Sam Fender, Billie Eilish, and The Killers are all set to perform headline sets at Reading and Leeds Festival 2023.
The first wave of acts has just been announced, and it looks like it’s going to be an awesome weekend.
There’s been lots of rumours circulating about who will be playing, but Greg James put these rumours to bed on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show this morning, The Hoot reports.
Taking to the main stage next year as his first time headlining a major festival will be Tyneside indie favourite Sam Fender, US pop megastar Billie Eilish – who this year became the youngest Glastonbury headliner ever – and indie rock legends The Killers.
Other headliners include Oxford rockers Foals, Scottish singer songwriter Lewis Capaldi, and American pop band Imagine Dragons.
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And it doesn’t just stop there either.
Sam Fender, and Billie Eilish have been announced as Reading and Leeds 2023 headliners / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Also performing at the festival is British MC Loyle Carner, Isle Of Wight indie-rock duo Wet Leg, and dance heavyweight Becky Hill.
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Also confirmed for the 2023 festival is Bicep, Central Cee, Chase Atlantic, Declan McKenna, Don Broco, Eliza Rose, Georgia, Inhaler, LF System, Lil TJay, Lovejoy, Meekz, Nessa Barret, Nothing But Thieves, Shy FX, Slowthai, Songer, Steve Lacy, The Snuts, Tion Wayne, Trippie Redd, Yung Lean, and You Me At Six.
More than a 100 artists are expected to grace the stages at Bramham Park and Little John’s Park next year.
Further exciting announcements are expected to come over the following months.
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Reading and Leeds Festival 2023 takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend / Credit: Reading and Leeds
As always, Reading and Leeds Festival 2023 will once again be happening over the August Bank Holiday weekend between Friday 25 – Sunday 27 August, with tickets set to go sale next Monday 12 December 2022 at 9am.
With a lineup like that, and even more to come, we expect they’re going to fly off the shelves, so make sure to get your alarms set ready.
Grab your tickets here on the Reading and Leeds Festival 2023 website here.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Emily Sergeant -
9th December 2022 
