Reading Festival 2025: Breakthroughs, Legends & Surprises (Review)

Once again, the August Bank Holiday brought tens of thousands to Reading for one of the UK’s most famous festivals, and this year’s edition could be one of the most eclectic in recent memory. Over three days, Reading Festival 2025 served up a unique combination of generational breakouts, nostalgic reunions, and experimental performances that made us all think about why this continues to be a rite of passage for music fans.

The Rise of Chappell Roan

If there was one artist who defined this year, it was Chappell Roan. Dressed like a gothic burlesque villainess, her Saturday night set on the Main Stage felt less like a performance and more like a coronation. Tracks such as “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” and “Femininomenon” had the crowd roaring in unison, while her finale of “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Pink Pony Club” turned the field into a euphoric mass sing-along.

It wasn’t just the music — it was the sheer theatricality. Towering castle-like staging, dancers in vampiric costumes, and a confidence that suggested she’s not only pop’s brightest rising star but also a future headliner. Many left convinced the festival had its next Glastonbury-sized icon.

Hozier and the Art of Intimacy

Where Roan and BMTH went big, Hozier turned inward. His Saturday evening slot brought an almost spiritual calm to the site. Songs such as “Take Me to Church” and “Eat Your Young” had a haunting resonance, reminding us all that sometimes the best sets at a festival are the ones that silence a crowd into reverence rather than stirring them into frenzy.
While playing at Reading, Hozier stopped his music and brought a powerful perspective. In front of a sold-out crowd, he spoke candidly about Gaza, calling for “a meaningful political solution” instead of what he called “lip service”. They were political words, but more importantly, they were words of compassion.

He praised artists to are ready to tell the truth, reminding the audience that free speech and honesty in music is what makes festivals like Reading worthwhile.

The Irish singer urged unity, stressing that what people ultimately want is harmony:

“People want their neighbours to live in peace and safety. They don’t want anyone — Jewish, Muslim, LGBTQ+, whoever they are — to live in fear of hatred, racism, antisemitism or Islamophobia. What people want is respect, dignity… and peace.”
He concluded by stating that true safety and security means “seeing a Palestine that’s free from occupation and ‘free to move towards meaningful self-determination and statehood.”

The audience responded with cheers, which echoed back to him, and the field was transformed into something more than just a concert — into a place of common ground for compassion.

But despite the power of his message, the BBC hasn’t shown any of Hozier’s performance — much to the dissatisfaction of many of his fans who took to social media. One mom even posted that her daughter was looking forward to seeing the show online and was disappointed when nothing was shown.

And finally, when it sunk in for him, the audience gave him what he deserved — a raucous round of applause that rang across the field in this moment of Reading Festival history.

Bring Me the Horizon: A Cinematic Headline

On Saturday, Bring Me the Horizon proved why they’re one of Britain’s most inventive heavy bands. Their headline set fused metalcore ferocity with video-game inspired visuals and a sci-fi storyline that played out on massive LED screens.
Circle pits exploded during “Happy Song” and “Shadow Moses”, while the surprise of the night came with an emotional cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall”, sung by tens of thousands under the Berkshire sky. With pyrotechnics, confetti, and even a political edge as Palestinian flags were waved on stage, BMTH’s performance was both spectacular and poignant — the kind of show Reading headlines are made of.

Nostalgia and Chaos: Limp Bizkit Bring the Party

For many, the most raucous moment of the weekend came courtesy of Limp Bizkit. Fred Durst and Wes Borland rolled back the years with nu-metal anthems “Nookie” and “Break Stuff”, turning the pit into pure mayhem. Their cheeky mix of covers — from Metallica to George Michael — kept fans guessing, while the communal scream of “Behind Blue Eyes” created an unlikely moment of tenderness amid the chaos.

Travis Scott Wraps Up Reading Sunday with Earth Shattering Performance

Travis Scott transformed Reading into his own planet. As soon as he burst onto the Main Stage, the energy was insane — pyro, lasers and a tidal wave of bass to shake the field. Each beat hit like tectonic plates shifting as he raced through “Sicko Mode“, “Goosebumps” and selections from Utopia with the audience bouncing like it was a human wave and mosh pits popping up across the field as if fireworks had been popped off like firecrackers. What made it emotional was the connectedness: thousands of voices screaming every word back at him, strangers on strangers’ shoulders, arms flung to the sky, swept up in his world. For one hour Reading wasn’t a festival site — it was Astroworld reincarnated with Scott’s genius as its ringleader.

Rising Stars and Surprises

Aside from the headliners, Reading 2025 upheld its tradition of breaking new talent, as Wunderhorse moved up from last year’s BBC Introducing Stage to commandeering the Chevron Stage with grunge-sounding rock that was both raw and ageless.
Bloc Party brought some early 2000s nostalgia to their loyal fans, as well as some new material, reminding everyone just why they are indie legends.

Caity Baser pulled off a packed secret set moments later, which mushroomed over social media, while Wallows managed to shake off technical gremlins to win over a packed crowd.

A Festival of Contrasts

For many years Reading Festival 2025 will be remembered for the weekend’s many contrasts — pop theatre and metal mayhem, an unbridled nostalgia coexisting with genuine rising talent, and sublime moments amid uncontrollable chaos. One moment punters were focused on a Lim Bizkit pit, only to be quieted with Hozier’s stunningly soulful voice, before throwing glitter at Chappell Roan’s pop fairytale; and before we knew it was Sunday night, Travis Scott had made the site his universe, an explosive conclusion that shook our soles! Weekend 2025 was so diverse that it showed Reading giganted in this variety, where the origin of a fan’s moment made their subsequent moment possible; and just as the weekend where unpredictability became unforgettable.

When the last firework pops in Sunday night, it is very clear that Reading Festival is not just keeping up with changing times, it is leading the charge on what new festivals can be.