Lineup 2018

[AdamJansson88]

2 minutes ago, Lukie74 said:

J Hus has had a decent year, I don't think he should headline NME, but looking at the other acts it seems the most sensible and it wouldn't surprise me if FR pushed him. Maybe Diplo could though, seeing as Hannah Wants self confirmed headlining Dance tent 

 

Edit: Gambino would be a dafter placement to headline as he rarely plays UK, he'd gather a very large crowd imo

Yeah J Hus with a Diplo closing set wouldn't be too bad and would offer an alright alternative to KOL. I agree that Childish Gambino would geta big crowd but it would be a lot calmer than Skepta's will be and slightly more manageable. I still think he's highly unlikely given Lovebox but it would be a nice surprise. 

[Jakari]

18 minutes ago, Capes said:

“Reading and Leeds prides itself on being a music-first festival and this year’s line-up already proves that,” said Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn. “Kings of Leon and Fall Out Boy are bands that have grown with the festival and its fans and we couldn’t be more pleased to invite them back to headline.

“Adding Panic! at the Disco and Kendrick Lamar, probably the most sought-after act in the world right now, we think Reading and Leeds Festivals 2018 are off to an amazing start – with even more to come, so watch this space.”

Really Melvin? 

Kings of Leon are the least relevant headliner we've had in a while..

[Gucci Piggy]

21 minutes ago, Charcolate said:

I asked earlier but I was sadly overlooked, so I'll try again and wait in hope for a reply 

Pixies were a strong rumour a couple weeks ago, anyone know why they now aren't performing? 

They were only a strong rumour because they tweeted some old Reading lineups that they were on. Majority of us on here didn't think they'd actually end up playing; they'd be massively out of place on a modern day R&L lineup.

[dentalplan]

9 minutes ago, AdamJansson88 said:

True, feel he'd appeal slightly less to Skepta's audience if 'Awaken, My Love' is anything to go by. Just feel J Hus isn't big enough to headline it but that's probably just me not having too much knowledge of grime outside of the big artists. 

Well he’s not grime but surely you must have noticed his name coming up a lot for the awards and in the charts and stuff? I think his academy tour sold out sharpish too, which is as good as a lot of the big acts on there can claim.

 

2 minutes ago, AdamJansson88 said:

Yeah J Hus with a Diplo closing set wouldn't be too bad and would offer an alright alternative to KOL. I agree that Childish Gambino would geta big crowd but it would be a lot calmer than Skepta's will be and slightly more manageable. I still think he's highly unlikely given Lovebox but it would be a nice surprise. 

I don’t really see the point in a Diplo closing set. He wouldn’t be as big a draw, is no more an alternative and I think he could comfortably sub that stage. Admit that I could very well be wrong but that’s just my thoughts.

[Gucci Piggy]

53 minutes ago, Mattymooz said:

But if we already have Vaccines playing too I don't see how they can fit everyone in. It seems like they have too many subs/3rds/NME headlines in that case (Travis, Skepta, Courteeners, Wombats, Post Malone, Wolf Alice, The Vaccines, J Hus, Dua Lipa, Diplo + then potentially CHVRCHES and The Hunna)

I posted earlier that if that BROCKHAMPTON poster was correct then this is what I'd assume for the running order:

Fall Out Boy / Travis Scott / The Wombats / Post Malone

Wolf Alice

Kendrick Lamar / Panic! at the Disco / Dua Lipa

??? (CHVRCHES?)

Kings of Leon / Courteeners / The Vaccines / J Hus

Skepta / Diplo

 

We could still end up with that but just with The Wombats and The Vaccines swapped around. Probably then one of The Hunna or Don Broco below Dua Lipa.

However, if Travis Scott hasn't pulled out and Post Malone hasn't been bumped up the lineup in his place I struggle to see why they'd have moved him above Wolf Alice on the poster. Surely they'd have just shunted them both up one?

