Melvin Benn who is the managing director of festival republic said that “Reading and Leeds are among the country’s biggest gatherings of young people and sit at the very heart of youth culture.” When talking about this younger generation of adults he added that “it is vital that their voices be heard at the general election. He also highlighted the importance of the music industry for positive change saying that ” Just Vote is a great way to empower our audiences to channel their energy into exercising their democratic right at this historic moment.”

Dale Vince who is the founder of the Just Vote campaign, said that “This is the most important general election of our lifetime, and the UK music scene has immense cultural influence which can mobilise young people to make their voice heard on 4 July.”

He also encouraged festival headliners and performers to endorse the movement “We’re also calling on the UK’s musicians to use your platforms to rally young people to register and then get out and vote. Artists playing these festivals – if you see this please get involved and help spread the word about the Just Vote campaign: the future of our country depends on young people having a say!”

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Reading and Leeds will take place on the August bank holiday weekend from the 23rd to the 25th and will see headliners Liam Gallagher, Blink 182, Fred again, Lana Del Rey, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon as well as many more huge names.

As well as Reading and Leeds, Glastonbury have also joined the initiative and are running a competition to win tickets to the festival later this month where young people will have the chance to win 2 tickets if they are registered to vote and sign up for reminders about key election moments. Glastonbury will also have a ‘Crash the Party’ installation that will be interactive, reminding people at the festival to vote in the week following.

Glastonbury will be headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Sza with the organisers revealing the full lineup earlier this week including the full set times for the festival.

Other ‘Crash the Party’ participants include Boomtown Festival, Love Saves The Day Festival, Music Venues Trust, Night Time Industries Association, The O2, OVO Arena Wembley, Rough Trade, Save Our Scene, Secret Garden Party plus many more.

If successful with their filing, Festival Republic would host a new three-day event in Luton’s Stockwood Park. The proposed dates for the new event would fall on the spring bank holiday, Saturday, May 25th to Monday, May 27th. As well as performances, Benn’s application has been reported to propose “a funfair and sponsor activations”. Mirroring the format of the company’s other festivals, the proposed event will likely include the all the bells and whistles associated with their mainline stage shows.

Although Luton Council has already discussed this application, their decision has not yet been made public. For many, festivals can be seen as great economic boost to an area, especially if the event does not provide camping facilities. Large numbers of festivalgoers need accommodation and food which can be provided by local businesses after the day’s shows have come to a close. However, this benefit can often come at the cost of residents, as noise levels will be elevated by both the event itself and by its sometimes-rowdy participants. It doesn’t seem likely that the proposed festival will be a camping affair as the documentation filed does not imply nor mention overnight accommodation.

Other factors to be considered in the council’s decision are the effects that a large-scale event, like this one, would have on Luton’s public transport infrastructure. This is especially relevant, as Stockwood Park is only 1.5 miles from the town’s centre. Either way, the final decision from Luton Council will likely be announced within the week.

This year is looking promising for Festival Republic, as Finsbury Park’s Wireless is set to announce its 2024 line up next week, and Reading/Leeds has already teased the first ten acts for this year’s extravaganza. Among those performing at Reading’s and Leeds’ 2024 incarnation, are DJ and producer Fred Again.., Lana Del Rey, and Liam Gallagher.

Update: As of January 22nd, Luton Council said that Melvin Benn’s “application was granted with minor amendments“. Due to residents’ concerns of increased noise, congestion, and anti-social behaviour, Luton Council has arranged for noise to be monitored during the event as well as a noise hotline that would allow locals to complain about disruption in residential areas.

‘Just Another Rainbow’ features dreamy guitar riffs from Squire, accompanied by Gallagher’s signature whining vocals. The track is certainly a sonic call back to the days of Oasis, with Squire replacing Noel Gallagher’s instrumental support. Liam’s collaboration with John Squire marks a cornerstone in Gallagher’s music career, as the 51 year-old singer claimed that, without he and his brother attending a 1988 Stone Roses gig, Oasis may never have happened. Speaking to I Love Manchester in 2017, Liam said: “if I hadn’t gone that night, I’d probably be sitting in some pub in Levenshulme“.

The Track has gathered a rather modest 45,000 views on YouTube so far. Over on Twitter, opinions are mixed, with several users expressing dissatisfaction with poorly crafted lyrics and uninspired vocals. On the flipside, the track has been embraced by many fans expressing excitement for the album’s full release. Old school Gallagher heads will be delighted to hear that the single is available on Liam’s official merchandise store as a limited seven inch vinyl. 

Thank you for the BIBLICAL/CELESTIAL response for RAINBOW the reviews have been HEARTWARMING can’t wait for you all to hear the album stay cool and if you can’t do that stay safe LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) January 5, 2024

For those looking to hear ‘Just Another Rainbow’ live, Gallagher has announced that he will be headlining Glasgow’s TRNSMT festival in July of this year. Joining Liam will be the likes of Calvin Harris, Rick Astley, and Chase & Status. Fans south of the Scottish border will be able to see Liam at Festival Republic’s Reading and Leeds double bill in August of this year alongside Fred Again.., Lana Del Rey and many other big names in popular music. As well as the UK festival circuit, Gallagher will be touring in June and July in Manchester, London, Sheffield, Dublin, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow. However, Liam has taken to Twitter saying that he will avoid playing any of his solo material on his upcoming tour in favour of Oasis classics and a few B-sides from Definitely Maybe. Anyone wanting to catch Liam’s solo work will most likely have to do so at TRNSMT, Reading, or Leeds. 

2024 is shaping up to be a big year for Liam, with a stacked summer tour and a new studio album around the corner, Liam Gallagher listeners are in for a treat.

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.”