2025 R&L Festival

[Lawsie]

Can see Wunderhorse doing a big main stage slot in 2026 then similar to Fontaines this year

 

EDIT: Meant to quote the Victorious line-up 

Edited December 3 by Lawsie

[FeverDream]

2 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Victorious Festival in Portsmouth has just announced. So we can probably rule all of these out...

 

Leaked poster was right then, damn. Very strong 3 headliners for them. Not much on the undercard I’d fancy at R&L other than maybe Kiwanuka and TLDP.

[andyrhodes24]

2 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Victorious Festival in Portsmouth has just announced. So we can probably rule all of these out...

 

KoL in the country over August bank holiday weekend? We were dangerously close to them headlining again 😂

[charlierc]

1 minute ago, andyrhodes24 said:

KoL in the country over August bank holiday weekend? We were dangerously close to them headlining again 😂

There aren't many doing R&L and Victorious are there?

 

Plus would've thought the big rush we've had this week of them also announcing Cardiff, Lytham, Newcastle and potentially TRNSMT means there might soon be market oversaturation.

[FeverDream]

1 minute ago, andyrhodes24 said:

KoL in the country over August bank holiday weekend? We were dangerously close to them headlining again 😂

They’ve got shows in Europe from 8 June till 24 Aug, which is mad. I assume they’ll pop back over to the States in between dates. 

[FeverDream]

Just now, charlierc said:

There aren't many doing R&L and Victorious are there?

 

Plus would've thought the big rush we've had this week of them also announcing Cardiff, Lytham, Newcastle and potentially TRNSMT means there might soon be market oversaturation.

Yeah I’d definitely rule them out of R&L now. Thankful Victorious secured them, as could have been a very different outlook had they not… would’ve been a horrible surprise come lineup day.

[charlierc]

2 minutes ago, FeverDream said:

Leaked poster was right then, damn. Very strong 3 headliners for them. Not much on the undercard I’d fancy at R&L other than maybe Kiwanuka and TLDP.

Public Service Broadcasting are great but hard to imagine their concept would be Reading/Leeds friendly.

 

Queens of the Stone Age is the one I'm impressed Victorious got tbf. Thought there was a not-zero chance they'd turn up at R&L instead.

[charlierc]

2 minutes ago, FeverDream said:

They’ve got shows in Europe from 8 June till 24 Aug, which is mad. I assume they’ll pop back over to the States in between dates. 

Think this is how Red Hot Chili Peppers do things tbf - they tour for a month, take a few weeks off, then go again. So I'd imagine maybe a break between NOS Alive and mid-August?

[FeverDream]

Just now, charlierc said:

Public Service Broadcasting are great but hard to imagine their concept would be Reading/Leeds friendly.

 

Queens of the Stone Age is the one I'm impressed Victorious got tbf. Thought there was a not-zero chance they'd turn up at R&L instead.

I wonder if it’s a multi deal with that other Superstruct festival in the Nordics (Oya, was it?). Might as well make the most of being over 

[OddRon]

Vampire Weekend are a weird one, their latest album clearly didn’t land well but they don’t really tend to nicely fit into any UK festival other than Glastonbury or perhaps Latitude. I was sure they’d end up doing their own day at APE.

 

Can’t imagine the crowds at Victorious are going to enjoy anything they’ve really put out since the first album other than perhaps “This Life” as their UK success has been slim. They still have a die-hard fanbase, myself included, but their widespread appeal has dropped massively in the UK whereas they’re beloved in the U.S.

[craigcharles420]

1 hour ago, Chad888 said:

Don't you remember 2009 festival Andre? It preceeded my first one, and the outrage at that time that Arctics were headlining was crazy when you look back. When they were announced, they only had 5 singles out off 2 albums with only 3 really getting any attention. 

AM were massive before they even had an album out mate, how old are you?

[gfa]

1 hour ago, Chad888 said:

 

On the day and in hindsight i thought it was ace as did most of the crowd, but RATM was met with absolute apathy about CEX workers, and 1975 was derided as an awful drop from Rage to them, and the crowd was half empty compared to the rest of the days.

 

In my memory of the last 15 years, the only one that was universally praised was last year.

forgot RATM got replaced, 1975 was obvious to struggle given the headliner switched so much

 

As a trio though both were solid

[gfa]

38 minutes ago, OddRon said:

Vampire Weekend are a weird one, their latest album clearly didn’t land well but they don’t really tend to nicely fit into any UK festival other than Glastonbury or perhaps Latitude. I was sure they’d end up doing their own day at APE.

 

Can’t imagine the crowds at Victorious are going to enjoy anything they’ve really put out since the first album other than perhaps “This Life” as their UK success has been slim. They still have a die-hard fanbase, myself included, but their widespread appeal has dropped massively in the UK whereas they’re beloved in the U.S.

They could definitely still have an APE day. Theres london shows this week and next week - wouldn't be shocked if APE announces them not long after.

 

I think there might be info even on this, someone suggested it in the ape thread at least

[craigcharles420]

Vampire Weekend had one of the best albums this year I thought

[OddRon]

6 minutes ago, craigcharles420 said:

Vampire Weekend had one of the best albums this year I thought

It is very good but doesn’t appear to have had the commercial success of the last one. The singles from Father of the Bride were all over radios, tv shows, adverts etc. 

[craigcharles420]

1 minute ago, OddRon said:

It is very good but doesn’t appear to have had the commercial success of the last one. The singles from Father of the Bride were all over radios, tv shows, adverts etc. 

