Lana Del Rey creates iconic moments, Fred again.. is everywhere, and Fontaines D.C. ace their headline audition on Saturday at Reading Festival

Plus The Last Dinner Party, Courting, Wunderhorse, Bleachers, RAYE and more.

Words: Abigail Firth, Ali Shutler, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Jamie Muir.
Photos: Frances Beach, Patrick Gunning.

Courting seize their grandest stage with all of the undeniable hooks and bonkers fun that has led them to this moment. Who else, second song in, would slide in an auto-tuned cover of 'Don't Look Back In Anger' before flicking through 'Loaded', 'Jumper' and 'Emily G'? "We are your favourite band's, favourite band," frontman Sean declares as smiles and a passionate crowd gathered jumps and shouts along to each moment. Yet, for all the fun and tongue-in-cheek swagger, underneath is one of the most inventive new bands in the game right now, and it's that which makes every wink and smile all the better. A new track played today ("from our next album") is chomping with Bloc Party angles, and by the time 'Popshop!', 'Famous' and 'Flex' bring their blistering turn to an end, Courting have the stage that meets their never-ending ambition. "If I was in the crowd, and a band like us were on this stage - I definitely wouldn't have come," grins Sean. Courting Are Dead? They've never felt more alive. JM

Thanks to Storm Lillian, you might be re-evaluating your footwear choices, but Elliot Hall is confident with his moniker of Welly. Delivering heavily sarcastic pop alongside his four friends, the group look like they were caught somewhere between a PE and Geography lesson and asked to perform live immediately. Elliot might boast a schoolchild's uninhibited confidence, but thankfully, his musical exploration is more informed.

Doing justice to those who grew up in Britain's lesser-known corners, Welly's output is often an eccentric love letter to their lives in the UK: a musical plate of suburban tapas, if you will. "Who's going on a gap year?" Elliot asks to a few cheers. "Fuck you, I worked at Peppa Pig World," he retorts before breaking into the privilege piss-taker, 'Soak Up The Culture'. Paying tribute to his mother watching at home before 'Shopping' takes out on one use of a 'grass is greener' ideology, Welly make a lasting impression as unique as it is easy to get on board. FH

When you are struggling to find your way through troubled waters (Reading campsites) and back to joy and comfort (Reading festival arena), Swim School are here to help. Kicking off their set with the huge 'let me inside your head', singer Alice Johnson is bewildered at the scope of the crowd in front of her, but she shouldn't be too surprised. Consistently blowing away audiences with a tight three-piece live show that has already hit the road with some big names, it is their own that will last in fans’ minds today.

'Seeing It Now' intertwines their dream-pop roots with the more alt-rock leanings, demonstrating the depth of sound this trio can sculpt, 'Delirious' embraces rage at the misogyny in music ("we usually have moshpits for this one, but that's up to you guys"), and the heartfelt 'Kill You' has the tent clapping along. It's a set of tracks where each truly stands out in their own right.

With three EPs in the bag, Swim School have built up a formidable discography and proved themselves on stage time and time again. Somehow still the underdogs, things look ready for change. FH

It's a ram-packed Main Stage that greets The Last Dinner Party and their star-studded motion picture of a show, and for good reason. If there's a breakthrough band of the year that can compete, we haven't seen them yet. A sense of occasion rings from the first notes of 'Burn Alive', immediately pulling Reading tight. Just a year on from a middle-of-the-day slot over on the Festival Republic Stage, today finds a band firmly at ease on the biggest stages.

In fact, when 'A Feminine Urge' and 'Sinner' rip into life, it makes you wonder how they could ever have played anything smaller. As lead singer Abigail bounces across the stage and orchestrates a choir of singalongs to 'Portrait Of A Dead Girl', Reading is left in awe of a band in proper superstar mode.

Playing with every move, a cover of Sparks' 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us' is disco-fied and amped up to stunning results, placing this set in festival-stealing contention. 'My Lady Of Mercy' sees Abigail jump into the front row, while with new track 'The Killer' The Last Dinner Party signal how bold and ambitious they aim to go. It shouldn't be a surprise at all, it's very big indeed.

