Six Must-See New Bands At Reading & Leeds Festival 2024
Early it may be this year, but the August Bank Holiday can only mean one thing: Reading & Leeds Festival. For the last 30 years, the event has evolved from its rock roots to span the genres, and this year is no different.
While the 2024 edition includes some heavyweight headliners (Blink-182, Fred Again.. and Liam Gallagher), there is excellence to be found across the bill all the way down to mid-day on the BBC Introducing, as is tradition.
After much deliberation – countless other names could have been featured – CLASH has put together a list of six unmissable new artists across what will undoubtedly be another epic weekend.
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Thus Love
Vermont band Thus Love have made the UK a home from home, with their 2022 debut ‘Memorial’ cementing them as band to watch. Previously a trio, the quartet have flourished, beefing up their elegant, shimmering indie-rock sound on new single ‘Birthday Song’. Their mid-afternoon set on the Festival Republic stage will firmly kick off an album campaign which should see them take to the next step in their trajectory. Glam rock, post-punk, dancefloor indie, it’s all here.
Euphoric melodies, sky-kissing guitars and anthem-in-waiting are guaranteed and, come 2025, more people will be claiming they were there than the tent can hold.
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Dead Pony
Glaswegians Dead Pony recall Garbage, and not just because they’re the same nationality as the iconic Shirley Manson; it’s their fearlessness, sense of scale and wilful indifference to opinion. Fusing rock music with a multitude of other genres, this year’s debut album ‘Ignore This’ is a breathless, relentless assault on the ears, with their live show doing the same to the eyes.
When they aren’t snarling, Dead Pony are enveloping the listener in an adrenaline-fuelled windswept maelstrom of unadulterated passion and will blow away any residual cobwebs in their early-afternoon slot. If you’re after hooks, look no further.
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Ellur
“I think too much, I’m all out of fucks”, will surely rank high on any future ‘Great Opening Lines’ list. Taken from her recent single ‘God Help Me Now’ – co-written with Benjamin Francis Leftwich, no less – Halifax-based indie starlet-in-waiting Ellur graces the BBC Introducing Stage in the late afternoon.
With hints of Americana, a dollop of dramatic poise and gallons of intense narratives, her vivid storytelling style perfectly combines Sharon Van Etten and Sam Fender, while resolutely stamping her own personality at the same time. Having earned her chops over a summer which included supporting Robbie Williams at Hyde Park, Lana Del Rey will be relieved to be playing on different days to Ellur.
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Deijuvhs
There are mosh pits, there are raves and metal gigs, it all seems linkable in Deijuvhs’ creative sphere. The style of the East-Londoner is refreshingly hard to break down into a single genre. Stylistically defying and diverse, the DIY musician blends punk, rap, metal, dancehall, techno and alt-rock with confidence. The result is radiant.
With influences broader than many of his peers the sky appears to be the limit for the imaginative riser. Crisp numbers such as ‘Freakazoid’ and ‘Scumbag Anthem’ are fitting examples of this creativity, as they highlight the original edge to Deijuvhs’ sound, just how undeniable it is. Reading might just be the springboard he needs to take everything up a notch, to find himself where he deserves to be.
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Venus Grrrls
It has to be raw and real. Riot Grrrl inspired punk collective Venus Grrrls are a force to be reckoned with. While the Leeds five-piece have started rumours about the raucous live shows, they also know how to maintain the interest of those who come to see them.
With songs reminiscent of material by Bikini Kill, Sleater Kinney and Siouxsie and The Banshees, they put their own, current stamp on things. A presence and striking image, not much stands in their way, and their Reading appearance looks set to be an early milestone, a moment to be treasured. With a UK tour neatly lined up, scheduled to begin early September, this show is a special opportunity to catch them.
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Swim School
Sometimes, all you need is the only great song that has the potential to transport you, and Edinburgh’s indie dream-pop group Swim School offer fulfilling melodic and distorted sonic highs. But the band’s melodic gift is just one dimension, the nuanced instrumental side of things represents another.
With striking effects, ear-worms like alt-rock track ‘Bored’ and the jangly ‘Seeing It Now’ are instantly thrilling. Initially compared to Wolf Alice, frontperson Alice Johnson’s vocals are varied and versatile. An irresistible live force too, the band no doubt will be a joy to watch over the weekend. Don’t miss them.
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Reading and Leeds festival runs between August 23rd – 25th.
Words: Susan Hansen + Richard Bowes
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