The news that no festivals would be taking place this year is truly upsetting but necessary as we’re fighting the current Covid-19 pandemic.
While the Leeds & Reading festivals is showcasing the different sets which have been recorded over the years, there’s been some development onto the comeback in 2021 as the boss, Melvin Benn says:
“COVID has given us a year off, so the innovation for next year is testing – everybody will be tested,” he tells NME of Reading & Leeds 2021. “We’re also going to reproduce the main stage twice. What was the second stage is going to be elevated to an equal stage with the same presentation. What that really allows us to do is book six acts that are headliners.”
He continues: “When we first took over Reading Festival in 1989, the idea that there would even be two stages of acts playing at the same time was innovative. People were like, ‘Two bands playing at once? You can’t do that, Melvin.’ We were like, ‘Yeah we can, just watch.’ Now festivals have hundreds of stages at once.”
There’s more as he comments on the 2021 expectations for next years bands.
“The idea that the 2020 line-up would work perfectly well for 2021? No, it’s not happening – not for Reading & Leeds,” he confirms. “We just wiped the slate clean and started again. There will be one headliner that will repeat, but that’s the only one. Someone asked if we should just book the same thing, but we’ve never done that so why would we start now? We’d be a year out of date.”
Almost Anything Music 