2024 Festival

[gfa]

9 minutes ago, foolee said:

Yeah this is what I’m thinking, a date in June. Maybe in Sheffield somewhere. 

I’ve got similar feelings. 

I’m thinking the headliners will be;

Doja Cat - Post Malone - Blink-182
Royal Blood - Kasabian - Fred Again

Covers all ground and genres, think it’d be very well received and then you could have Yungblud subbing Blink. 

Royal Blood and Kasabian are two pretty weak MSW headliners. I'd upgrade one of them, probably RB

Doja and RB would sell appallingly i think

[Benj]

22 minutes ago, foolee said:

 

I’m thinking the headliners will be;

Doja Cat - Post Malone - Blink-182
Royal Blood - Kasabian - Fred Again

Covers all ground and genres, think it’d be very well received and then you could have Yungblud subbing Blink. 

Makes sense and probably would be well received until people actually had to sit through it

...And again that is the problem these days. Yes there's something that appeals to all but there will be loads of people who have nothing they want to watch at the end of multiple evenings

Royal Blood and Doja Cat is pretty much the worse way to end a festival day for me, unless the FR offers up something I'm really interested in, its the biggest anti climax ever.

Fred Again and Blink its the opposite, I'd love that, two completely different things I like to finish off the night. Yet all the dark fruiters will be left wandering aimlessly

Post Malone and Kasabian, I'd enjoy both, its hardly inspiring stuff given they've played everywhere forever...

 

I wouldn't be back. In the old format (which is just about possible with these MSWs (as GFA says, esp Kasabian and Royal Blood), with 3 other possible decent alternatives and its a completely different outlook...

Edited October 17, 2023 by Benj

[andyrhodes24]

14 minutes ago, gfa said:

Royal Blood and Kasabian are two pretty weak MSW headliners. I'd upgrade one of them, probably RB

Doja and RB would sell appallingly i think

I agree, the actual line up is never quite as weak as we predict, Imagine Dragons, Foals and Lewis Capaldi were rubbish but not weak.

To go back to what people said a couple of weeks ago, if they’re charging £300 it’s more likely to be QOTSA over Royal Blood etc, Someone with pedigree even if they will be lost on the teenage audience.

[andyrhodes24]

Catching up, my 2p on BMTH. They’re riding a wave that will come to an end sooner or later.

I’d love them to headliner outright but:

• 2024 is too soon, although they do have momentum and a new album coming soon. UK tour in January too.

• Won’t be 2025 if Melvin was telling the truth re: Foos, can’t be two rock headliners.

• Who knows what the band and the festival will look like in 2026.

Positive thing is that BMTH have recently collaborated with a plenty of acts from across multiple R&L relevant genres. If they could build a day around them that appeals to the audience then why not 2024? It’d just be an outside bet: Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Uzi Vert, Yungblud, Nova Twins, Sigrid. Watching their 2022 set back they had more enthusiasm than the other headliners combined.

Edited October 17, 2023 by andyrhodes24

[Chad888]

1 hour ago, andyrhodes24 said:

I agree, the actual line up is never quite as weak as we predict, Imagine Dragons, Foals and Lewis Capaldi were rubbish but not weak.

To go back to what people said a couple of weeks ago, if they’re charging £300 it’s more likely to be QOTSA over Royal Blood etc, Someone with pedigree even if they will be lost on the teenage audience.

This is what I say year after year on here. We go through the same cycle time after time:

Claim R&L give terrible headliners > Come up with names that sound like they could headline but are not good enough > Get extremely depressed at the idea they could headline > Start to justify them headlining and building a strawman that they are good enough > See R&L lineup > Get depressed that despite being bigger than the justified names, they are actually poor.

 

I saw it with BMTH for about 4 years, Blossoms, Courteeners, Yungblood, Royal Blood to name a few

[Will b]

With the limited number of big indie bands to headline / draw big ticket numbers, I can very much see them bumping up the undercard with the usuals tdcc, wombats, kooks, blossoms, vaccines etc  

haven’t seen Courteeners mentioned for a msw headline (as weak as it would be)

Edited October 17, 2023 by Will b

[andyrhodes24]

13 minutes ago, Will b said:

With the limited number of big indie bands to headline / draw big ticket numbers, I can very much see them bumping up the undercard with the usuals tdcc, wombats, kooks, blossoms, vaccines etc  

haven’t seen Courteeners mentioned for a msw headline (as weak as it would be)

I think they’d have done this by now if they wanted to, with these bands being mainstays of the Tramlines, Y Not, Truck, Neighbourhood circuit it’d just devalue R&L even further to bump them up.

[RedJosh]

3 hours ago, andyrhodes24 said:

Catching up, my 2p on BMTH. They’re riding a wave that will come to an end sooner or later.

I’d love them to headliner outright but:

• 2024 is too soon, although they do have momentum and a new album coming soon. UK tour in January too.

