2023 Festival

[Shootenanny!]

29 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

It’s the undercard that has become the problem, I think. It’s just so scattergun now that it makes it hard for people to justify a day ticket to see whichever headliner they fancy. 

This was totally true for me - was tempted by The Killers/The 1975 and Sam Fender/Foals as headliners but neither day's undercard justified a trip from Glasgow for me.

[Dukey]

The main thing that struck me is the appalling set times for the likes of Don Broco / You Me at Six that play reasonable venues but only got 35 minutes 🤷‍♂️

 

[CG31]

I enjoyed the festival again this year. Missed Sunday for the cricket but other 2 days were good.

it felt much quieter this year for everything tbh, I thought Central Cee would pull a huge crowd but it seemed quite dead. As much as it sucks for the bands I don’t mind the smaller crowds for people such as the 1975 or Foals, as it allowed me and my brother (who’s 12, and revised their setlist religiously for the week before) to get a decent spot for Foals with him being able to see and being relatively far forward.

it also allowed the group of 10 or so of us to be perfectly comfortable in a good spot for the 1975 who werre absolutely excellrnt.

I thought both the Killers and Sam Fender were really quiet which is so annoying coz I was looking forward to both.

I agree with the music consumption point made by @Andre91, the albums dying out, Foals played such excellent songs off all their albums, but the crowd only really got going for My Number, MAMG and Runner.

I think for me the reason I still go is the location, if I can do the 20 minute walk home after sitting get drunk at my mates campsite at 4am then it’s an excellent proposition, especially when the lineup has just about enough to justify the £70 day tickets I found.

my dads been going for 30+ years fgs and still has a great time every year without really venturing past the Main Stages. It’s just a case of kinda who you go with and whether you can just chill and enjoy some music.

I do really hope however they bin off the second main stage. Although at Reading I’d honestly rather keep MSW then East due to sound but kinda f**ks up exit strats I suppose

[Jacksamthompson]

Went Friday and Sat this year. Had a better time than last year - i think the less numbers helped. Didnt have any sound issues apart from at the back for Soft Play. A lot of blah bands. Highlight was Joey Valance and Brae bringing the energy. 

[FrogLobster]

10 hours ago, Dukey said:

The main thing that struck me is the appalling set times for the likes of Don Broco / You Me at Six that play reasonable venues but only got 35 minutes 🤷‍♂️

 

Yeah, its weird, but then again a daylight mainstage 35 min slot is enough time to spit out the bangers and potentially win over new fans. Seen a lot of people online saying they didn't know Broco but left their set a fan!

[Benj]

9 hours ago, CG31 said:

I enjoyed the festival again this year. Missed Sunday for the cricket but other 2 days were good.

it felt much quieter this year for everything tbh…

49 minutes ago, Jacksamthompson said:

Went Friday and Sat this year. Had a better time than last year - i think the less numbers helped. Didnt have any sound issues apart from at the back for Soft Play. A lot of blah bands. Highlight was Joey Valance and Brae bringing the energy. 

By how much do you reckon numbers were down overall?

we’re bar queues noticeably smaller?

[Benj]

36 minutes ago, FrogLobster said:

Yeah, its weird, but then again a daylight mainstage 35 min slot is enough time to spit out the bangers and potentially win over new fans. Seen a lot of people online saying they didn't know Broco but left their set a fan!

One of the few benefits of being forced to watch a single stream of music I guess!

Countered by having to sit through Mimi Webb and a load of other sh*t you’re never going to like though!

[jonnyisRFC]

1 minute ago, Benj said:

By how much do you reckon numbers were down overall?

we’re bar queues noticeably smaller?

Went Friday and Saturday too, Friday was the quietist I’ve ever seen the festival. Saturday seemed pretty much normal though, maybe slightly less than usual. 

[Jacksamthompson]

44 minutes ago, Benj said:

By how much do you reckon numbers were down overall?

we’re bar queues noticeably smaller?

not much quieter. maybe 10%. Just seemed to be a bit more space in general. 

[VCK]

14 hours ago, FrogLobster said:

I don't think Reading has always been a leavers-focused young-people thing? I first went in 2007 and vast majority of the people around us camping and in band crowds were easily in the 25 to 35 range. It was around 2015ish it started to shift to 16 to 20.

In fact, most dangerous time i've seen the campsite was 2008 Sunday and that was a heavier-music lineup with RATM and Metallica, etc. Saw alot of people's tents set on fire that night.

To be fair two of the headliners that year were artists who were at their peak in the early 90s.

