Acts To Look Out For At Reading 2015

The festival season has opened it's sweaty doors for another summer of van-cooked meat, disgusting pranks and burning tents. They are the epitome of our musical culture and for the true festival experience, complete with people sellotaped to telegraph poles and some pretty unspeakable drug fuelled antics, you’ll want to head on over to Reading or Leeds this August. Believe it or not, there's also some pretty good music playing as well. Here are some acts you'll want to see at this year’s event whether it's live or on the telly.

Slaves
For Fans Of: Sex Pistols, Gallows, Cancer Bats, Dahlia

I’ve banged on about them enough recently so I’ll try to condense this one as much as possible. With their full début Sugar Coated Bitter Truth released earlier this year, the Kentish duo have burst on to the festival scene this summer with appearances at Big Weekend and Glastonbury providing them with vital experience on the world's biggest and most prestigious stages. Originally making their name from their raucous live performances, the punk revival outfit have a very simple stage set up: just two men, one guitar, a basic drum kit and enough shouting to leave the word 'oi' ringing in your half-deafened ears for hours after the gig. Despite the minimalist approach, the group command a huge stage presence which features dancing manta rays and crowdsurfing from the band and fans alike. For any grime fans, there also might be an appearance from London MC, Skepta to look forward to so if you want a lively show, you'll need to be in the NME tent on Saturday.

Run The Jewels

Another minimalist approach is favoured by American underground Hip-Hop act Run The Jewels fronted by rappers EL-P and Killer Mike. Just like Slaves, they are a duo, just like Slaves they are relatively young in the making and just like Slaves they possess the ability to bring crowds of any size to life. Debatably, RTJ perform with an even more stripped-back set up than their Transatlantic counterparts: just the pair and a DJ, which is a nice contrast to the often flamboyant shows put on by other Hip-Hop acts. Not only will their show be exciting, but the pair also emanate passion with every bar. It’s clear they seem to delight in the fact that they’re only getting started in the festival game in their early forties and seem genuinely grateful to their adoring audiences for giving them that opportunity. Whether you're well versed in their relatively small pool of songs or you're just up for an exhilarating set, head over to the NME tent on Friday night for a huge performance.

Rebel Sound

This act demands a double negative of me: they simply cannot not be amazing. Some of the finest DJs the UK have to offer come together in an Electronica supergroup spanning multiple generations and more than a few genres including reggae, drum'n'bass and dance. Originally formed solely for Red Bull's culture clash last year, every member of Rebel Sound is a veteran live performer in their own right, Chase And Status themselves playing the main stage just two years ago. Showcasing songs from each DJ, Rebel Sound’s sets include the studio classics like End Credits, No Problem and Original Nuttah as well as never seen before live songs and remixes. The drum’n’bass dream team even have their own captain in the form of Radio 1 DJ David Rodigan who acts as what can only be described as a ‘Hype Man’ who still gets the crowd roaring at the age of 64. They are certainly one of the most talked-about acts of the year and whether or not they can meet the mountain of expectation facing them is yet to be seen.

Panic! At The Disco
For Fans Of: Fall Out Boy, We The Kings

An easy way to quantify the quality of a band's live performances is via 'Best Live Act' awards for which Panic have been nominated frequently throughout their career especially since the release of their last album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die in 2013. Brendon Urie, the band's lead singer, guitarist and predominant creative force, is a truly gifted singer and that ability has sustained the group's success despite the whittling down of the remaining members. Therefore his essentially 'one man band' status in tandem with the lack of permanence of the live musicians accompanying him means the pressure really mounts on Urie to deliver with his performances and he has responded to the expectation admirably. Make no mistake if you're attending, it's for the Brendon Urie show so all eyes on that far too chiselled face of his because it'll be a show to remember.

Twin Atlantic
For Fans Of: Biffy Clyro, You Me At Six, Deaf Havana
One of the best features of Reading and Leeds is the real blend of artists and musical styles, rock bands squeezing seamlessly into the schedule alongside dance heavyweights. Many people will know the Royal Bloods and the Catfishes but Twin Atlantic seem to have just missed out on the wave of Indie rock bands who have burst onto the British scene over the past five years. I have been following the group fairly closely since their fantastic performance at the festival last year so to me it was no surprise to see them in an important slot this time around since they are yet to graduate from the NME tent to the main stage. As a straightforward post-hardcore band, the four Scotsmen combine the anthemic choruses of rock giants like Biffy Clyro with the more intricate guitar melodies and a younger fan base of the household pop-punk names like Blink 182 and Sum 41. While they tend to stick more towards the rockier side of the post-hardcore spectrum, I found their year-old album Great Divide was impressive for it's blend of intelligent tracks with perceptive lyrics with the more relatable anthems more well suited to the festival crowds. However, perhaps their biggest asset is their thick, inherent Glasgow accents which add a shade of originality to a genre in which bands often fall into the trap of becoming samey. 

And there finishes my Reading preview. Obviously I left out the headliners and other key acts so give these bands a chance and I'm sure you'll enjoy at least one of them.