US rock band Foo Fighters will headline the Reading and Leeds festival for a fourth time in 2019. The veteran bill-toppers join three first-time headliners, British band the 1975 and Texan rapper Post Malone, who will co-headline a night with the Ohio group Twenty One Pilots.
Led by singer Matthew Healy, the 1975 have risen through the festival’s ranks since first appearing on the small Festival Republic stage in 2013. In 2016, they headlined the NME/Radio 1 stage.
The group will release their third album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, on 30 November. Glowing early reviews have hailed the record as a millennial successor to Radiohead’s 1997 album OK Computer.
Post Malone’s headline slot marks his second appearance at the festival after he performed on the main stage this year. His second album, Beerbongs & Bentleys, was poorly received by critics but broke a number of streaming and chart records. The white rapper, whose real name in Austin Richard Post, has been criticised by his African-American peers for cultural appropriation.
Post Malone will co-headline with Twenty One Pilots: one band will headline Reading, the other Leeds. The alternative rock group released their fifth album, Trench, this year.
Reading and Leeds has in recent years been condemned for a lack of women on the bill. This year’s initial announcement features solo artists Hayley Kiyoko, Billie Eilish and Stefflon Don, and the groups Pale Waves, PVRIS and the Distillers. The initial lineup announcement for last year featured one act with a female member.
The lineup of Reading and Leeds, traditionally an indie-rock festival, is often perceived as a barometer for the much-debated state of British guitar music. Drawing inspiration from jazz and gospel, the 1975 may be seen as a progressive example of the form. The lower reaches of the bill include traditionalists Blossoms, Sundara Karma and the Amazons.
• This story initially overlooked the festival’s fourth headliners, Twenty One Pilots. This has been corrected.
