number, switching it up from the usual ‘Will We Talk?’ The band kicked off proceedings with rarely performed ‘The Kitchen’. This was welcomed by those in attendance, who went completely berserk straight away.
It was then time for ‘Will We Talk?’ Despite not being played as the opener, it was still belted back to Sam Fender by the crowd. This one always is a fan-favourite.
The set was full of brilliant tracks. All were delivered with pure emotion and sincerity. ‘Dead Boys’ was a haunting number that had the crowd in a chokehold, with Sam Fender telling the sad story of his hometown. The track is always phenomenal live, but this time around it felt so pure. There were countless moments like this during the performance, but this track, as well as ‘Spit Of You’ were certainly two of the most powerful points.
The set had it all, from emotional tracks like these, to uplifting ones like ‘Getting Started’. All of this, as well as the completely chaotic duo of songs in the mid-section of the set. ‘Spice’ and ‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’ sent the crowd feral. Mosh pits everywhere.
Sam Fender and his band really are at the peak of their powers. The tail end of the set was just breath-taking. ‘The Dying Light’ was, as ever, spine-tingling. You’ll struggle to find an act more connected with their audience. ‘Saturday’, ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ were blasted out by those who had come to see their headliner. The set closed out with fireworks, confetti and pure joy. Sam Fender rounded off a brilliant day.
There was no let up on Saturday, with the day being peppered with talent once again.
First up for the day was the hugely exciting Nieve Ella, who took to the Radio 1 Dance Stage. It’s no wonder that she has been drumming up attention left right and centre recently. Her performance at Reading was just fantastic. Her tracks have been really well received and it was great to finally see them live. ‘Your Room’ was a real take home from the set. As a new track, it was eaten up by the crowd. A superb track with a catchy chorus, and jangly guitars. Nieve Ella’s vocals simply blow you away. She is destined for big things, and her appearance at Reading was certainly impressive. I’m sure she will be higher up the bill in the upcoming years.
Leicester’s own Easy Life were my first Main Stage West act of the day, making their (first) appearance at 3:20. Opening with the uber cool ‘Beeswax’, the group took listeners on a musical journey with their varied setlist. They played a range of tracks new and old, with some absolute crowd pleasers in there. ‘Pockets’ was the first of these. This one always seems to have people going nuts, and Reading was no different. ‘Sangria’ followed, and despite there being no appearance from featured artist Arlo Parks, the crowd still belted this one out. The set closed out with ‘Nightmares’ which saw a myriad of people up on shoulders, letting it all out as one big release. The group went on to perform a secret set later in the day at the BBC Introducing stage, which was flooded with fans. As always, the group were hugely popular at Reading.
From one main stage to the other, now it was time for Inhaler. The Irish group have been plying their trade, touring and releasing music since their last Reading appearance. Their performance this time around showed just how much they’ve been working on themselves, as they delivered a truly professional set. Tracks from their sophomore record ‘Cuts and Bruises’ made their way into the set in the form of songs such as ‘Dublin in Ecstasy’, with lead guitarist Josh Jenkinson absolutely killing it with a roaring solo. Mixed in with the new tracks were classics, such as ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’, which was the band’s opener on their last visit to Richfield Avenue, but has found its way into the latter section of the set. Inhaler wowed their audience and fans will undoubtedly want to see them return at the earliest opportunity.
The countdown to the day’s headliners was on. After Easy Life’s epic secret set, that featured new single ‘ultimatejutsu’, it was time for The 1975.
The Wilmslow band seem to have defined a decade with their debut record, and as a ten-year tribute, they played it in full at both Reading and Leeds. Wow. Matty Healy and co tore it up. The band reverted to the era of the record with their stage design, with the solitary light up box being the centrepiece. The band worked their way through the record, before playing some other classic 1975 tracks such as ‘I always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’ before closing with ‘About You’. It was a remarkable set that was the perfect celebration of their first album.
The tens of thousands of festival goers then flooded the Main Stage East for The Killers, who were brought to Berkshire by way of fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, as frontman Brandon Flowers would go on to say.
