Benn, in referencing the stage changes, told NME, “There are always changes in the artists, but there will be to the stages as well. It’s a mix of all sorts of things, really. I’m not quite ready to announce it yet, but I’m really very excited about it.”

As for the possible headliners for next year’s Reading & Leeds festival, Benn was quick to rule out the likes of Yungblud, Paramore, Dua Lipa, Drake and Queens Of The Stone Age, lightheartedly replying, “You’ve lost a lot of money” in response to the interviewer’s claim of betting on the aforementioned acts to perform at next year’s event.

Others, though, may be well in the mix, including Central Cee, whom Benn has said of, “The trajectory of Central Cee is just incredible. He played Wireless Festival last year and it was an explosion in that sense with a really big crowd compared to what he’d been having. He’s really worked it since then. He’s getting breakthroughs in the US and working with some really important artists, and it just feels like he’s got a great future. I’m not going to say he’s going to be a future headliner because I don’t want to give anyone that burden. I felt like it was a burden I’d given to Foals. They came through with it, but I don’t want to do that again.”

Lewis Calpaldi, who unfortunately had to pull out of this year’s festival, and who was ultimately replaced by The 1975, is always welcome back to perform a headline show at Reading & Leeds, with Benn stating, “I think there will always be an open offer, but at the same time the only thing that needs to be thought about is Lewis’ health. We certainly wouldn’t be having a discussion prior to Lewis’ health being right.”

Rage Against The Machine, however, are a band that are unlikely to feature after cancelling last year, as Benn spoke about their potential return, “It’s not an agenda item at the moment, let’s put it that way. Rage are a US-based act and would very rarely do one-off shows, so it would need to fit in to a lot more scheduling.”

Additionally, Benn has also confirmed that a headliner has in fact been chosen for 2024 already, stating, “We have one of the headliners confirmed, and have had them confirmed for a little while actually. They’ve headlined in the past so we know their strength with it and we’re pleased with that.”

The two artists are set to be joined by five other American acts, including country icon Willie Nelson, rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, rapper Missy Elliott, singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and rhythm and blues vocal group the Spinners.

Bush has been nominated three times in the past five years (2018, 2021, 2022) but 2023 is the year she finally claims her prestigious place among music’s greats. Having released 25 UK Top 40 singles, including her first, “Wuthering Heights“, released in 1978 when only 19 years old, which reached number one in the UK and stayed there for four weeks, Bush is a late 70s and 80s music icon.

Watch the music video for “Wuthering Heights” below:

She recently came back to the limelight following the resurgent success of hit single “Running Up That Hill“, reaching UK number one a full 38 years since it was first released. The resurgence came after the song featured in the extremely popular Netflix drama Stranger Things. If Bush was to travel to New York to accept her induction and perform, as is customary, it would be her first public appearance since 2014, and as such would greatly excite her many fans.

Michael received his induction by way of a fan vote, receiving 1.04 million votes, just ahead of fellow nominee and singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper. Michael is one the best-selling musicians of all time, achieving widespread success both in the UK and the US, releasing seven UK number one singles and eight US number ones. His induction also coincides with the 40th anniversary of Wham!’s debut album, Anniversary. 

Watch the music video for “Careless Whisper” below:

Artists who were nominated this year but din’t make the cut include English post-punk band Joy Division (subsequently New Order) and English heavy metal group Iron Maiden. Cyndi Lauper, as previosly mentioned, also didn’t make it, along with American rock band Soundgarden, brother and sister rock duo the White Stripes, singer-songwriter Warren Zevon and legendary New York hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest.

Other winners include DJ Kool Herc and guitarist Link Wray, both receiving the Musical Influence Award, while the Music Excellence Award will be awarded to singer Chaka Khan and songwriters Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin, and television presenter Don Cornelius is set to win the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center in New York in November.

