Well how wonderful was that! After two years of no festivals and 17 months absorbed in protective shields and social distancing we were finally embraced with ringing eardrums, beer stained tops and next to no sleep. It was a weekend of dreams. In this temporary raucous realm that transcended the outside world there arose several talking points.
THE MUSIC
Stormzy is the main man: This blog is specifically designed to promote anything vaguely guitary or alternative. But I will go against my rulebook and my (apparent) knowledge because the undoubtable winner of the weekend was Stormzy. He was as audacious and lively as ever, perhaps more so than I and others expected. But it was his sentimentality and emotional display that reigned. Now there is no doubt he is royalty, a hugely significant king in the music scene.
Wolf Alice and Sam Fender are future headliners: This wouldn’t have been an outrageous statement going into the festival considering their rising statuses. But their Main Stage performances this year made it evidently clear they’ll both top the bill in the upcoming years. Wolf Alice’s criminally low slot behind Gerry Cinnamon and Liam Gallagher brought a smaller crowd yet the musical quality was occasionally leagues above those positioned above them. There remains no modern band as versatile as them. It would’ve been an easy win for Festival Republic to get a women based act headlining, perhaps in place of a soulless Catfish and the Bottlemen.
Meanwhile Sam Fender, despite having only one album released, had the crowd on strings. He had us mosh-pitting to songs we shouldn’t have been mosh-pitting too. He had everyone wailing along to ‘Saturday,’ ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and ‘Hypersonic Missiles.’ Most importantly though he approached the set humbly and appropriately, demanding the crowd’s attention during somber, passionate moments such as ‘Dead Boys’ and ‘The Borders’ and at other times ensured maximum joy. With his new songs offering no sign of disappointment, in a few albums time he will be headlining.
Catfish and the Bottlemen are likely to split: Van and the boys seemed ever so slightly like they didn’t want to be there. McCann engaged the crowd very little which even though he is prone of, he was even quieter than normal considering it’s their dream slot of headlining Reading and Leeds. There was no mention of new music. The setlist was the same. There was no adoring thank you to the fans, the festival or the BBC who have bred them through the BBC Introducing scheme. There wasn’t even any band introductions or the iconic “let me introduce you to Mr Johnny Bond” prior to the ‘Soundcheck’ guitar solo. Yes the music remained loud and entertaining, dripping in nostalgia for a generation of teens who have grown up with the fourpiece. But I think the general aura of the set favours the rumours of their breakup after their next two festival gigs.
Main Stage success for UK artists: Before the pandemic there would’ve been high odds for The Snuts, Inhaler, Sports Team, Sea Girls, Beabadoobee and Easy Life to all play significant Main Stage slots. They all attracted hefty crowds as well, probably due to the media hype surrounding them. Most notably though, in a pandemic affected year all of them are from the UK and Ireland, with limited American acts available. I don’t think this was the intention but this year established all of these bands as mainstays, with festival favourites Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats, Courteeners, The Kooks and The Vaccines not as young as they once were. There’s something so effortlessly British about these artists too who are next in line to replace the older guard of classic UK indie heroes, particularly as their performances were so assured.
YUNGBLOOD deserves the plaudits: There was lots of anticipation for this guy’s set in spite of my criticisms of him. YUNGBLOOD and his music still doesn’t appeal to me yet he was lauded by fans, critics and most importantly looking ahead to the future, Melvin Benn. With his rapidly increasing following and his worldwide collaborations from KSI to Machine Gun Kelly, I will admit he will be around for years to come, maybe a potential future headliner as well.
THE MAP AND NEW STAGE LAYOUT
Three days of the Festival Republic Stage is a necessity: It has always been such a staple of the festival all the way back to the Carling Tent days in the noughties. Some of the most infamous Reading and Leeds moments have stemmed from this small but cosy stage, for instance when the whole of the festival submerged the tent to witness a legendary Arctic Monkeys set before their debut album came out. This year, as expected, it was a hotbed for fresh talent, including soul-stirring gigs from Holly Humberstone, Baby Queen, Bakar and girl in red. With hopefully less issues regarding international travel next year and a wealth of talent being pushed through by the likes of the BBC and the NME, I pray for at least more than one day of this beautiful stage.
The two Main Stage plan needs altering: It appears Melvin Benn is planning on six headliners again next year, claiming that three are already booked. Six headliners on paper seems like a brilliant idea. You can combine old and new, the current and the nostalgic, rock and rap to attract a diverse audience to the festival. Whilst I think it worked for the headliners, during the day there wasn’t a moment to relax. Everything felt so busy. Not only that but which tent do you go in if torrential downpours arrive? Is it worth removing the Festival Republic Stage for two days? Occasionally the sound was off on Main Stage West too, a disaster for those guitar based artists making their Main Stage debuts. I think most people would’ve preferred the Radio 1 Tent to remain, what once was the biggest tent at a European festival where bands especially thrived. Instead you cut off the start and end of already shortened 30 minute sets, physically rushing around and making a tiring weekend even more tiring. If there was a delay, like there was on Friday at Leeds, the whole ‘no clashing’ idea is rendered obsolete too. Potentially they could plan on having ten minute gaps rather than five in between Main Stage West and East, but I understand this could raise concerns regarding the 11pm curfew, something Liam Gallagher overran this year.
Dance Stage to become more prominent: As a consequence of having no Radio 1 Tent and the Festival Republic Stage on for one day only, many indie acts were placed in the Dance Stage, such as Kenny Hoopla and Alfie Templeman. Their sets were terrific but they felt out of place here, destined to be in the Festival Republic. With the Radio 1 Xtra apparently overflowing at times, perhaps the Dance Stage could be renamed as a Dance and Alternative tent or something along those lines too enable audience sizes to be split effectively.
BBC Introducing was as important as ever: A strange beneficiary from the two Main Stages was the BBC Introducing Stage, situated physically and figuratively at the centre of the the festival. No matter where you went you had to go past this stage meaning there were some big crowds at some sets. Larger artists such as Master Peace made a hell of an impression during theirs, one of many who will be donning grander stages in the future I’m sure.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Still need more women: I have already written a blog post about this but the lack of women headliners remains a devastating problem for Reading and Leeds. With six headliners set to continue, it would be criminal to include no women based acts next year and all those that follow. There are plenty of options out there now. I just hope they don’t go with another safe, cheap option like Catfish were this year and choose a Blossoms or Courteeners over a Wolf Alice, HAIM, Florence or even Dua Lipa. With the Festival Republic Stage delightfully overrun by talented women this year and other festivals like Latitude and Boardmasters successfully placing women at the peak of their bills, this is an issue Reading and Leeds need to resolve.
Sentimentality wins: The crowd were the real winners of this year’s festival. Wasn’t it emotional to be back in a field full of strangers blaring out your favourite songs? Those acts who drew on these emotions and remained appreciative of the fact they were playing live music again struck a chord with audiences. I’ve already talked about Stormzy and Sam Fender who connected with fans in a way that felt like they were sharing the stage with you. But Post Malone, Biffy Clyro and others were equally as responsive and sensitive to the situation. We really felt an affinity with them and that’s why they were winners.
