Reading Festival review, Saturday and Sunday: Drake's surprise appearance for Giggs brought the energy to a peak before Muse on the main stage
A sea of glittery, hungover faces were treated to a pumping start on the Saturday afternoon
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Your support makes all the difference.Glorious weather iced the cake of an excellent weekend at Reading Festival.
While it’s often dubbed the ultimate “post-GCSE blowout”, in headline acts Muse and Eminem there was an appeal to an - ahem - more mature generation of punters.
A sea of hungover faces – peppered with glitter and flashy sunglasses – were happily treated to a pumping start to their Saturday from Honeyblood on the Main Stage.
South London rapper Loyle Carner and Brighton indie group Fickle Friends both offered stellar performances; along with pop-rockers HAIM, the NME stage was kept notably busy throughout, despite a tough fight for attention.
Politics is hard to escape at a music festival where most artists have a lot to say – and given this year’s general election and the constant state of turmoil in the US, some acts were more than happy to give their two pence worth while they spoke to the next generation of voters.
Saturday headliner Eminem, who asked the BBC not to televise coverage of his Saturday appearance, donned a t-shirt reading “FACK TRUMP”.
“Reading, I’m not about to stand up here and use this f***ing stage as a platform to get all political and s***, but this motherf***er Donald Trump. I can’t stand him,” he announced, to a cheering audience, before launching into performances of “Lose Yourself”, “Sing For The Moment” and “Rap God”.
Those watching Giggs on Sunday were stunned when he brought Drake onto the main stage - if energy levels had dipped at all in the afternoon heat, they were sky-high from then on.
Liam Gallagher treated fans to a host of Oasis classics before festival regulars Muse then closed the Main Stage on Sunday evening.
Often touted as one of the greatest live acts of all time, they certainly lived up to their reputation, with each part of their set from the heavy use of effects down to the switch of pace carefully choreographed and exhilarating throughout.
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In full rock-and-roll style there were guitars thrown, amps booted over, and even a hat-tip to Led Zeppelin when the band played a short section of their classic “Heartbreaker“.
All this was topped off by a surprise guest appearance from Brian Johnson, who joined Muse on stage to play “Back in Black”.
Given many had feared that the AC/DC legend had put his voice to rest for good, seeing him back on stage and in form was clearly a joy to Muse frontman Matt Bellamy, who looked lost for words.
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