Recent studies have brought about a paradigm shift in our understanding of homophily and forming connections. With the speed up of neuro tech and advanced neuroimaging techniques in the recent years, scientists have been able to achieve major breakthroughs and measure brain activity from two or more individuals simultaneously. One of the neurobiological underpinnings they have discovered is that people with similar personality traits are more likely to have the same taste in music.

This new study was conducted by Cambridge academic Dr David Greenberg. Greenberg is a psychologist, behavioural scientist, and musician. He is the founder of the Musical Universe project, which is a scientific platform that uses masses of data to advance knowledge and improve lives across cultures. Greenberg has developed multiple scientific tests on musical engagement and his research has examined music at the intersection of social science, neuroscience, genetics, and clinical treatment. Greenberg’s recent study investigated the relationship between musical preferences and our personality. The study involved more than 350,000 participants from over 50 countries and 6 continents, discovering that the link between musical preferences and personality are universal.

Greenberg does not seek to pigeonhole music-lovers, and has said: “If people who score high for neuroticism, for example, are being fed more intense music and they’re already feeling stressed and frustrated, is that helping with their anxiety or is it just reinforcing and perpetuating? These are the questions we now need to answer. Musical preferences do shift and change, they are not set in stone. And we are not suggesting that someone is just extroverted or just open.We all have combinations of personality traits and combinations of musical preferences of varying strengths. Our findings are based on averages and we have to start somewhere to begin to see and understand connections.”

Why wait? Let’s change the world now through music! I’m honored that @DiscoverMag wrote a featured article showing the social power of music and the unique role of personality. #musicscience #musictherapy #psychology @BarIlanU @Cambridge_Uni https://t.co/WeFLMFDBtn

— Dr. David Greenberg (@greenbergmusic) April 27, 2022

Some of the eye-opening findings include: “Ed Sheeran’s song ‘Shivers’ is as likely to appeal to extraverts living the UK as those living Argentina or India. Those with neurotic traits in the US are as likely to be into Nirvana’s ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ as people with a similar personality living in Denmark or South Africa. Agreeable people all over the world will tend to like Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’, or Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ‘Shallow’. National borders cannot stop open people from replaying David Bowie’s Space Oddity or Nina Simone. It does not matter where a conscientious person lives, they are unlikely to enjoy Rage Against the Machine.”

Greenberg hopes for future research to test the links between music and personality in real-world settings as a way of seeing how music can be a bridge between people from different cultures around the globe.

Read more about the findings from the study here.

Listen to a podcast featuring Greenberg discussing what are music taste says about us here.

Earlier this month, Eurovision stars Måneskin announced that due to “scheduling conflicts” they had to cancel their appearance at the festival. “We love and miss the UK and all of our beloved UK fans and we’re absolutely gutted to no longer be able to play these shows,” they wrote in a post on their social media. The festival organisers then followed up by posting “We are saddened to hear that Jack Harlow and Måneskin have decided to perform at an award show the same weekend they were confirmed to play Reading and Leeds,” on their Instagram story.

This blow came after headliners Rage Against The Machine pulled out due to frontman Zack de la Rocha’s leg injury. A statement on Twitter was released saying: “Per medical guidance, Zack de la Rocha has been advised that the August and September 2022 UK and European leg of the Rage Against The Machine tour cannot proceed. It is with great disappoint that we announce this cancellation.” Soon after, The 1975 were announced as their replacement. This will mark their second appearance as headliners after their 2019 set. 

@OfficialRandL
Its not easy to find a headline festival act in short period of time but the replacement you have are not on the scale of RATM and are not even of the same genre of music. If you are not offering refund for sunday ticket holders that is absolutely unacceptable.

— Ryan Arthurton (@RyanArt9119) August 12, 2022

The changes to the line up have garnered mixed responses from ticket holders with one Twitter user describing The 1975 as a “downgrade”  and another saying that The 1975 were “not even of the same genre of music”.  The festivals’ refund policy states money can only be returned for a “material alteration which, in Festival Republic’s opinion, makes the event materially different to the event that ticket purchasers expected”, but it also mentions that “changes to the line-up” or “changes to a band” does not make consumers entitled to a refund. 