I did check and wow it really did incredibly poorly. 27 in the US for one week then gone from the charts completely. It actually did better here, still only reaching 11. This is after three number one US albums and those same albums consistently getting top 3 over here. What happened there? 

[p0sterb0y]

Would not have expected both festivals over the August bank holiday weekend (victorious and apparently R&L) to have no British headliners. Especially in a year with so much British talent e.g. Fontaines, Fender, Charli, Chase and status, Bring me, etc 

[OddRon]

1 hour ago, Lawsie said:

Can see Wunderhorse doing a big main stage slot in 2026 then similar to Fontaines this year

 

EDIT: Meant to quote the Victorious line-up 

Are they likely to do two years in a row? I assume Last Dinner Party definitely won’t be back as they had a big slot this year but Wunderhorse this year seemed to play rather low down.

[OddRon]

8 minutes ago, craigcharles420 said:

I did check and wow it really did incredibly poorly. 27 in the US for one week then gone from the charts completely. It actually did better here, still only reaching 11. This is after three number one US albums and those same albums consistently getting top 3 over here. What happened there? 

I reckon a lack of catchy feel good hits? Father of the Bride had This Life and Harmony Hall and just a generally happy vibe to it where this new album felt a lot bleaker/more experimental/less pop. 
 

Even Modern Vampires of the City still had Unbelievers and Diane Young.

[Chad888]

4 minutes ago, craigcharles420 said:

I did check and wow it really did incredibly poorly. 27 in the US for one week then gone from the charts completely. It actually did better here, still only reaching 11. This is after three number one US albums and those same albums consistently getting top 3 over here. What happened there? 

 

What happened is that they don't make viral hits so kids don't pick them up, they were always just 'another' band in that American alt-pop era of 2010ish (always a bridesmaid never a bride) so people never brought them into the 20's. The way we consume music changed with streaming platforms, and that was exponentially sped up over covid, and as somebody that has Harmony Hall as top of my Spotify Wrapped for 3 years running, they were left behind.

[Lawsie]

12 minutes ago, OddRon said:

Are they likely to do two years in a row? I assume Last Dinner Party definitely won’t be back as they had a big slot this year but Wunderhorse this year seemed to play rather low down.

Not expecting them to do two years in a row.. I said 2026 as Victorious probably rules them out of next year. Can see them being much bigger by 2026

[gfa]

9 minutes ago, Chad888 said:

 

What happened is that they don't make viral hits so kids don't pick them up, they were always just 'another' band in that American alt-pop era of 2010ish (always a bridesmaid never a bride) so people never brought them into the 20's. The way we consume music changed with streaming platforms, and that was exponentially sped up over covid, and as somebody that has Harmony Hall as top of my Spotify Wrapped for 3 years running, they were left behind.

Plenty of acts that don't make 'viral hits' do well in the charts because they have built up a fanbase, which is exactly what had helped VW do well in the past.

 

@OddRon hit the nail on the head, its a lot less happy / catchy than their previous work. its a good album but definitely my least favourite

[Chad888]

2 minutes ago, gfa said:

Plenty of acts that don't make 'viral hits' do well in the charts because they have built up a fanbase, which is exactly what had helped VW do well in the past.

 

@OddRon hit the nail on the head, its a lot less happy / catchy than their previous work. its a good album but definitely my least favourite

 

I agree on the fanbase thing they clearly have fans, but I don't think they built up a 'that invested' dedicated fanbase. More people WFH now so less commuting with the radio, when we do drive we play podcasts or streamed playlists, so unless you follow your fave band and know they have new music coming out, you're going to completely miss out new albums and singles. And like Ron said, none of the songs were catchy happy on the new album, so they didn't get featured on those pre-made streaming playlists, ergo the album flopped.

 

 

[craigcharles420]

22 minutes ago, Chad888 said:

 

What happened is that they don't make viral hits so kids don't pick them up, they were always just 'another' band in that American alt-pop era of 2010ish (always a bridesmaid never a bride) so people never brought them into the 20's. The way we consume music changed with streaming platforms, and that was exponentially sped up over covid, and as somebody that has Harmony Hall as top of my Spotify Wrapped for 3 years running, they were left behind.

 

11 minutes ago, gfa said:

Plenty of acts that don't make 'viral hits' do well in the charts because they have built up a fanbase, which is exactly what had helped VW do well in the past.

 

@OddRon hit the nail on the head, its a lot less happy / catchy than their previous work. its a good album but definitely my least favourite

 

25 minutes ago, OddRon said:

I reckon a lack of catchy feel good hits? Father of the Bride had This Life and Harmony Hall and just a generally happy vibe to it where this new album felt a lot bleaker/more experimental/less pop. 
 

Even Modern Vampires of the City still had Unbelievers and Diane Young.

What did occur to me is that maybe it was poorly promoted. I didn't know it was even out until a month or so later, and I had to inform at least one VW fan I know that it existed at all

[Chad888]

1 minute ago, craigcharles420 said:

 

 

What did occur to me is that maybe it was poorly promoted. I didn't know it was even out until a month or so later, and I had to inform at least one VW fan I know that it existed at all

 

The lack of promotion is what I was more or less getting at, we don't get new music from the old pre-covid channels and if you don't make a song that matches the vibe of streaming public playlists (or your label doesn't pay to get you on there) then people will be unaware you have new music unless they are dedicated fans that have been waiting for the release for ages.