Reading Leeds Festival 2015 news and 2016 tickets at 2015 prices!
The Grrrls are back in town! - image; Kaila Whyte of Brummie sex noise punkers, Youth Man photographed by Tarquin Clark at Leeds Festival)
TheZineUK team are back from Leeds Festival over the Bank Holiday Weekend (with special thanks to Zeitgeist for the passes). Some images by our photographer, Tarquin Clark went up live over the weekend at https://instagram.com/thezine.uk/ and stay tuned to this blog for the full picture report. He captured some corkin' moments!
The festival organisers are also still buzzing. Our own preview for the event predicted that 2015 was set to be a land mark year. Looking back over the Bank Holiday weekend (and yet another sell-out festival)Director, Melvin Benn of Festival Republic said' “This year has been an incredible highlight for Reading and Leeds. Metallica brought us the largest production in the history of the festivals, whilst Mumford & Sons and The Libertines proved themselves worthy of their headline name. I would like to thank our sponsors and media partners for their ongoing support. I know it will be difficult to beat, but I can already promise 2016 is going to be worth the wait.” With that in mind. Weekend and Instalment tickets for the dual sites Reading and Leeds Festival, which takes place on 26th, 27th and 28th August 2016 are on sale now. For a limited time, you can get them at this year's price of £205.00 via http://readingfestival.com/tickets and http://leedsfestival.com/tickets
Between the 28th and 30th August 2015; 150,000 Festival goers attended Richfield Avenue (Reading) and Bramham Park (Leeds) for an unforgettable weekend of music, including headline acts Mumford & Sons, Metallica and The Libertines, plus hundreds of performances from artists, bands, comedians and DJs.
Metallica provided a metal masterclass with the biggest production in the history of Reading and Leeds, cementing themselves as worthy headliners alongside their 150 onstage fans. Here at The Zine UK we have a great faith in the resurgance of rock right now, this only underlines it!
Mumford & Sons debut headline slot didn’t disappoint, with early outings for festival ready anthems ‘I Will Wait’ and ‘Little Lion Man’ providing huge sing-alongs for the crowds. The Libertines made their return to the festival at Leeds on the Friday and closed Reading on the Sunday in spectacular fashion. Welcomed back with open arms by the rapturous crowds, the band were in typically raucous form, treating fans to cuts from their new album as well as all time classics.
Representing the home grown UK talent on offer at this year’s Reading and Leeds, Royal Blood stormed the main stage with ‘Little Monsters’ and ‘Out of the Black’ drawing in a huge crowd. The Wombats packed out the Festival Republic Stage, along with R&L favouriteFrank Turner. Yorkshire heroes Bring Me The Horizon drew in a huge crowd Sunday at Leeds and Saturday at Reading with a career defining set.
Japanese teen trio, Babymetal brought a metal choreographed spectacle to the Main Stage for their debut Reading and Leeds performance. Showcasing his transcendent second album ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, Kendrick Lamar performed with a full band, bringing hip hop rock to the masses for his inaugural Reading and Leeds performance, whilst hip hop superduo Run The Jewels captivated crowds at the NME / Radio 1 Stage.
The weekend was filled with whispers of secret sets and fans were certainly not left disappointed. Foals snuck into the festival to set the NME/BBC Radio 1 Stage ablaze with cuts from their newly released album ‘What Went Down’. Both Wolf Alice and Jack Garratt treated fans to an intimate set on the BBC Introducing Stage in addition to their scheduled performances.
Now a mainstay of the festivals, the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage and BBC Radio 1Xtra Stage showcased the finest in a UK grime scene and US hip hop with Boy Better Know, A$AP Ferg and Krept & Konan playing rip-roaring headline slots. Embracing everything from Stormzy’s grime bars to Hudson Mohawke’s future sounding beats and Deadmau5’s expertly executed DJing; both stages were must-visit destinations.
The Relentless Stage returned to Leeds Festival kicking off proceedings on Thursday night along the tree-lined avenue with a great set fromBondax. DJ EZ, Oneman and Luke Mowberry, the winner of the prestigious ‘Here To Be Heard’ DJ competition were just some of the DJs to bring the noise and get the party started. Pulled Apart By Horses headlined the Dance to the Radio Stage at Leeds the same evening with a blistering set that brimmed with thrills and menace.
Once again The Alternative Stage at Reading & Leeds brought the best in comedy and spoken word to the Festivals. The line-up included comedy favourites Russell Kane, Sean Walsh and Reginald D Hunter, who all commanded huge audiences alongside an eclectic lineup including music from George The Poet.
Not only that but with the silent disco and Transgressive hosting the likes of Mike Skinnerand Novelist at Leeds as well as DJ sets from alt-J, Peace and Palma Violets at Reading, The Alternative Stage was certainly one of the most vibrant areas of the festival.
Back for the second year, The Pit hosted by Daniel P Carter was buzzing with Refused’s incendiary headline set being a standout moment of the weekend. Ghost, While She Sleeps, Cancer Bats and No Devotion all also blew audiences away amongst a lineup of the finest in rock and metal. The stage was opened on Saturday at Reading by The Mini Band, who tore through a set of classic metal covers and even got to meet heroes Metallica and Royal Blood later in the day.
The Lock Up Stage once again provided a one stop shop for all things punk with New Found Glory headlining alongside the likes of R&L veterans The Bronx and hardcore heroes Modern Life Is War who performed their seminal album ‘Witness’ in full.
BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra and BBC4 broadcasted from the festival, allowing fans without tickets the chance to enjoy some of the incredible artists playing across the weekend. Looks like the only place to be rocking n hip hopping next August Bank Holiday. Get your 2015 priced tickets for 2016 now!