• Won’t be 2025 if Melvin was telling the truth re: Foos, can’t be two rock headliners.

• Who knows what the band and the festival will look like in 2026.

Positive thing is that BMTH have recently collaborated with a plenty of acts from across multiple R&L relevant genres. If they could build a day around them that appeals to the audience then why not 2024? It’d just be an outside bet: Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Uzi Vert, Yungblud, Nova Twins, Sigrid. Watching their 2022 set back they had more enthusiasm than the other headliners combined.

They will be back headlining Download on the Saturday in 2026 or 27 as the big draw for the weekend.

[Andre91]

BMTH aren’t riding a wave. They’ve built themselves up over almost two decades and become one of the biggest heavy bands in the country. They’ve reached that Slipknot and Linkin Park level now where they will always remain an arena and festival headliner until the end of their career. 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Andre91

[Dukey]

59 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

BMTH aren’t riding a wave. They’ve built themselves up over almost two decades and become one of the biggest heavy bands in the country. They’ve reached that Slipknot and Linkin Park level now where they will always remain an arena and festival headliner until the end of their career. 

100% - they’ve been on the up since 2013 in reality and I can’t see them going anywhere - which I personally am very happy about. They’ve filled the Linkin Park void. 

[FeverDream]

1 hour ago, Andre91 said:

BMTH aren’t riding a wave. They’ve built themselves up over almost two decades and become one of the biggest heavy bands in the country. They’ve reached that Slipknot and Linkin Park level now where they will always remain an arena and festival headliner until the end of their career. 

Absolutely. Any future discussions on them headlining R&L will entirely depend on R&Ls genre situation rather than “are they still big enough”.

[mttJ]

Apparently blink’s cancelled shows in Scotland/Ireland are being rescheduled for August 2024, so that’s one headliner that we were already pretty sure about which we can basically confirm.

That’ll be a day ticket for me. 

[andyrhodes24]

2 hours ago, Andre91 said:

BMTH aren’t riding a wave. They’ve built themselves up over almost two decades and become one of the biggest heavy bands in the country. They’ve reached that Slipknot and Linkin Park level now where they will always remain an arena and festival headliner until the end of their career. 

Oh absolutely, they’ve done the grind. What I mean is their popularity has suddenly soared in the last three years to the point where they can headline R&L. Partly thanks to their history, partly thanks to experimenting and tweaking their style, and partly thanks to the massive collaborations we’ve seen exposing them to new audiences.

They’ve absolutely earned where they are now, they’re the most important current rock band going.

[Keese46uk]

Am I right in thinking that day tickets come out the same time as weekend tickets? 

[Chad888]

BMTH are a boomer moment for me.

I've watched them rise, never putting anything out that got recognition outside of their fanbase, briefly featured on R1s B-list for a time. Didn't do anything with that, didn't grow any bigger, never charted any higher, didn't increase album sales.

But that was basically the trajectory of Foo Fighters, who are renowned and have the power to tailor an entire day's lineup and still sell out on name alone. And now kids will see BMTH name as a headliner in 2021 when they look at the poster in 10 years and they've headlined twice since, they will be an established headliner and insane booking.

[theesundayroast]

1 hour ago, Chad888 said:

BMTH are a boomer moment for me.

I've watched them rise, never putting anything out that got recognition outside of their fanbase, briefly featured on R1s B-list for a time. Didn't do anything with that, didn't grow any bigger, never charted any higher, didn't increase album sales.

But that was basically the trajectory of Foo Fighters, who are renowned and have the power to tailor an entire day's lineup and still sell out on name alone. And now kids will see BMTH name as a headliner in 2021 when they look at the poster in 10 years and they've headlined twice since, they will be an established headliner and insane booking.

You mention the charts but it's important to notice that even album cuts like teardrops (39), 1x(55) and kingslayer (55) all charted albeit mostly out of the top 40. Even Lost which felt like a fairly weak single for me still charted at 29. The only 'rock' songs i can see on the current chart are Mr Brightside (killers, currently 61, peaked at 10), one more time (blink, currently 70, peaked at 28) and dance with me (blink, currently 85) but apologies if I am missing out on more.

While charts really don't tell the full story, they're certainly not doing badly there compared to their contemporaries. I do agree they're in limbo with the changing of Readings demographic though, it feels like they would be a nailed on regular headliner if they were this size but in the state of music 10 years ago. 

Edited October 18, 2023 by theesundayroast

[Benj]

1 hour ago, theesundayroast said:

You mention the charts but it's important to notice that even album cuts like teardrops (39), 1x(55) and kingslayer (55) all charted albeit mostly out of the top 40. Even Lost which felt like a fairly weak single for me still charted at 29. The only 'rock' songs i can see on the current chart are Mr Brightside (killers, currently 61, peaked at 10), one more time (blink, currently 70, peaked at 28) and dance with me (blink, currently 85) but apologies if I am missing out on more.

