Despite all the glitz and glamour of the festivals other well regarded stages, it’s the BBC Introducing Stage that’s often held in such high regard amongst festival attendees. The stage has previously seen performances from the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen, Jack Garratt and Jake Bugg, ensuring that it really is the hotspot from which to uncover the next great talent.
This year sees some of the most revered new artists around take to the stage, and headlining the Friday night at Reading and the Saturday night at Leeds is Coquin Migale, who in particular are being earmarked to make some serious impressions, following the release of their debut album Munro, which is set to drop next week. They’ll be joined by the swooning Muncie Girls, who’re set to take the festival by storm before they embark on their UK tour later this year. Other notable nods must go to EAT FAST, Paris Youth Foundation, The Wholls, Happy Accidents and AIRWAYS.
Saturday night’s headliner at Reading and Sunday night at Leeds is The Fronteers, whose offering of dainty Britpop is making people sit up and pay attention. The Shimmer Band are making some serious movements right now and their BBC Introducing Slot is a testament to their rapid rise over the past year.
The Sunday of Reading and the Friday of Leeds will be closed/opened by SuperGlu, whose brand of energised riffs and excited lyrics is set to make some serious inroads for them. Expect these guys to blow up massively over the next year. Alongside them will be math rockers Tusk, Notthingham gritpoppers Mowbeck and CaStleS to name a select few.
Highlights however will undoubtedly include The Wytches performance at Leeds festival on the Thursday and the spattering of surprise sets, which in previous years have seen the likes of Wolf Alice and Alt-J perform some truly intimate sets.
For tickets and other information about the festival, click here.