The announcement of the latest additions, Charlie XCX and AJ Tracey has also got some festival-goers feeling let down with on saying Reading and Leeds has “lost its identity” and another asking why there wasn’t a rockbound replacing Måneskin. A lot of the disappointment seems to be from those who had booked tickets to see bands more associated with the rock and indie genre; something which Reading and Leeds has been synonymous with since its inception. 

We heard you @the1975 will now be headlining #RandL22 Don’t say we never treat you pic.twitter.com/c8DzAcbVfN

— Reading & Leeds Fest (@OfficialRandL) August 12, 2022

After Rage Against The Machine made the surprise announcement of their live return back in 2019, their plans quickly fell apart. Their headline slot at Reading and Leeds Festival 2020, as well as a long list of dates worldwide, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the rescheduled dates have finally come along, and again any European fans hoping to finally get a glimpse of the band have been left disappointed. A night at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre, and headline slots at Rock en Seine Festival, Andalucia Big Festival, and Mad Cool Sunset have all also been cancelled – as well as 7 other headline shows spread across Europe. The band are set to return to the stage for the second leg of their North American tour in February 2023.

On a slightly lighter note, now Rage Against The Machine have been forced to remove themselves from the festival, there is room for new headliners – The 1975. Matty Healey and co. are currently in the leadup to the release of their 5^th LP, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, you can pre-order the album here. The announcement for their appearance at Reading and Leeds Festival comes together with a lengthy US tour set to take place in November. This, paired with 2 appearances at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival, ends The 1975’s known tour dates. But that being said, we can essentially guarantee an announcement of a UK tour coming soon.

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A post shared by The1975 (@the1975)

So far, 2 singles have been released from the 11-track album. “Part of the Band”, and “Happiness” have received a reasonably positive response from fans and critics, but some have argued that the band’s subtle change in direction – from their buoyant, bouncy production style to something quieter and more subdued – may not gain the same level of interest. That being said, The 1975 have shown no signs of slowing down since they really hit it big with their 2^nd LP, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (what a pretentious mouthful), so let’s not judge them just yet.

The staggering line-up for Big Festival’s inaugural event includes Rage Against The Machine, Muse, Jamiroquai (exclusive show in Europe), Glass Animals, Years & Years, Vetusta Morla, Biffy Clyro, Nova Twins, Sylvie Kreusch, Morgan, Los Planetas, Lucy Dacus, Michael Kiwanuka, Paolo Nutini and Aurora.

Rage Against The Machine, one of the most exciting additions to this already sensational line-up, recently reunited for the second time, announcing dates for a worldwide “Public Service Announcement” tour in February of 2020. The tour was, as expected, rescheduled for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however it was rescheduled once more in April of 2021, and is now set to take place in the spring and summer of this year. The band will be accompanied by hip-hop duo Run The Jewels.

Rage Against The Machine’s appearance at Big Festival will mark their first appearance in Spain in twenty-five years, and will be one of two Spanish dates on their world tour, the second being a headlining slot at Mad Cool Sunset in Madrid. The band will, of course, tour North America extensively, with plenty of dates in both Canada and the US. For any UK fans, the band will be making three stops; one at Edinburgh’s Royal Highlands Centre, and Reading and Leeds festivals. More tour and ticket information can be found on the band’s website.

Andalucía Big Festival is part of the Andalucía BIG project, which aims to be the largest cultural event in Andalusia and includes two other major events, Andalucía Live, a series of free concerts that will take place in the different provinces of Andalusia in the weeks prior to the festival and Andalucía Music Forum, the meeting for music industry professionals. These three new events make up a new way of internationalizing the Andalusia brand through quality tourism, which will provide the added enjoyment of music and all the activities linked to the enjoyment of the southern area, the climate, the gastronomic and tourist offer of the area. This project has the collaboration of the Tourism Council of the Andalucía Board.