And it's that sentiment which rings out today. The Last Dinner Party return to Reading not just for a celebratory victory lap, but to stake their claim as future headliners. JM

The last time we saw Jack Antonoff, he was onstage at Wembley Stadium with Taylor Swift calling him the producer of the century. It's a hat he wears well, making game-changing albums with the likes of Lorde and Lana Del Rey, but today, he's at Reading as the freewheeling leader of one of the most uplifting rock bands of the century.

Over the years, the emotional power in Bleachers' cathartic, 80s-inspired rock has inspired a cult following, but the outward-facing ambition of their 2024 self-titled album swung beyond that. As he told Dork earlier this year, it feels like the secret is out, and this whole era has been driven by gut-led excitement and a desire for more. "Let's blow the fucking sky off the sky," he grins ahead of an absolutely massive 'Chinatown'.

The whole set is driven by a sense of warmth, with Jack extending an invitation to the tight-knit community that's formed around Bleachers' music through the playfully antagonistic 'How Dare You Want More' and the jubilant 'I Want To Get Better'.

From the thundering 'I Am Right On Time' through the snarly funk of 'Modern Girl' to the scattershot rock of 'Jesus Is Dead', today's Main Stage set is the perfect introduction to Bleachers' giddy world.

The music bounces between heart-on-the-sleeve tenderness and a rebellious desire for a good time. "When we said we were coming to Reading, people said 'be careful. They've finished their exams, and they're fucking feral'," says Jack before asking the crowd to get on shoulders for the euphoric 'Rollercoaster'. "It's time you made all our festival dreams come true," he adds with a grin, enjoying the communal rowdiness that unfolds before him. Constantly encouraging the crowd to get involved but fearlessly doing things their own way, the whole thing is a swaggering burst of heartfelt rock & roll. It's rowdy, beautiful and fiercely positive. It's the sort of set dreams are made of. AS

Fontaines D.C. have clearly been destined for big things since the snarling 'Dogrel' gave fresh momentum to an entire scene. 'A Hero's Death' and 'Skinty Fia' underlined their growing reputation as a potential band of a generation, but new album 'Romance' has turbo-charged their ascent.

Their music has always been a scrappy mix of tenderness, hope and frustration, but 'Romance' is more sure of itself in every way, with the band smashing together alt-rock, Y2K pop and ferocious punk to create a record that demands a reaction. Today on Reading's Main Stage, they certainly get one.

Opening with the snarling, atmospheric title-track, Fontaines D.C. lean heavily on their brave new world. The scuzzy daydream of 'Here's The Thing' and the sheer fury of 'Death Kink' sees the band flexing their more abrasive muscles before slowing things down for the dreamy 'The Modern World'. The urgent heartburst of 'Favourite' is pretty, but no less crunching, while an absolutely monstrous 'Starburst' closes out the set in suitably chaotic fashion.

It feels like Fontaines D.C. know they've created a masterpiece with 'Romance'. The album has only been out for a matter of hours at this point in time, but it makes up a bulk of today's set and even older tracks like 'I Love You', 'Boys In The Better Land' and 'Jackie Down The Line' feel more energised alongside this fearless new material. The entire 45-minute set is absolutely brilliant, but it's also full of promise.

With a massive show at Finsbury Park already on the cards for next summer ahead of a very sold-out UK tour, 'Romance' is just going to keep getting bigger. It almost feels too obvious to say Fontaines D.C. should be headlining Reading & Leeds in the very near future, with the band's swaggering potential never more apparent. If Romance is a place, it's on the biggest of stages. AS

As the Fontaines D.C. crowd rush across the festival site for their next adventure, Wunderhorse's world of 'Midas' lies in waiting. With this second LP due in just six days, it's clear the band have moved on from the youthful ruminations of their debut, 'Cub', to this grittier, more adult set of tracks. It transforms their live show entirely, with the focus shifting from melodic musings to guttural roars.

They do indulge fans with the favourites, 'Purple' specifically inspiring colour-matching flares to arise, but the four-piece have evolved into another beast entirely, one that makes the tough choices, follows its instincts and isn't afraid of making mistakes.