While charts really don't tell the full story, they're certainly not doing badly there compared to their contemporaries. I do agree they're in limbo with the changing of Readings demographic though, it feels like they would be a nailed on regular headliner if they were this size but in the state of music 10 years ago. 

The demographic hasn’t changed (bar the loss of returnees), it’s what they’re currently listen to that has.  At some point, as ever, that will change and heavy rock will be back in  

Id worry more about the state of the festival as a whole rather than BMTH place among it

If this year’s lineup didn’t sell, I can’t see those being predicted upthread selling either.

With Genre based festivals constricting Reading more and more (Inc Live Nation’s own one in wireless), it’s likely Reading will have to change its core proposition or downsize significantly in order to stay viable. 

You can’t sell a 100,000 cap festival at £300 a pop to a load of 16-18 year olds who never come back, when there’s nothing for them to see half the day.

You can’t sell a 100,000 cap festival at £300 a pop to a load of 20-40 year olds regular goers, when there’s nothing for them to see half the day.

Ironically given the BMTH conversation, their proposed own shows are exactly what’s slowly killing Reading, they’ll tie up a couple of acts who’ll play that instead. People will go to that instead.

[gfa]

17 hours ago, Will b said:

With the limited number of big indie bands to headline / draw big ticket numbers, I can very much see them bumping up the undercard with the usuals tdcc, wombats, kooks, blossoms, vaccines etc  

haven’t seen Courteeners mentioned for a msw headline (as weak as it would be)

A few of these haven't been at R&L for a while, vaccines and tdcc both seem to have albums coming out

2 hours ago, Chad888 said:

BMTH are a boomer moment for me.

I've watched them rise, never putting anything out that got recognition outside of their fanbase, briefly featured on R1s B-list for a time. Didn't do anything with that, didn't grow any bigger, never charted any higher, didn't increase album sales.

But that was basically the trajectory of Foo Fighters, who are renowned and have the power to tailor an entire day's lineup and still sell out on name alone. And now kids will see BMTH name as a headliner in 2021 when they look at the poster in 10 years and they've headlined twice since, they will be an established headliner and insane booking.

BMTH will never be looked back on like Foos are

Foos completely different trajectory wise because of Nirvana - they became a festival headliner in 5 years vs about 15 for BMTH (and thats only really in the uk until very recently)

[RedJosh]

48 minutes ago, gfa said:

A few of these haven't been at R&L for a while, vaccines and tdcc both seem to have albums coming out

BMTH will never be looked back on like Foos are

Foos completely different trajectory wise because of Nirvana - they became a festival headliner in 5 years vs about 15 for BMTH (and thats only really in the uk until very recently)

It took Metallica 15 years to be a festival headliner and they are now one of the undisputed biggest rock bands and the biggest metal band of all time.

What makes an act truly big is being trans generational. You look at anyone truly big and they manage to do that: Madonna, Prince, The Beatles, Metallica, Michael Jackson, U2, Foos, Oasis, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Queen, The Killers, AC/DC, Take That, Taylor Swift, Guns N Roses, Led Zepplin etc.

Bring Me have now reached their nxt:gen of fans, will they reach another generation who knows, but I wouldn't bet against them. I don't think they will be as big as the Foos, but they will undoubtedly become a household name for a long time. Even people who know very little about modern or alternative music know who Bring Me are now. They might not know who they are but they know the name.

Edited October 18, 2023 by RedJosh

[gfa]

1 hour ago, RedJosh said:

It took Metallica 15 years to be a festival headliner and they are now one of the undisputed biggest rock bands and the biggest metal band of all time.

What makes an act truly big is being trans generational. You look at anyone truly big and they manage to do that: Madonna, Prince, The Beatles, Metallica, Michael Jackson, U2, Foos, Oasis, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Queen, The Killers, AC/DC, Take That, Taylor Swift, Guns N Roses, Led Zepplin etc.

Bring Me have now reached their nxt:gen of fans, will they reach another generation who knows, but I wouldn't bet against them. I don't think they will be as big as the Foos, but they will undoubtedly become a household name for a long time. Even people who know very little about modern or alternative music know who Bring Me are now. They might not know who they are but they know the name.

I'm not saying BMTH will be forgotten about, they are here to say - but they will not be on the level of Foo Fighters as you said too

Foo Fighters are a household name - BMTH definitely are not

[RedJosh]

 

[gfa]

3 minutes ago, RedJosh said:

 

Well thats nailed on then

[Dukey]

1 hour ago, RedJosh said:

 

Was just about to post this, both got to be a shoe in for Leeds now 

[wghennessy]

Reading / Leeds should just announce it now tbh. Absolute shoe in. Good start!

[VCK]

If they get Post Malone yet again that would confirm that the festival organisers have run out of ideas, once and for all.

If they want a rap headliner, there is plenty of choice that doesn't involve someone who has already done it twice in the past five years.

Edited October 18, 2023 by VCK