When the August bank holiday weekend arrives it can mean one thing only. It’s time for Reading and Leeds festival 2025. Once again the festival pulled together an incredible line up, with each day catering perfectly to different genres, while still offering a great variety.
At just 22, pop sensation Alessi Rose knows exactly how to dominate a main stage. Being on early in the day isn’t always an easy task, especially at a large festival, and one where Chappell Roan is headlining. You’re competing with people coming in on the first day, setting up their tent, and camping out at the barrier to secure their front row spot for the evening. With all that in mind Alessi Rose pulled in an enormous audience who were there for HER! Offering gorgeous vocals, an incredible vibe, and beautifully infectious energy, the only downfall of the set is it just wasn’t long enough! In just 35 minutes she had the crowd singing and chanting along, reminded us shes off on tour soon (absolutely one to snap up tickets too before its too late!) give us a slower moment with friendship break up banger “Stella“; oh and throw in a mention that it was only last year she was on the BBC Introducing stage? As icons go, if Alessi Rose isn’t on your list, you probably should rethink that. Leaving this set there was a beautiful energy among the crowd of excitement for more excellent music throughout the day, as well as being beyond captivated by such young talent.
Alessi Rose at Reading Festival 2025 by Ben Twin
From one excellent performance to another, up next on the main stage The Royston Club. All the way from Wrexham and rocking it with pride and a welsh flag on stage, these are an instant crowd pleaser. With an excitable crowd and bashing out indie rock anthems reminiscent of old school Arctic Monkeys, there’s a lot to love here, and a perfect pick for mid afternoon on the main stage while the sun and the dust beams down. The set is filled with tracks perfect for the crowd to sing along to, with “52” being an absolute stand out summer hit, offering infectiously catchy lyrics and riffs, if you weren’t already at the main stage this track would absolutely grab your attention and pull you in. Of course as every band does, no matter how high the energy of the crowd we’ve always got time to slow it down for some heartfelt moments. “Cariad” and “Infatuated” offer those, while also perfectly showing off the talented diversity in sound the band has to offer.
While Reading is infamously known as a bit of a school leavers party, and heavily filled with a young crowd, this next band on the main stage were certainly booked to please the “older” ones that continue to come along. Bloc Party are one of the UKs many iconic and genre-defining indie rock bands. Filling Reading Festivals new ‘Icons’ slot, the band turned up ready to party and blow the audience away. Opening with the gorgeous “So Here We Are” there’s an eruption of cheers from all ages across the crowd. It’s an all time classic Bloc Party track and a perfect festival opener. With a mix of some of the lesser known tracks as well as all the chart topping hits, Bloc Party curated the perfect set for the Icons slot.
Bloc Party at Leeds Festival 2025 by Georgia Penny
One of the downsides of festivals is the dreaded clash, especially when it’s a secret set popping up during the likes of Bloc Party. Of course the mystery of a secret set pulls you in and Reading festival delivered Caity Baser. Returning to the BBC Introducing stage; where she first played in 2022 the crowd were very excited at this reveal. Back in 2022 she was concerned no one would show and that the same might happen again today. Celebrating the release of a new EP release today, Caity powered through all of the upbeat bangers, as well as showing off her insane vocal skills with “As I Am” all before finishing on viral track “Friendly Sex”
Three years on from their last appearance Wallows have returned to Reading! It’s felt like forever waiting for them to come back to Richmond Avenue, and it seems the feeling is mutual. Taking a moment at the start of their set to say how excited they are to be here, having waited to come back since they last played. Last time they had a crazy crowd they didn’t expect and this time it’s once again even bigger. Despite facing some initial technical difficulties Wallows bash out an incredible set filled with all the fan favourites. “OK” and the bands favourite track to play “Quarterback” go down exceptionally well, with the crowds singing overpowering the bands vocals at points. And of course, ever popular track “Are You Bored Yet?” sees incredible excitement with those opening notes. It’s safe to say Reading could invite Wallows back year on year and face zero complaints.
Wallows at Reading Festival 2025 by Becca Scarlett Wheeler.
The Kooks have always been an incredibly popular band. Offering infectious ear worm indie bops, they’ve never really been out of our minds. But fresh off the back of their first ever number 1 album, The Kooks are on an even bigger rise than ever. Walking onto the main stage at Reading, they are greeted by an enormous crowd. A mix of those who have been around from the very beginning, and those who’ve been picked up along the way from discovering their classic indie anthems both old and new. New album track “Sunny Baby” is a perfect choice as the golden hour sun hits in and giving a one of many sing along opportunities.
The surprise none of us were expecting however, was guest appearance from Australian actress, Rebel Wilson. Introduced by frontman Luke Pritchard as “Tazzie Young” and if it was okay to film some scenes for an upcoming movie… all before jumping into their rendition of “Gangsta’s Paradise”. Of course you can’t have a Kooks show without “Naïve” and it’s the perfect way to close a perfect set. The excitement and cheers for each track felt as fresh as the day they released, with The Kooks performance as slick as ever.
The Kooks featuring Rebel Wilson at Reading Festival 2025 by Sarah Louise Bennett (SLB Photo).