Recent single 'Rain' ignites the room, 'Cathedrals' is a real highlight, and 'July' has singer Jacob Slater send sweat and spit in all directions. Performing throughout with conscious clarity of what they are and what they want to be, Wunderhorse show that the future of guitar music is in safe hands. FH

The Beaches are the full package. Effortlessly cool, soaring anthems and an irresistible knack for having you firmly on side with each and every track - their slot on Saturday night is a magnet that pulls in anyone in the radius of the BBC Radio 1 stage. Razor-sharp summer indie reigns supreme.

'Me & Me' is a thunderbolt of jittering guitars, while 'What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Paranoid' and 'Everything Is Boring' offer strutting hooks at one moment and shining new wave at the next. They arrive at the perfect time of the weekend - a refreshing cocktail of feel-good ripped straight from a universal diary that, before you know it, they’re closing things out with a riotous 'Blame Brett' causing bouncing masses and scream-along heights. The Beaches are ready and waiting: it's impossible to say no. JM

Every so often, Reading Festival captures an act on the very cusp of greatness. Billie Eilish in 2019, Dua Lipa in 2018, Twenty One Pilots in 2016 - they all delivered mammoth gigs that underlined the excitement and catapulted them towards a future playing the very biggest of stages. Today, RAYE adds herself to the hall of legends with a performance that screams future Glastonbury headliner.

Debut album 'My 21st Century Blues' was something of an underdog story, released under a cloud of major label bullshit and dealing with wavering self-belief, addiction, hurt and frustration. But over the past 18 months, it's evolved into a triumphant record of perseverance and belief. Today at Reading, it's pure victory.

Backed by a full choir and a Vegas-inspired stage show, RAYE brings a much-needed touch of drama to the festival. Soaring opening track 'Flip A Switch/Decline' is as big a statement as you can make before the ambitious, shapeshifting 'Genesis' sees RAYE confidently changing gears. There's a rock version of 'Prada', a euphoric snippet of crossover hit 'You Don't Know Me' and the warmth of 'Worth It'.

She apologises for bringing the mood down ahead of 'Ice Cream Man', a song about sexual assault and rape but explains that "when I went independent, I promised myself to make honest music, because music is medicine. If you relate to it, I hope it feels like a hug," she continues, conjuring one of the most powerful moments of the weekend.

"It's always been a dream to play this festival, but I didn't think we'd start on the Main Stage with all these people watching," she explains, having first come as a punter after getting her GCSE results. "I can't believe we're here," she adds before reminding the crowd that "anything is possible".

Closing the set with the epic 'Black Mascara', the glistening 'Secrets' and the almighty 'Escapism', it certainly feels like RAYE can do absolutely anything she wants now. AS

Bizarre, existential, twisted - and that's just us on a Saturday night. Viagra Boys are another dimension entirely as they saunter onto the Festival Republic stage, frontman Sebastian Murphy temporarily wearing a coat but permanently wielding a cigarette as he opens up this dark world of his with 'Ain't No Thief'.

"Last time I was here, I was just a child - skinny and good-looking," he soon remarks. "Looks like nothing's changed!" Charismatically lurching into 'Troglodyte', the chaos begins and never stops. An uncountable number of crowdsurfers fly over the barrier, and swirling moshpits part for a rowing session en masse. Murphy leaves the stage without anyone even noticing; security are put through the ringer.

"It's like Mad Max out here!" the singer gloats, proceeding to monologue about shrimps and your mother while writhing on the floor. His snarl is only matched by the rest of the band; the bassist's deep rhythm dominates, and the keyboardist-slash-bongo-player takes his instruments to the crowd before vaulting the barrier himself. A pretty standard evening for Viagra Boys, then, and Reading is overjoyed to have been allowed to join them. FH

For a long time, Lana Del Rey seemed to avoid doing European live shows, dodging touring aside from the odd arena show or festival appearance. But in the last year, she’s become a bit of a festival legend. This year alone, she’s headlined Coachella in the US, setting a new precedent for how impressive her live show has become, before taking it across the Atlantic to Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, Milan’s i-Days and Saint-Cloud’s Rock en Seine, before finally, a whopping twelve years since her breakthrough, playing Reading and Leeds.