[Lukie74]

11 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

Well he’s not grime but surely you must have noticed his name coming up a lot for the awards and in the charts and stuff? I think his academy tour sold out sharpish too, which is as good as a lot of the big acts on there can claim.

 

I don’t really see the point in a Diplo closing set. He wouldn’t be as big a draw, is no more an alternative and I think he could comfortably sub that stage. Admit that I could very well be wrong but that’s just my thoughts.

I know you can't go off Spotify listens but Diplo has upwards of 10 mill with J Hus just shy of 3. Personally I feel they'd both gather a similar crowd so wouldn't be surprised if one followed the other- either way round

[dentalplan]

3 minutes ago, Lukie74 said:

I know you can't go off Spotify listens but Diplo has upwards of 10 mill with J Hus just shy of 3. Personally I feel they'd both gather a similar crowd so wouldn't be surprised if one followed the other- either way round

Considering J Hus only broke through less than 12 months ago and has only had success in UK and Ireland, I think having that many compared to Diplo is pretty good going.

[WFD]

1 hour ago, dentalplan said:

Yeah I’m late to this discussion too but are people thinking Annie Mac closing set now? I could see that.

Either that or she's getting bumped down to the third line when they add a couple more to that line (but still doesn't explain why she's there and poor Hannah Wants is already on the third line). 

It's such a mess I can't be bothered working it out.  It doesn't help when there's acts placed fairly high up who haven't yet (or have only just) released their debut album.

Speaking of which I take it Fickle Friends will be added after their tour - the way it is shaping up they'll be getting a logo (note - not knocking the actual band, just saying).

[Charcolate]

47 minutes ago, Lukie74 said:

the strong rumour was just based on a few tweets and stuff, not too sure. @eFestivals?

Ah okay, thank you.

[VCK]

6 hours ago, jamieaslee said:

I really think they've underestimated how many 16-24 y/o's listen to older music too. The Stone Roses gigs were a real mixture and I assume the Foo Fighters shows at the Etihad and Wembley will be the same in the Summer.

Kendall Calling having managed to book RUN DMC, so it's not like there aren't any veteran hip hop acts around at the moment.

Lovebox have managed to book Childish Gambino, Anderson .Paak, SZA, Vince Staples, etc. Not only are RnL booking mainly hip hop, but they seem to be after the more generic gimmicky stuff you hear on the radio (BROCKHAMPTON and Kendrick aside).

Apparently Nas' crowd was pretty dead in 2016, and he is, to a lot of people, the greatest rapper of all time.

If a band is huge enough like the Roses then they will go down great. I saw them at both Heaton Park and then Leeds last summer and both times there was a lot of younger people there. But if the festival didn't book them in 2016 when they were touring, and not at V or Glastonbury, and instead opted for Biffy despite them headlining just a few years prior, then that speaks volumes. They missed a real trick there. Day tickets would have sold out.

Maybe the likes of the Manics or Pixies wouldn't go down too well with the younger crowd, but the promoters need to acknowledge that it's not just 16 - 20 year olds who go. The 2010 line up was a perfect example of blending old and new.

Edited February 14, 2018 by VCK

[Charcolate]

31 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

They were only a strong rumour because they tweeted some old Reading lineups that they were on. Majority of us on here didn't think they'd actually end up playing; they'd be massively out of place on a modern day R&L lineup.

Ah thanks. With the line up the way it is this year I don't think out of place would be a bad thing 

[Gucci Piggy]

By replacing the shit headliners with other headliners who are (presumably) just as realistic/attainable, and sorting out the undercard a tiny bit it could have actually looked like an okay lineup (objectively speaking; I wouldn't be much up for it):

Reading Friday/Leeds Saturday:
Main: Royal Blood / Travis Scott / Post Malone / The Hunna
NME: CHVRCHES / Sigrid

Reading Saturday/Leeds Sunday:
Main: Kendrick Lamar / Panic! at the Disco / Dua Lipa / The Wombats
NME: Wolf Alice / Nothing But Thieves

