Let's not pretend Reading Festival is about the music...

The first time I went to Reading Festival was in 2012, the summer I finished my GCSEs.

Before we even opened our envelopes on results day we bundled into the car, music blaring, tickets in hand. We forgot all about the huge decisions we knew we had to make and focused on the freedom we knew we were about to experience.

Nothing can prepare a teenager for what they will experience at their first music festival. The sense of utter euphoria that can come with hearing the first guitar note rumble out of the main stage speakers, or just how good being covered in a stranger's sweat can actually feel whilst you share a moment listening to a band you both hold dear.

For me, Reading Festival will always be a playground. It was never just about the fact that it showcased artists that I was far too young to see the first time around, it was more about the joy you get from just being there, surrounded by other absolutely filthy teenagers who were growing up right next to you. They were your new friends and you embraced them, even if their overtly large pupils did give you a slightly uncomfortable vibe.

It's because of these reasons that when I saw people's outrage over this years line-up, I was actually quite shocked.

This lineup isn't shit. It's Reading! 

I'm not sure why people expect an eclectic lineup of rock and indie artists to return to the duo-festival every year? All that would be is a washed out and unreflective quasi-presentation of what people are listening too. Reading is about young people and that for me is certainly reflected in this years line-up.

The festivals manager, Melvin Benn seems to be rightly intuned with what younger audiences are listening to and appreciating in the world of music. If you look take a look at any streaming site or platform, it's blindingly obvious of this. For example, the 'Global & UK Top 50's' on Spotify currently are looking pretty damn close to the lineup this year's Reading and Leeds goers will be seeing and if that's not intelligent booking then I can't guess what is!

Tickets to Reading Festival will always sell, it's almost a right of passage for a British teenager. It's the starting point to decide in which direction your journey through the world of music festivals will take, but for now, let's just let it be...

Reading is filthy, energetic and glorious. That's even without the music.