In that time, the icon she’s become is undeniable. All of her performance flaws are accepted as part of the package. Perpetually late - a reputation ignited after last year’s Glastonbury Other Stage headline was cut short when she arrived half an hour late, and continued as she arrived late to her BST Hyde Park headline last summer too - she’s running behind schedule for her set tonight. Although this time, it could be argued that she wasn’t at fault as her set was still being built, but as ambitious as the staging was, it was worth the wait.

Sauntering out to her ‘Tropico’ short film, ethereal as ever, she immediately inspires screams from the front pit section. She runs a similar setlist to the one she’s been touring since returning to the festival circuit, switching it around to pull ‘Norman fucking Rockwell’ to set opener. It’s so Lana and really quite legendary to open a headline set with the lyric “Goddamn man child”.

It’s a career-spanning setlist that works its way through her albums with abandon hitting deep cuts like the ‘Blue Banisters’ track ‘Arcadia’, older songs like ‘Born To Die’’s ‘Without You’, and early big hits like ‘Summertime Sadness’. Around this point it becomes apparent that scheduling Lana’s brand of delicate indie pop against Sonny Fodera’s pounding house bangers is a logistical nightmare, as she struggles to be heard over the bass coming across from the Chevron Stage. It’s something she notices herself right up on the stage, joking about the “techno”, but it spoils the usual magic of a Del Rey show.

Still, she pushes on. With tracks like the soaring ‘Ride’ and wistful ‘Bartender’, her voice is the best it’s ever been, and when it comes to the tracks from last year’s ‘Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’, they really shine. ‘The Grants’ features gospel-esque choir vocals from Lana and her backing singers, some of them taking the lead towards the end, while the title track reaches a beautiful crescendo that’s unlike anything to ever grace the Reading Main Stage.

It’s so unfortunate that the emotional heart of this show is crushed by inescapable noise from other stages, only occasionally drowned out by big singalong moments like ‘Video Games’, which unexpectedly becomes her last song.

“We’re gonna keep going for as long as they let us”, she promises. But as is tradition, the plug is pulled on Lana’s set. The universe always feels against Lana, like every stage she graces is cursed somehow. That being said, with every fumble, something even more iconic takes its place; if her Glasto set ending with her walking the front row like Mother Theresa wasn’t enough, she walks back out at Reading and lets off a hefty amount of fireworks, sitting on the stage and watching them. No matter what, Lana Del Rey, you will always be famous. AF

Talk about a phenomenon. Just three years ago, the name Fred again.. may have only been a name on the radar of the most hardened of music gurus. Since then, he's become arguably one of the biggest names not just in music but pop culture, it feels. It's why what could very well be the most talked about set at Reading Festival this weekend causes a sea of people to make a beeline for his headline moment on Saturday night. What follows isn't just an emphatic crowning moment for a superstar firmly in the biggest of big leagues but a complete flip on what a festival headline show can be. Reading Festival truly hasn't seen anything quite like it.

Fred's recent run of festival-headlining turns across Europe has seen him take packed fields on a rising journey, and tonight at Reading, he knows exactly what festival-goers want from their Saturday night. A blistering 'Turn On The Lights again..' sees him start the night on a raised platform in the heart of the crowd before putting his foot firmly down on jumping across heavy breakdowns on the uplifting 'adore u', the fizzing 'places to be' and the explosive 'leavemealone'. For a Saturday night at Reading, there may be no better conductor to guide the thousands in front of him through a party like no other.

What finds tonight, and in many ways Fred again.. in general, cut above most is that emotional core. As he stands looking out across the huge crowd in front of him, the genuine sense of everything that has led to this point hits him. There's no moment for pause, with an all-encompassing light show and soaring singalongs triggering fans on shoulders and boyband-level screaming to the likes of 'Angie (I've been lost)', 'Delilah (pull me out of this)' and 'Clara (the night is dark)'.Even teased new track 'peace you need' sees the choir of Reading rise up, firmly in the palm of Fred again..'s hand. While Reading has seen electronic favourites take over in the past to dizzyingly brilliant effect, tonight is something else. Yes, Fred again.. is EVERYWHERE, and tonight shows just why. An artist firmly soundtracking an era, Reading Festival is left unrecognisable in the greatest way possible. Not bad, Fred. Not bad at all. JM