GO, GO, GOOO ‼️

General release tickets AND payment plans are now on sale! Click the link below for tickets!

Reading https://t.co/MXzhTR5eks
Leeds https://t.co/tL6GPBM1J0 pic.twitter.com/wbErSVYvBC

— Reading & Leeds Fest (@OfficialRandL) December 10, 2021

You can, however, get hold of tickets for the few other remaining days at each of the festivals. The Friday for Reading, or the Saturday for Leeds, with headliners Dave and Megan Thee Stallion, is still very much available for you to get your hands on. The dual headliners will share their day at the festival with Polo G, the immensely talented Little Simz, viral sensation Glass Animals, and industry newcomer PinkPantheress. A few other names are also attributed to the day with many more to be announced in the future.

The final day of the Reading Festival, or the first day of the Leeds Festival, also has day tickets available. So, if you’re in the mood for a genre-hopping day between the politically charged energy of Rage Against the Machine, and 2010’s chart-topping machine Halsey then today is the day for you. The pair will be backed by artists that really highlight the musical, political, and gender diversity of the festival this year. Experimental hip-hop duo Run the Jewels will hit the main stage after Eurovision’s offering this year Måneskin. Bastille and Chloe Moriondo join the line-up as the direct antithesis of the former artists.

As mentioned before, tickets to the Reading’s Saturday, Leeds’ Sunday, could prove to be quite expensive to bad now that the day tickets and festival weekend have sold out. Co-headliners Arctic Monkeys, and Bring Me the Horizon prove that British guitar music is far from dead, and anyone that says otherwise is just too ignorant to bother talking to. Wolf Alice, Fontaines D.C., Enter. Shikari, and Wilkinson round out the festival day.

You can try and get tickets to the remaining days here, if you already have tickets then you can just kick back and listen to this specially curated playlist from the festival themselves. Covering all the top tracks of the big names announced so far.

IT’S FINALLY HERE!! Here are your first 30+ artists for #RandL22 @ThreeUK & @Barclaycard pre-sale tickets on sale now for 48 hours
General release tickets 9am on Friday! Visit link below for more info! #AD #PaidPartnership #RandL22 pic.twitter.com/2K8cWW93Ho

— Reading & Leeds Fest (@OfficialRandL) December 8, 2021

Some of the six headliners that have been announced are no surprise to anyone. There had already been rumours of Arctic Monkeys’ inclusion, so much so that Melvin Benn (Managing Director of Festival Republic) even responded to them, saying “Arctic Monkeys are a law unto themselves and when they decide next to play live is beyond me, if I’m honest.” The band were last seen performing live in the UK back in 2018, and this will be the third time they have performed at the festivals, all coming amid the probable release of a new album next year, following up 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. Also, Rage Against The Machine’s inclusion is hardly a surprise, what with the group having been scheduled for the 2020 festivals before covid forced its cancellation.

As for the other acts, Halsey has been in the news recently, what with her fourth album last Summer (titled If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power), as well as being announced the winner of the BandLab NME Awards’ Innovation Award. Megan Thee Stallion is a multi-Grammy-winning artist who notably contributed vocals for Cardi B’s hit song WAP, and is expected to be releasing new material next year.

However, not all the acts are as well established or experienced. Musical artist Dave will become the youngest headliner at the festivals, being aged only 23 (he’ll be 24 by the time of the performance). Speaking on the opportunity, he said “It’s a massive honour, especially to be in the company of other legends that are headlining …. I’m going to try and have the highest quality production value that I can.“

Also, Bring Me The Horizon have expressed their delight at the opportunity to headline, with frontman Oliver Sykes promising that “We’ll make sure it’s insane. I’ve always said that we’d play it when we’ve earned it, and it’s finally come. We have the songs, we have the bangers, and we might not be a household name but I know that we can put on a show that’s festival-headline quality.” Band keyboardist Jordan Fish remembers being in Reading’s mosh pit when he was 14, feeling that they’ve come “full circle“. However, the band have played Reading before after two other groups had pulled out. Sadly it didn’t go too well for them then, with them all being pelted by the audience (a surprisingly common occurrence at Reading & Leeds). However, this time they seem to have the confidence and experience to rise to the challenge, promising an exciting set for all fans.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday 10^th December from 9 am, and more information on getting them can be found here. If you want to read more details about all the acts headlining at the festival, you can look here.