Their set was just completely and utterly unmissable. They achieved the ultimate blend of tracks, throwing in some newer material amongst the absolute classics that we all know and love. Opening with the upbeat and inspiring ‘My Own Soul’s Warning’, the band gave the crowd their first confetti moments of the night with the hugely triumphant track.
The American outfit worked their way through an effortlessly brilliant set list. Local fan Ozzie was granted permission to play the drums on ‘For Reasons Unknown’ and absolutely killed it! The group were so welcoming to the lad, who must’ve been filled with nerves! He didn’t falter, though, and did himself proud.
There was a live debut in the set. New track Your Side of Town’ was performed, and it went down a treat. You always know that you’re going to get a 10/10 set from The Killers, but this set genuinely had too many classics to pinpoint any single ones. Of course, there were some that proved to be ever so slightly more popular, such as ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ where the crowd could be heard for miles around belting out “I got soul but I’m not a soldier”. ‘Mr Brightside’ sent the place into a complete frenzy. Brandon Flowers’ voice could scarcely be heard with the crowd drowning him out. It was beautiful: every person song in unison. With this, Saturday was over.
Sundays at festivals are unusual things. Everybody is exhausted from the days they’ve spent so far, yet people seem to give it a little bit more during performances, almost ‘going out with a bang’. This was evident at Reading.
Kicking things off on the Main Stage East was hometown heroes The Amazons. As their backdrop stated, the boys were home. They stunned their home crowd with their unmissable rock n roll. The heavy tracks ‘Ready For Something’ and ‘In My Mind’ were nothing short of face melting. Fans will be calling for more UK tour dates after their appearance at Reading this year. They closed out in usual fashion with ‘Black Magic’ which was as brilliant as ever. The Amazons weren’t messing about, and whatever is next will excite fans.
Having missed The Snuts, next up for me was Wrexham’s very own The Royston Club. Another group who have been smashing it with relentless touring and recording over the past few years. They made their appearance on the Festival Republic Stage at 3, and they did not disappoint. They’ve made a name for themselves as one of the best live bands around right now, and for good reason. Their Reading set was energetic and powerful. Take home tracks included ‘Mariana’ which was written about an experience at Leeds Festival, so I can only imagine how it must feel to get to play it at Reading & Leeds. The group really are something to watch out for in the upcoming months, as they embark on a UK tour soon. These lads will be huge one day.
On the same stage just an hour and forty later was Scottish singer-songwriter Dylan John Thomas. He had the tent absolutely bouncing with his folk-y guitar. He performed some huge original tracks such as ‘Jenna’ as well as a few covers of tracks that really get people singing, with ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ being one of these. The singer took to Instagram to express his gratitude and surprise at the reception, since he’s so far from home. With his quality, it’s no surprise that people have taken a shine to him.
All too soon, the weekend was drawing to a close. After an outrageous set by imagine Dragons, superstar Billie Eilish was to shut down the festival for the year.
All eyes were on her for the duration of the set. It was just outrageous. Kicking off with ‘bury a friend’, the crowd were sent wild straight away. Everyone screamed the lyric at the singer whilst jumping up and down as one.
Billie Eilish worked her way through a mesmerising set-list that was just completely gripping. She had the crowd exactly where she wanted them for the entirety of the performance. ‘you should see me in a crown’ was one of the most notable of the entire set, it was such a real moment shared between artist and audience. They screamed sang together, they jumped together. It was phenomenal.
It’s no wonder that the singer has the reputation she does all around the globe. She seems to have nothing but smash hits. The tail end of the set was just as brilliant as the beginning. ‘Bad Guy’ received the reaction you might expect. It kicked off good and proper, with confetti flying all around the place.
The set, as well as the weekend, closed out with ‘Happier Than Ever’ and with that triumphant moment, Reading Festival was complete for another year.
A weekend full of joy, music and mates, festival goers will be buzzing for the next one. Reading always is a blast and 2023 was no different.
Words by Matthew Caslin
Images provided by LD Comms
