Reading & Leeds have added a whole host of new names to their 2021 bill. There’s a real variety of names included, some absolute megastars, as well as indie legends and unknowns and some more questionable choices. As festival season creeps closer, lineups are getting released and updated almost every day but there have been numerous discussions regarding female representation (or lack of) in these lineups.
Away from questions over gender representation, fans are quick to jump on Reading & Leeds for moving away from it’s traditional rock roots and booking more hip-hop and pop acts. The addition of acts like AJ Tracey, KSI and Yungblud only add fuel to this fire. With each announcement or lineup drop artists, fans and journalists alike have expressed disappointment at the lack of diversity, especially with the amount of music released by women and non-binary artists this year alone.
For the fans who are more inclined to enjoy guitar music, Liam Gallagher is wheeled out again to belt out some Oasis classics, but some more exciting prospects are added. Wolf Alice will be fresh from the release of their third LP ‘Blue Weekend’, artists like Nothing But Thieves and Sam Fender will satisfy the bucket-hatted masses: Northampton rapper Slowthai has the capability of blurring the lines between rock and rap, and Easy Life or The Struts will tick some boxes for indie fans.
One of the more exciting additions is Bob Vylan, his unique blend of grime and punk is bound to attract the masses to The Pit Stage. Vylan’s 2020 debut, ‘We Live Here’ was a real standout – he rages at injustices of life and rallies against the Tories in a similar way to IDLES, but Bob does it with his soul via lived experience. Bob Vylan is without a doubt my one to watch for Reading & Leeds this year.