[Benj]

13 minutes ago, Jacksamthompson said:

not much quieter. maybe 10%. Just seemed to be a bit more space in general. 

Makes sense with the camping space cut by about that much

[andyrhodes24]

58 minutes ago, Benj said:

By how much do you reckon numbers were down overall?

we’re bar queues noticeably smaller?

We could walk straight up to the bar at Leeds anytime before 8pm, not complaining!

[Benj]

45 minutes ago, andyrhodes24 said:

We could walk straight up to the bar at Leeds anytime before 8pm, not complaining!

Yup. Ultimately a non sell out is pretty much always beneficial to the punter 👍🏼

[jonnyisRFC]

[CG31]

3 hours ago, Benj said:

By how much do you reckon numbers were down overall?

we’re bar queues noticeably smaller?

Echoing what others have said, longest anyone I know was gone for beers was 15 minutes and that was a 5 min walk their and back

just felt that for everyone I saw I had the perfect amount of space

id mirror the 10% shout, maybe more tbh. The only act people I were with couldn’t see due to people was the Killers

Edited August 29, 2023 by CG31

[VCK]

2 hours ago, jonnyisRFC said:

A loyalty scheme just for going within the past five years? Pah. Where's the loyalty scheme for us oldies whose first Leeds was 18 years ago?😉

Edited August 29, 2023 by VCK

[andyrhodes24]

9 minutes ago, VCK said:

A loyalty scheme just for going within the past five years? Pah. Where's the loyalty scheme for us oldies whose first Leeds was 18 years ago?😉

Laughing at my mate who met Melvin on Saturday, he’s been going 25 years and has a bucket hat with all the wristbands on. Cheekily asked for a lifetime pass but got told to prove he’d been every year. This discount will have to do 🤣

[Dull Tools]

I thought it was really good this weekend. Less chavvy kids than previous years.

Only issue I had was a load of lads at Reading who cleary got bored during Billie Eilish acting like bellends.

Thought the headliners I saw were all great. No compliants from me. Now I have gotten used to it not just being a rock festival you can embrace it as a great place to watch lots of different music.

This year is maybe the only year I have watched something on every stage.

[Benj]

13 minutes ago, Dull Tools said:

I thought it was really good this weekend. Less chavvy kids than previous years.

Only issue I had was a load of lads at Reading who cleary got bored during Billie Eilish acting like bellends.

Thought the headliners I saw were all great. No compliants from me. Now I have gotten used to it not just being a rock festival you can embrace it as a great place to watch lots of different music.

This year is maybe the only year I have watched something on every stage.

Doesn’t count with two stages missing!

[Sam217]

https://www.nme.com/news/music/reading-leeds-2024-line-up-interview-melvin-benn-stage-changes-3490316?fbclid=IwAR3xm-cb1g0MLKdwjpxw5HYNas6ZYMP5_rFBTXW4KZTtN0bQNrdTl15YXsE_aem_AcmfboGSp05VaI0vzSvAATxlyM5b0YTpWztJdev9NOgmdtfQ3Vd20t275JyhHGDIhH6ESIr5IvSKOPBaUSpuCN97#llwfr7u2f6mdgczew1m

[Andre91]

What if I were a betting man, and were to put to you names such as Yungblud, Paramore, Dua Lipa, Drake and Queens Of The Stone Age as next year’s R&L headliners?

“You’ve lost a lot of money.”
 

 

How is the line-up for next year looking? Have you booked any headliners? 

“We have one of the headliners confirmed, and have had them confirmed for a little while actually. They’ve headlined in the past so we know their strength with it and we’re pleased with that. There are some changes that I’m looking to make – probably some slight stage changes. We don’t stand still at Reading & Leeds and like to reflect what’s going on, so there will be a couple of changes. There are always changes in the artists, but there will be to the stages as well.”

Would that be changes to the format of having two main stages?

“It’s a mix of all sorts of things, really. I’m not quite ready to announce it yet, but I’m really very excited about it.”

[Chavmeisterdeluxe]

So Post Malone then 

[VCK]

12 minutes ago, Chavmeisterdeluxe said:

So Post Malone then 

The 1975

[SweetJesus]

31 minutes ago, Chavmeisterdeluxe said:

So Post Malone then 

They’ve headlined in the past so we know their strength with it and we’re pleased with that.

So it can't be Post Malone

[19liam75]

Had a quick chat with Melvin on Sunday in the main arena at Reading and he told me the artist had headlined in the past 10 years. I’m going to go with Blink, seems plausible that when they announced the reunion, festival republic would’ve been quick to getting them booked