Reading and Leeds Festival 2024: First 10 Acts Are Announced

The first ten artists who be taking to the stage at Reading and Leeds Festival 2024 have been announced and will once again six headliners will be featured across the weekend. The names were announced on Radio One’s Future Sounds show on Thursday evening following a riddle that one of the bands was formed before one of the other artists was even born. As has been suspected for the past few weeks, this group was revealed to be Blink-182. The pop-punk heavyweights announced the return of guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge last year and released their new album ONE MORE TIME… on the 27th of October, so it is an ideal time for them to headline the festival for the first time since 2014, something which will be welcomed by the number of fans who have hoped for Reading and Leeds to return to a more alternative focused line-up.

The artist born after Blink formed was of course one of the biggest stars in dance music today Fred Again.. who will be headlining fat his first R and L appearance. The superstar DJ and producer was also heavily speculated to be featured but again seems to be a great choice following his highly praised set at Glastonbury this year. Lana Del Rey will also be headlining the festival for the first time in another welcome addition to the bill.

Perhaps the most surprising and for many the most enticing name is Catfish and The Bottlemen who were revealed to be a headliner on the festival’s website and social media pages. The widely adored indie rockers gave their maiden headline performance in 2021 amongst rumours of a split and have not been heard from since playing at Neighbourhood Weekender the following week. As well as being an exciting announcement for the festival, the news will delight the band's fans as it is the mention of their long-anticipated return. It will be interesting to see who will be joining frontman Van McCann and bass player Benji Blakeway, who appeared in a video the band released shortly after the announcement, since Bob Hall and Johnny Bond both previously confirmed their departure from the group.

Both also returning to Reading and Leeds after playing in 2021 are Liam Gallagher and Gerry Cinnamon, who will be filling the two remaining headline slots. If Liam playing is not a big enough treat for revellers already, it has been revealed that he will be performing Oasis’ era-defining debut album Definitely Maybe in full in celebration of its 30th anniversary when he takes the stage at what he has dubbed ‘the most [rock ‘n’ roll] festivals we have left in the UK’. Gerry Cinnamon’s inclusion is also an amazing prospect for those familiar with his incredible live shows.

Joining these phenomenal headliners are critically acclaimed Mercury Prize nominee Raye, one of the biggest DJs in the world and frequent collaborator with Fred Again.., Skrillex, UK drill pioneer Digga D, and Spritbox who will be exclusively playing at the festival and will again attract those who love the heavier side of Reading and Leeds.

This is certainly a promising start to the bill and features some of the biggest names in music and some sensational surprises. The reaction to the announcement has been generally more positive than that of recent years and suggests that these artists will satisfy one of the more diverse festival demographics in the UK. If the full program of artists is of the same quality, this year’s editions of Reading and Leeds will be even more unmissable than usual.