Reading & Leeds Festival 2026: Exciting Headliners Include Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., and RAYE
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Charli XCX, RAYE, and Florence and the Machine have been announced as headliners for the 2026 Reading & Leeds Festival. The dual-site festival will take place from August 27 to 30, concurrently in Reading’s Richfield Avenue and Leeds’ Bramham Park.
Joining them on the lineup are Fontaines D.C., Dave, and the dance duo Chase & Status. Other notable acts include SOMBR, Skepta, and Geese. Leeds Festival will feature Kasabian as its first Thursday headliner, a significant addition to the schedule, which typically showcases two headline acts each day from Friday to Sunday.
Additional performers include Role Model, JADE, Josh Baker, Kneecap, Kettama, Chris Stussy (exclusive to Reading), Skye Newman, Adéla, and Keo, with more names expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.
A PayPal presale for the festival began on December 1, with a second presale scheduled for December 2, leading up to a general ticket sale on December 3.
Florence and the Machine and Dave have previously headlined the festival, in 2012 and 2022 respectively. Other headliners have made multiple appearances at the festival in recent years.
This marks the first performance announced for Fontaines D.C. following their Romance tour, and it will be their only U.K. festival appearance in 2026. Charli XCX is set to perform exclusively at the festival following the release of her upcoming Wuthering Heights soundtrack LP in February 2026.
Festival organizer Melvin Benn spoke to Billboard U.K. earlier this summer, highlighting his commitment to elevating emerging artists alongside established acts. The 2025 festival featured headliners Chappell Roan, Travis Scott, Bring Me The Horizon, and Hozier.
“I think it’s a pointer to all festivals to not be afraid and to be bold with their bookings,” Benn noted, reflecting on Roan’s 2025 headline slot. “To say that you were there when Chappell criticized Donald Trump from the Reading Festival stage, for example, or when Hozier stood up and said, ‘Free Palestine’… only a certain number of people can be there at that moment and actually experience it.”
