Reading & Leeds 2025: check out NME’s playlist of the must-see acts at the festival

As Reading & Leeds 2025 swiftly approaches, NME has curated a playlist full of the must-see acts at this year’s festival.

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Across the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 22-24), Reading & Leeds is set to deliver one of its most eclectic and unmissable line-ups yet, with sets ranging from grime trailblazers to alt-rock mainstays. Listen to NME‘s playlist of the acts you need to see below on Spotify or on Apple Music here.

Friday (Reading) and Saturday (Leeds) will see co-headliners Hozier and Chappell Roan bringing their signature emotional intensity and genre-blurring sound to the main stages. Alongside them, grime heavyweight AJ Tracey will dominate with his sharp lyricism and magnetic stage presence, while Heartworms offers brooding post-punk anthems that build an atmospheric undercurrent. Manchester rapper Nemzzz is also poised to showcase his rising star power with a dynamic blend of sharp flows and infectious hooks.

Saturday (Reading) and Sunday (Leeds) are led by heavy-hitting rock legends Bring Me The Horizon and Limp Bizkit – the latter bringing a dose of nostalgia with their nu-metal style. Becky Hill will deliver dancefloor-filling anthems with big vocals, and there’ll be huge sing-alongs at Enter Shikari’s set. There’s also space for vital indie acts like Wunderhorse and the fearless punk of Lambrini Girls, who combine activism with unrelenting energy on stage.

And on Sunday (Reading) and Friday (Leeds), Travis Scott will command energy throughout the arena with his frenzied, floor-rattling hits. Before his set, Amyl And The Sniffers will bring some fierce Aussie punk to the mix and cult UK underground rap leader Lancey Foux will warm up the rap fans. Breakout moments are also expected from Nell Mescal’s intimate indie-folk, Antony Szmierek’s evocative spoken-word indie style, and JD Cliffe’s fun and refreshing indie-grime fusion.

For 2025, two new stages have been introduced at the festivals: the Smirnoff Stage in Reading and the Reload Stage in Leeds. Both stages aim to celebrate “the underground electronic communities blazing a path through modern UK culture,” continuing the festival’s ongoing “trend of innovation”. These additions follow last year’s debut of The Aux stage and the Chevron Stage, which are both returning for their second year.

Reading & Leeds Festival returns to Richfield Avenue in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds from Friday August 22 to Sunday August 24. Visit here for any remaining tickets, and check back here for the latest updates, interviews, photos, reviews and more from Reading & Leeds 2025.

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