Festival season is nearly over after a sun-soaked and controversial summer of music.
However, there’s still one major weekend left. Reading and Leeds Festivals will return over the August bank holiday with a packed line-up that includes pop phenomenon Chappell Roan and rapper Travis Scott.
Whether you’re a seasoned regular or watching from the comfort of your sofa, here’s what to expect from one of the summer’s biggest parties.
When is Reading and Leeds 2025?
Roan recently won the Grammy for best new artist. (Getty for Elton John AIDS Foundation)
The sister festivals will take place between Thursday 21 and Sunday 24 August, at Richfield Avenue in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds. Coverage of the festivals will be broadcast on BBC One, iPlayer, Radio 1 and BBC Sounds.
A limited number of tickets are still on general sale via Ticketmaster and Live Nation, with prices starting at £125 for day tickets and rising to £325 for weekend passes.
Who is headlining Reading and Leeds?
Bring Me the Horizon will also top the bill at Reading and Leeds. (Redferns)
Reading and Leeds Festivals share the same line-up, which features acts from the worlds of rock, pop, grime, hip-hop and electronic music. The festivals’ schedule rotates across both sites over the event.
US pop star Chappell Roan and rapper Travis Scott will headline the festivals for the first time. Irish singer-songwriter Hozier and Sheffield rock band Bring Me the Horizon will also top the bill.
Roan’s headline sets will mark her biggest UK shows to date, following a mammoth year for the performer. Her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, had a slow rise in the UK chart, before landing at number one last year and catapulting her to fame.
She won her first Grammy earlier this year, scooping the best new artist prize. Her latest single The Subway topped the UK charts, while other tracks The Giver, The Subway, Hot to Go and Good Luck Babe all reached the top five.
Festival boss Melvin Benn said the line-up was “truly special”, adding: “This is one of the youngest average ages for headliners in years, and that’s very exciting in itself.”
Oliver Sykes, the frontman of Bring Me the Horizon, said: “We are beyond excited to be returning to Reading and Leeds for our first fully fledged headline slot. We are going to bring hands down the greatest show of our careers.
“It’s going to be our only UK performance [of 2025] and the final European show of the Nex Gen [their 2024 album] campaign before the band take time away, so if you want to see BMTH [this] year, this truly is your only chance. Can’t wait.”
Who else is on the Reading and Leeds line-up?
Bloc Party will return to Reading and Leeds for the first time since 2009. (Redferns)
Other acts on the bill will include British indie stalwarts Bloc Party and The Kooks, plus rap heavyweights AJ Tracey and Trippie Redd. They will be joined by DJ Sammy Virji, pop singer Becky Hill and punk-rock duo Soft Play.
Fans can also look forward to performances from singer Suki Waterhouse, drum and bass group Rudimental, and Charli XCX collaborator The Dare. The line-up is rounded out by rock bands Enter Shikari, Pale Waves, Wallows, Royel Otis, Wunderhorse and Amyl and the Sniffers.
Last year’s headliners were Liam Gallagher, Lana Del Rey, Blink-182, Fred Again, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon.
Reading and Leeds Festivals will take place between 21 and 24 August