Reading & Leeds reveal date of 2022 line-up announcement
Reading & Leeds has confirmed that the first line-up announcement for 2022 will come next week.
The dual event will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (26-28), with R&L boss Melvin Benn previously telling NME that “three of next year’s six headliners are in place”.
As speculation continues to grow, organisers have revealed today (December 3) that the first wave of names will be unveiled on Wednesday (December 8). It comes ahead of a general ticket sale the following Friday (December 10).
Before that, fans have a “final chance to purchase [the] last few remaining First Release tickets” ahead of a price increase. You can see the official update below.
LINEUP COUNTDOWN – Announcement coming on Wednesday! ?❗
Final chance to purchase LAST few remaining First Release tickets before price increase, general release tickets and payment plans available from Friday 10th December! Watch this space…? pic.twitter.com/0sVyNUSeKy
— Reading & Leeds Fest (@OfficialRandL) December 3, 2021
Speaking to NME in August about the headliners booked for 2022, Melvin Benn teased that “some of them have guitars” and said only one of them has topped the bill before.
Rumours of a possible return for Arctic Monkeys ramped up recently after the band confirmed a run of European festival dates alongside their own headline shows. Notably, AM are currently free between August 26 and September 1 – paving the way for a potential R&L slot.
When asked if Alex Turner and co. could feature on the line-up next year, Benn told NME: “Arctic Monkeys are a law unto themselves and when they decide next to play live is beyond me, if I’m honest.”
The group are primed to release a new album – the follow-up to 2018’s ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’ – in the new year, with drummer Matt Helders recently revealing that it was “pretty much” finished.
Benn also spoke about whether US acts such Queens Of The Stone Age and Machine Gun Kelly could return in 2022. (They were both booked for this year but pulled out due to COVID travel restrictions).
“As you’ve seen from 2020 into this year, we don’t just rebook acts for the sake of it,” he told NME. “What we want to do is book a relevant festival every year, and not just rebook the acts who have cancelled.”
Reading & Leeds 2021 was headlined by Liam Gallagher, Post Malone, Stormzy, Disclosure, Biffy Clyro and Catfish + The Bottlemen. Elsewhere, there were performances from the likes of Wolf Alice, Gerry Cinnamon, Sigrid and Baebadoobee.
