A beginner’s guide to Reading festival
Spending four whole days walking around a campsite dressed as Jesus is not the behaviour of any normal person. Neither is throwing a tent in a rubbish bin whilst its owners are asleep inside or carrying your mate around on a blow up mattress whilst he plays guitar and serenades everyone with “Man in the Mirror”. Where on earth would you see these kind of not-normal people? The answer: Reading Festival.
It’s known to be home to the weird, the wonderful and the greatest alternative tunes out there, and this year is going to be no different. But don’t let that scare you. Going to Reading fest is an experience that opens your eyes like never before to a world of drunkards at 12pm and hula hooping at 4am. It’s a world of heavy metal guitars, hour-long drum solos and a dance tent that never stops thumping. And it’s a world that we at Licklist towers freakin’ love.
Reading is like a disease; once you’ve been bitten by the bug, you’ll be itching for more. So to help you prepare for your first weekend of pure madness, we’ve written this guide to ensure you won’t end up disappointed.
The Line Up
This year, Reading are really treating us as there’s going to be FIVE headline acts over the three days of music. Friday’s headline spot will be split between Foals and Disclosure, and Red Hot Chili Peppers will be storming the stage on Saturday evening. On Sunday, the festival will be closed by Fall Out Boy and Biffy Clyro, who is back to claim his crown after he last headlined the weekend in 2013.
But that’s not all folks, there are plenty more famous names making an appearance over the three days - if you want to see the likes of The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, Fetty Wap, Asking Alexandria, Hannah Wants, Jack Garratt, The Vaccines and hundreds of other musical legends, then dip into those savings and student loans and buy your tickets now. The best thing to do when you arrive is buy a lanyard (we know they’re pretty lame, but bear with us) so you can decide which acts you want to see and when you can crack open your first fruity cider of the day.
The festival takes place on the 26th-28th August bank holiday weekend, so there’s really no excuse not to go. They’ll be nobody standing over your work desk dropping papers on your head, and the roads will just be full of middle-aged couples rushing off to Wales, Devon or some other dreary seaside venue for a few days in their grotty caravans. Why waste your time doing nothing when you could be out in the fresh summer air and doing your best to rap along with A$AP Rocky.
Which camp are you?
Just like what you wear on the first day of school can leave an everlasting impression of you, which campsite you decide to set up your tent in is equally as important at Reading. There’s 6 to choose from – so what’s it going to be? Will you choose to be close to the legendary silent discos in yellow camp? Or ashamedly tell people you’re staying in brown camp?
Speaking of brown things, it’s important for first time festival goers to be aware of the toilet situation. Do not, under any circumstances, pitch your tent up next to them. Over the weekend you will see sights you never thought you would see and get a wiff of smells you could never imagine to be so terrible, so it’s best that we give you a heads up before you starts thinking camping near them for convenience is a good idea.
Hygiene is extra important at times like this but queuing for the showers may mean you miss half of the acts for the day, so make sure to stock up on baby wipes and dry shampoo. Their website gives you a list of items that are and are not permitted into the campsite and main arena, but don’t panic! Selfie sticks are on the list of items that get the A-OK.
There are heaps of food stalls and little shops around the main arena and the campsites to keep you fed, watered and entertained all day long. There’s plenty of flower crowns for those who are still trying to cling to the typical hippie-festival image, despite being in the company of thousands of indie rockers. There’s a house of horror, rollercoasters and greasy chip vans for when you get the midnight munchies. Or, you can even take a trip to the “oxygen bar” in orange camp that nobody really understands what it’s there for but still fancies a go at anyway.
Become part of one big, happy family
Not only will you become best friends with that jolly group of lads with a gazebo next to you, or pretty much most of the people you encounter that weekend, the folks at the fest want to take care of you too. Getting yourself to Richfield Avenue could not be made any easier, as their official partners Big Green Coaches can pick you up from one of their 44 locations throughout the country. If trains are more of your thing, then there will also be shuttle buses waiting at Reading Station to drop you right on the arena’s doorstep.
You’re probably going to be crippled over with the amount of stuff you’ve brought with you by the time you arrive, so if at the end of the weekend you don’t feel like packing up your various-liquid-stained and half collapsed tent then don’t feel too guilty, it will be going to a better place as the festival will donate them to charitable and community organisations. Aww, how sweet!
And, like any of those loving parents out there, they even allow you to pay them back for the price of your weekend pass in instalments throughout the year. Tickets cost £213 and are available on their website. Trust us, you will not be disappointed.
By Emily Thursfield