Reading Festival 2022 - A Perfect Weekend of Music

Photo: Willow Smith

With the headlining acts of Arctic Monkeys, Dave and The 1975, Reading Festival 2022 was set to be one to remember. Despite these big names, it seems to be the smaller acts that I enjoyed the most.

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Friday:

Photo: Dave

We kicked off the festival weekend in the Radio 1 Dance Tent as we watched drum and bass duo Everyone You Know. Their song Dance Like We Used To was definitely the highlight of their set, the only let down was the crowd who were evidently there for a loud start to their weekend rather than to specifically see the double act themselves. During the peak of the afternoon we headed over to Main Stage West to see Joy Crookes, having loved her music for years, this was a big tick off my live music bucket list. Crookes’ soulful jazz mixed with the golden dusk sun behind her filled every audience member with the feeling she’s named after, Joy.

The rest of the day was filled with rap and RnB, we saw Knucks in a dance tent, his set list was filled with some of his best tracks like Leon the Professional and Los Pollos Hermanos. We sat down outside the Nando’s DJ Booth for a quick food stop, by chance rapper Jords began doing a short set following his one in a tent a couple hours before. This was one of my highlights of the weekend, particularly because his tent set clashed with Joy Crookes.

To end the first day, we watched headliner Dave. Out of all the headliners, I believe Dave brought the most energy and the best setlist with him, rap sets are often assumed to not be great for crowds, although, Dave defied any of these assumptions. He had fireworks, confetti, football chants, miraculous guitar solos, and even a surprise duet with Stormzy, it really was a set to remember.

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Saturday:

Photo: Loyle Carner

I woke up this morning awaiting an announcement about Loyle Carner’s secret set, I had been anticipating it after a month of clues and hints from the rapper online so even though its announcement wasn’t to my surprise, my excitement levels were through the roof! His set took place midday on the BBC Introducing Stage, a stage known for its small size. I was lucky to weave myself through the crowd to a position just under the speakers, I jumped on a friend’s shoulders and watched him run on stage. As an artist top of my list to see live, this felt like an out of body experience, he played his new song Hate as well as the track Damselfly, conducting the choir of voices in the audience through the chorus.

Following Carner’s short set, we went to Main Stage East to see another rapper, AJ Tracey. To my surprise his set was really strong, although, I think that this was due to the crowd surrounding me, where mosh pits were thought to be impossible, gaps in the crowd opened and closed as each chorus hit. The famous lyrics to Ladbroke Grove were chanted unmelodically yet passionately, truly summing up the whole UK festival experience. The day then began to come to an end as we saw Wolf Alice at sunset, despite not knowing many of their songs, I still found the atmosphere of the crowd incredibly immersive and beautiful.

When the Arctic Monkeys were announced to play Reading Festival, after many years away, the ticket sales were rapid. The excitement surrounding their set was admirable and demonstrated the love shared for the band. I believe that this excitement caused for an anticlimactic feel which overwhelmed the crowd as the band played their set. Their set list was made up of new or not as known tracks, and lead man Alex Turner seemed unenthusiastic about the whole event. After watching their 2016 Reading set numerous times, I had strong expectations for the band and was left feeling slightly deflated as their final song played.

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Sunday:

Photo: Bastille

The final day of a festival is always a sad one, you can tell that the energy levels have dropped as the majority of the crowds walk around desperate for a shower, a change of clothes and some paracetamol for their headaches from the bass. Even though I had the luxury of going home each night, I too felt this exhaustion and decided to take the day easy.

The first act we saw was Willow Smith, her music is generally laid back and relaxed so I felt that she brought the perfect vibe and atmosphere the crowd were searching for. Deciding to make it our mission to try as many different cuisines that day, we grabbed our first meal, halloumi fries (they were AMAZING) and sat at Main Stage East whilst watching rapper Denzel Curry. Personally, I didn’t know any of his music, although, reflecting back, his set was one of the best I saw all weekend. He brought a number of excited fans on stage for a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform his songs with him. The energy from him and the crowd was incredible considering it was Sunday and it encouraged me to listen to his whole discography when I home.

It was my fourth year at the festival this year and every time I have been, I have walked past the comedy tent feeling desperate to go in. In previous years I have seen some of a set by Joel Dommett however, it was so packed that we had to sit outside the tent and consequently couldn’t hear anything he said. To prevent this, we decided to go early so that we were guaranteed a space in the tent and to my surprise we managed to get a spot at the barriers! Ed Gamble is one of my favourite comedians, I am a frequent listener to his podcast ‘Off Menu’ so was incredibly excited to see him live, unsurprisingly his set lived up to all of my high expectations!

I am not a massive fan of The 1975, I know a few of their songs, but not enough to make me want to stand in the headliner’s crowd. We sat to the right, far out of the crowd yet the atmosphere they formed still reached us. Even though we weren’t properly engaged with their performance, I still think that this moment was another highlight of the weekend and the perfect way to end it, if anything it felt like a scene from a movie.

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Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the festival weekend. All the elements were there, good weather, good food, and a great line-up. Unlike previous years, the little moments were the highlights for me, being surrounded by great music and my friends is where I feel the happiest and I think that this was reflected across all three days.