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Evening Standard

Lifestyle

Emma Loffhagen and Jonathan Kanengoni

Reading and Leeds Festival 2023: Dates and full line-up after The 1975 replace Lewis Capaldi

Billie Eilish Reading and Leeds Festival Leeds Leeds Festival Reading (Geopolitical Entity) Lewis Capaldi Sam Fender

The 1975 will replace Lewis Capaldi as headliners at this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, according to the band.

The news comes after Capaldi announced last month that he would be cancelling all upcoming live shows, including his scheduled appearances at Reading and Leeds, saying he is “still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s”.

The Scottish singer-songwriter struggled to finish his recent set at Glastonbury 2023 due to his Tourette’s ‘ticks’ impacting his performance.

The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy made the announcement as the band played the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, with Capaldi watching from the wings.

He said the band would not only take Capaldi’s place, but would play their self-titled 2013 debut album in full, to mark its 10th anniversary.

“Film this because I’m not going to do an Instagram post,” he told the crowd.

“So, on Saturday at Reading and Sunday at Leeds in celebration of 10 years of our debut album The 1975, we will be playing that album in full in support of our good friend Lewis Capaldi. If you’ve got tickets, good for you. If you haven’t, go and get them. We’ll see you there.”

Reading and Leeds shared an updated version of its 2023 line-up poster on Monday, which includes The 1975 in the position left empty by Capaldi. Knucks has also joined the bill in the slot prior to the group.

This year’s headliners for Reading and Leeds festivals are Billie Eilish and Sam Fender, with Imagine Dragons, Foals, and The Killers also starring on the main stages.

The line-up also features indie and rock acts Wet Leg, Declan McKenna, Rina Sawayama, and Inhaler alongside rappers Slowthai, Tion Wayne, Trippie Redd, and Central Cee.

When are the Reading and Leeds Festivals 2023?

Reading and Leeds Festival 2023 takes place at Little John’s Farm in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds from August 25-27.

Who will be performing?

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish has quickly become a worldwide household name. After her critically acclaimed record-breaking debut album When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? practically took over the world in 2019, the singer has managed to reach new heights this year.

The 21-year-old singer will become the youngest solo artist to headline the festivals.

With her album Happier Than Ever topping the charts and a Friday headline slot at Glastonbury 2022, it’s hard to believe that seven-time Grammy Award-winning Billie Eilish still has anything left to tick off her list.

Still, the Bad Guy hitmaker is adding Reading and Leeds headliner to her long list of achievements. The singer-songwriter will be Friday’s headline act at Leeds and Sunday’s headline act at Reading.

The Killers

The Killers are one of the biggest rock bands in the world at the moment and are no strangers to the festival scene, regularly commanding headline slots across the world. The band’s career spans two decades and, with classic hits including Mr Brightside and When You Were Young, fans expect the band to put on a special performance.

The band is drawing huge audiences on its current Mirage Tour and has announced further UK and Ireland dates for 2023, including in Edinburgh and Belfast.

The band will play their headline set on Saturday at Reading and on Sunday at Leeds.

Sam Fender

North Shields-born Sam Fender has enjoyed a meteoric rise, becoming one of the biggest musical acts in the UK. He was placed on the BBC Sound of 2018 shortlist and, shortly afterwards, released his chart-topping debut album Hypersonic Missiles.

Then in comes 2022 and, with his album Seventeen Down Under showcasing his most raw lyrics so far and his powerful vocals, he won the Brit Award for Best British Alternative/Rock Act, as well as bagging an Ivor Novello Award.

Now, with his superstar status confirmed, the indie-rocker will take to the stage of Reading and Leeds, performing on the main stage of Reading on Friday and Leeds on Saturday.

Foals

Foals have been active since 2005 and their popularity has never wavered. The band has released a total of seven albums so far, with the latest, Life Is Yours, dropping earlier this year.

The band has been a frequent name at the festival over the years and is already excited to do it all over again. The band tweeted: “We’re so hyped to bring the heat back to Reading & Leeds. See you in the pit next Summer.”

Fans can expect to catch a glimpse of the band on Friday at Reading and Saturday at Leeds.

Imagine Dragons

American pop-rockers Imagine Dragons have been a huge name in music since their US chart-topper Radioactive clocked a record-breaking 87 weeks on the Billboard charts. Since then, the band became the first rock act to have four songs clock more than one billion streams on Spotify, amassing a worldwide following along the way.

With all the success the band has already experienced, they seem especially eager to take on the Reading and Leeds weekender, tweeting to fans: “READING & LEEDS WE’RE COMING FOR YOU @OfficialRandL.”

The band makes a great fit for a headline slot and they will take to the stage on Saturday at Reading and Sunday at Leeds.

The 1975

English pop-rock band The 1975 are this year celebrating a decade since the release of their first album. But even before its release, the band — formed of frontman Matty Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer/producer George Daniel — was selling out shows and had built up a cult following.

Since then, the group has gone from strength to strength, releasing four subsequent critically acclaimed records, each accompanied by a tour.

The band will hit the stage on Saturday at Reading and Sunday at Leeds.

Here is the full list of acts announced so far for Reading and Leeds Festival 2023:

BILLIE EILISH

SAM FENDER

FOALS

THE KILLERS

IMAGINE DRAGONS

ANDY C

ARLO PARKS

ARTEMAS

AUSTIN MILLZ