Reading Sunday/Leeds Friday:
Main: Florence and the Machine / Courteeners / The Vaccines / J Hus
NME: Skepta / Diplo

 

That's PATD subbing, not co-headlining, btw. It also has a female-fronted headliner (and shock horror, it makes the lineup better and not worse). Throw in Paramore instead of Florence if they'd rather wait until she's released a new album. I'd have initially said that trio was a bit weak but it's no weaker than what they've actually announced.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

By replacing the shit headliners with other headliners who are (presumably) just as realistic/attainable, and sorting out the undercard a tiny bit it could have actually looked like an okay lineup (objectively speaking; I wouldn't be much up for it):

Reading Friday/Leeds Saturday:
Main: Royal Blood / Travis Scott / Post Malone / The Hunna
NME: CHVRCHES / Sigrid

Reading Saturday/Leeds Sunday:
Main: Kendrick Lamar / Panic! at the Disco / Dua Lipa / The Wombats
NME: Wolf Alice / Nothing But Thieves

Reading Sunday/Leeds Friday:
Main: Florence and the Machine / Courteeners / The Vaccines / J Hus
NME: Skepta / Diplo

 

That's PATD subbing, not co-headlining, btw. It also has a female-fronted headliner (and shock horror, it makes the lineup better and not worse). Throw in Paramore instead of Florence if they'd rather wait until she's released a new album. I'd have initially said that trio was a bit weak but it's no weaker than what they've actually announced.

Aye does look a lot better. I'd say The Hunna would be third down but apart from that it looks like a feasible lineup that probably could have happened if they'd pursued some of those acts.

Edited February 14, 2018 by SomeoneListeningIn

[Gucci Piggy]

Just now, SomeoneListeningIn said:

Aye does look a lot better. I'd say The Hunna would be third down but apart from that it looks like a feasible lineup that probably could have happened if they'd pursued some of those acts.

I thought they would be too but I'm still expecting them to turn up anyway and if The Vaccines and CHVRCHES are also there then there probably isn't room for them to play 3rd down as it is.

[R Shah]

4 hours ago, jonnyisRFC said:

Serious question: how many tickets do you think Reading sold off of the back of that announcement yesterday? 500? 1000? I remember when I first started going in '08 and '09 they'd release the lineup and it would sell out in hours (90,000) 

In 09 KOL headlined with AM and Radiohead. What a downgrade.

[Lukie74]

Anyone got any idea why they've got Post playing when he was listed as an exclusive. Do we reckon it was a late switch or just bullshit from the off

 

Edit: Not a switch from wireless to Reading. A switch from exclusive to not 

Edited February 14, 2018 by Lukie74

[KVShinedown]

I really want to know what dirt Courteeners have on FR. It's the only thing that explains them getting booked 4 times in the last 6 years 

[FloorFiller]

Fall Out Boy as a headliner (just two years after co-headlining no less) and Panic! as a co-headliner is still absolutely boggling my mind. How many 'no's must they have gotten before they landed on those two I wonder? (plus Kings of Leon being booked which I think we'd all written off ever happening again). In a year of kind of shitty UK festival lineups/headliners they've truly taken the cake.

[Capes]

Does anyone know if Jon McIldowie is still the head booker or if that's changed recently? 

[Gucci Piggy]

8 minutes ago, Lukie74 said:

Anyone got any idea why they've got Post playing when he was listed as an exclusive. Do we reckon it was a late switch or just bullshit from the off

 

Edit: Not a switch from wireless to Reading. A switch from exclusive to not 

Bullshit from the off I reckon. If Wireless wasn't already sold out then maybe they'd have held him back until it was.

[Guest]

There's absolutely no doubt that FOB is a shite headliner, but I think FR kinda shot themselves in the foot by billing them as coheadliners with Biffy in 16. They weren't really proper headliners - they had a shorter set than Biffy and didn't close either site. They were a glorified sub, same as Panic will be this year. I guess they billed them as coheadliners because Biffy were only returning after three years which seemed too short... kinda ironic now.

