Dishing the Dirt on Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in the United Kingdom and are run by Live Nation. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill.
The UK's premier indie event-The Reading festival, has been in existence in some shape or form since it's conception as a Jazz event back in 1961. From the late 1960's bands started to come on the Reading festival scene, that are still regarded as legends today; The Who, The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Small Faces, T Rex, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.
The festivals are run by Live Nation, which was derived from Mean Fiddler Music Group. Between 1998 and 2007 the dual festivals were known officially as the "Carling Weekend", until parting ways with their sponsor Carling in November 2007. In November 2007, the organisers welcomed "Reading Festival reclaiming its prestigious name" when the sponsored title was abolished after 9 years.
In 2007, the capacity of the Reading site was 80,000 and the Leeds site was 70,000. This was an increase of several thousand on previous years. The Reading festival is held at Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, near the Caversham Bridge.
The Leeds event is held in Bramham Park, near Wetherby, the grounds of an historic house. Campsites are available at both sites and weekend tickets include free camping. Day tickets are also sold.
The headliners for this year's Reading festival will be Kings Of Leon (Friday), Arctic Monkeys (Saturday), and Radiohead(Sunday).
Also playing the main stage on Friday are Faith No More, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, and Funeral For A Friend. Saturday has The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Ian Brown, The Courteeners, Enter Shikari, and Eagles Of Death Metal. Sunday's line-up includes Bloc Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, and Brand New.
The NME/Radio 1 Stage will see Gossip, and Glasvegas play on Saturday. Sunday has Lostprophets. Further additions to that stage's bill include Jamie T, AFI, White Lies, Friendly Fires, The Maccabees, Gallows, The Gaslight Anthem, and Florence & The Machine.
The Lock Up Stage line-up has Billy Talent, and Rise Against headlining with a bill over two days including Anti-Flag, Alexisonfire, Bouncing Souls, Leftover Crack, The Aggrolites, Thursday, The Bronx, Mad Caddies, Rival Schools, and Set Your Goals.
These dual festivals are the pinnacle of outdoor music that it is today, with an eclectic mix of indie/rock/punk/dance and every genre in between.
Looking for more festival content, then check out our summer festival guide [http://www.handbag.com/entertainment/Summer-Festival-Guide-2009/microsite] at handbag.com
The UK's premier indie event-The Reading festival, has been in existence in some shape or form since it's conception as a Jazz event back in 1961. From the late 1960's bands started to come on the Reading festival scene, that are still regarded as legends today; The Who, The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Small Faces, T Rex, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.
The festivals are run by Live Nation, which was derived from Mean Fiddler Music Group. Between 1998 and 2007 the dual festivals were known officially as the "Carling Weekend", until parting ways with their sponsor Carling in November 2007. In November 2007, the organisers welcomed "Reading Festival reclaiming its prestigious name" when the sponsored title was abolished after 9 years.
In 2007, the capacity of the Reading site was 80,000 and the Leeds site was 70,000. This was an increase of several thousand on previous years. The Reading festival is held at Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, near the Caversham Bridge.
The Leeds event is held in Bramham Park, near Wetherby, the grounds of an historic house. Campsites are available at both sites and weekend tickets include free camping. Day tickets are also sold.
The headliners for this year's Reading festival will be Kings Of Leon (Friday), Arctic Monkeys (Saturday), and Radiohead(Sunday).
Also playing the main stage on Friday are Faith No More, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, and Funeral For A Friend. Saturday has The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Ian Brown, The Courteeners, Enter Shikari, and Eagles Of Death Metal. Sunday's line-up includes Bloc Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, and Brand New.
The NME/Radio 1 Stage will see Gossip, and Glasvegas play on Saturday. Sunday has Lostprophets. Further additions to that stage's bill include Jamie T, AFI, White Lies, Friendly Fires, The Maccabees, Gallows, The Gaslight Anthem, and Florence & The Machine.
The Lock Up Stage line-up has Billy Talent, and Rise Against headlining with a bill over two days including Anti-Flag, Alexisonfire, Bouncing Souls, Leftover Crack, The Aggrolites, Thursday, The Bronx, Mad Caddies, Rival Schools, and Set Your Goals.
These dual festivals are the pinnacle of outdoor music that it is today, with an eclectic mix of indie/rock/punk/dance and every genre in between.
Looking for more festival content, then check out our summer festival guide [http://www.handbag.com/entertainment/Summer-Festival-Guide-2009/microsite] at handbag.com