Birmingham born metal legends Black Sabbath have taken their stance in the fight against injustice and equality by releasing an exclusive t-shirt, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, in which all proceeds will be going straight to Black Lives Matter.  

The attention-grabbing t-shirts can be pre-ordered right now and will be sold at $25 each. They can be ordered from anywhere in the world, with orders being shipped out from the band’s official website from mid-July. The artwork takes inspiration from Black Sabbath’s third notorious album ‘Master of Reality’, which was released in 1971. Black Sabbath have tastefully transformed their artwork to read the powerful message Black Lives Matter in solidarity with the movement.

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#BlackLivesMatter 100% of the proceeds to @BlkLivesMatter https://blacksabbathapparelshop.com/

A post shared by Black Sabbath (@blacksabbath) on Jun 16, 2020 at 9:24am PDT

The inspiration for this one of a kind piece of merch was taken from none other than Rage Against The Machine’s founding member, Tom Morello, who was wearing the Tshirt with his mother in an Instagram post a week before.

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My 96 yr old mom has been a tireless advocate for Black Lives her whole life. From being a foreign student advisor at the Univ. of Illinois, to teaching in Kenya and supporting the anti-colonial movement there, to teaching African Studies and bringing a radical perspective to a white conservative high school for 30 yrs, to being a member of the Illinois Urban League and campaigning for civil rights, to helping homeless African American men get their GED at the Salvation Army, to telling anybody who came at our family with any racist garbage to go straight to hell, to arming me with pride & confidence, to being a lifelong proponent of racial justice and ruthless critic of racist police. Proud to stand with her today, as always, in solidarity in the fight for a more just and humane country & planet. (Photo by Rhoads Morello)

A post shared by Tom Morello (@tommorello) on Jun 7, 2020 at 5:58pm PDT

This is not the first time Black Sabbath have come forward in support of charitable and progressive causes. The band have come together recently when guitarist Tony Iommi raised over 19,000 euros in an auction to support the United Kingdom’s National Health Services during the Coronavirus pandemic. The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler have also spoken out against animal abuse and have openly supported organisations like PETA.

Black Sabbath are not the first to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, they are amongst a long list of many other artists and bands who have released merchandise with all proceeds being donated to the organisation following the death of George Floyd. The Story So Far, Fall Out Boy, Machine Gun Kelly, Knocked Loose, Dying Wish and Beartooth are just some of the famous who are actively donating to related Black Lives Matter charities. 

Pre Order your Black Sabbath t-shirt right here.

Check out Black Sabbath’s Children of the Grave, from Masters of Reality.

The news has been announced in an Instagram post with the following statement:
‘We’re so sorry to announce that Reading and Leeds 2020 will no longer be taking place. Please read our full statement above. Keep safe and see you all next year’

 

 

 

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A post shared by Reading & Leeds Festival (@officialrandl) on May 12, 2020 at 8:29am PDT

Liam Gallagher, Stormzy and Rage Against The Machine had been set to headline this year. Other artists included in the program were MIGOS, Lewis Capaldi, Sam Fender, Solardo, AJ Tracey, Tom Greenan and many more.

The tickets bought for this summer will remain valid, while refunds will also be available, assures the organisation.

The history of the two festivals goes back to the 1960s. Initially Reading and Leeds festivals were known as rock festivals. Over the years, however, the events became more versatile, attracting fans from many different genres.

Last year’s headliners included Post Malone, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots and Foo Fighters. Other acts included Pale Wave, Billie Eilish, Bastille, Blossoms and The Distillers. Billie Eilish’s live performance can be seen on the JmusiCall  YouTube Channel.