So technically they've been bumped up from a sub to a headliner. Really they should be coheadlining, and I can't understand why they haven't booked Royal Blood instead/to cohadline with them.

I understand that Panic 'coheadlining' may be down to a technicality of originally being booked as second main stage headliners, but they do need to stop with this shite glorified sub thing. The Strokes/Pulp, QOTSA/Paramore & Foals/Disclosure all made sense/were justifiable coheadliners. But it looks stupid in the case of Biffy/FOB & Kendrick/Panic!. Not only the year it happens, but for the future too - FOB headlining this year would have been more forgivable if they were just billed as subs rather than coheadliners in 2016.

Edited February 14, 2018 by SomeoneListeningIn

[RarerThanDandyB]

What if the new V Festival goes back to rock and indie and AM are playing hence why they are not UK exclusive, same with Foo Fighters, chose to play that instead? Could be playing that. Like TRNSMT, a very strong first lineup? Just had a thought I would share...

[Andre91]

2 minutes ago, SomeoneListeningIn said:

There's absolutely no doubt that FOB is a shite headliner, but I think they kinda shot themselves in the foot by billing them as coheadliners with Biffy in 16. They weren't really proper headliners - they had a shorter set than Biffy and didn't close either site. They were a glorified sub, same as Panic will be this year. I guess they billed them as coheadliners because Biffy were only returning after three years which seemed too short... kinda ironic now.

So technically they've been bumped up from a sub to a headliner. Really they should be coheadlining, and I can't understand why they haven't booked Royal Blood instead/to cohadline with them.

I understand that Panic 'coheadlining' may be down to a technicality of originally being booked as second main stage headliners, but they do need to stop with this shite glorified sub thing. The Strokes/Pulp, QOTSA/Paramore & Foals/Disclosure all made sense/were justifiable coheadliners. But it looks stupid in the case of Biffy/FOB & Kendrick/Panic!. Not only the year it happens, but for the future too - FOB headlining this year would have been more forgivable if they were just billed as subs rather than coheadliners in 2016.

They should just not bother at all with FOB. No other festival over here does. Are they really going to be a big ticket seller? I doubt it seeing how they couldn’t sell out their arena tour. Have their last couple of albums bought in legions of new fans? No, because they’ve both been widely panned. Older fans know not to bother going to see them as they only pepper their sets with a few older songs in amongst all of the shite they’ve put out lately. 

[dentalplan]

6 minutes ago, SomeoneListeningIn said:

There's absolutely no doubt that FOB is a shite headliner, but I think FR kinda shot themselves in the foot by billing them as coheadliners with Biffy in 16. They weren't really proper headliners - they had a shorter set than Biffy and didn't close either site. They were a glorified sub, same as Panic will be this year. I guess they billed them as coheadliners because Biffy were only returning after three years which seemed too short... kinda ironic now.

So technically they've been bumped up from a sub to a headliner. Really they should be coheadlining, and I can't understand why they haven't booked Royal Blood instead/to cohadline with them.

I understand that Panic 'coheadlining' may be down to a technicality of originally being booked as second main stage headliners, but they do need to stop with this shite glorified sub thing. The Strokes/Pulp, QOTSA/Paramore & Foals/Disclosure all made sense/were justifiable coheadliners. But it looks stupid in the case of Biffy/FOB & Kendrick/Panic!. Not only the year it happens, but for the future too - FOB headlining this year would have been more forgivable if they were just billed as subs rather than coheadliners in 2016.

It's just keeping bands happy by way of marketing them as such. Why does it matter so much? Just pretend Panic at the Disco aren't a headliner as you've done with FOB in 2016 if it improves the line up.

[Guest]

Just now, RarerThanDandyB said:

What if the new V Festival goes back to rock and indie and AM are playing hence why they are not UK exclusive, same with Foo Fighters, chose to play that instead? Could be playing that. Like TRNSMT, a very strong first lineup? Just had a thought I would share...

Why would they make the new V fest more like R&L than R&L is this year.