Long-running annual bash leans towards its heavy roots this year.
Once a byword for heavy rock, metal and grunge, the Reading Festival has certainly changed over the decades, embracing a younger demographic and a broader pop agenda. Even so, this year’s line-up still sees a few guitar-bashing heavyweights in the mix. Indeed, opening night headliner Sam Fender mostly shoots for pure classicrock nostalgia with his Springsteen-lite sky-punching tear-jerkers. It’s a fairly monochrome formula, but it gets the croad roaring.