Royal Blood have been announced for a surprise secret set at this weekend’s Reading Festival. Check out details below along with our exclusive interview with the band.
Fresh from announcing their fifth album ‘Dead Company’ with the pummelling comeback single ‘Ten Over Ten‘, the Brighton rock duo have been announced to join Fontaines D.
C., Charli XCX, Geese and many more at the iconic festival this Friday (August 28) – where they’ve been announced for a surprise early set on The Gallery stage at 2pm.
Looking ahead to the questionable weather, drummer Ben Thatcher joked: “Hopefully it rains so we can get more people in the tent.”.
This comes after the rock veterans recently returned to the stage for the first time in over two years, with the break from touring leaving them reinvigorated.
He continued: “Nothing prepares you for that rush of adrenaline of playing live again. After three or four tracks we were settled in. By the time we played Lowlands Festival, we worrying less about playing things right and just having fun and being more free-spirited.”.
Recent setlists have seen Kerr and Thatcher giving fans a taster of their new record by slipping in ‘Ten Over Ten’ alongside fellow hard-hitting newbies ‘Swallow The Bomb’ and the title track of ‘Dead Company’.
Royal Blood have a storied history with Reading & Leeds, with the duo making their first appearance as a buzzy new band back in 2014.
Upon their return the next year after their huge-selling self-titled Number One debut album, they found themselves on the main stage. Rising up the line-up, they would perform as pre-headliners on the legendary stage in 2019 ahead of The 1975.
Asked what sets Reading & Leeds apart from other festival, the frontman replied: “It’s an anything-goes festival and feels less family-oriented for all the right reasons.
Thatcher agreed: “We always associate it with the GCSE results day. You party with your mates, do things for the first time without your parents watching. It’s a rite of passage.”.
Highlighting the rest of the line-up – which also features headliners RAYE, Dave, Florence + The Machine and Chase & Status – the band celebrated how far the festival has come in terms of diversifying its bill.
Kerr went on: “I like how Reading & Leeds is now much more of a mixed bag. Back in the day it was more straight up guitar bands and rock, but I actually like where it’s landed.
It seems more reflective of how people listen to music now. It’s not genre-based, but more on what’s exciting at the moment.”.
Royal Blood’s Reading 2026 secret set will be at 2pm on The Gallery Stage on Friday August 28. Check out the rest of the stage times here.
The band will release new album ‘Dead Company’ on November 13, with a 2026 UK headline tour to follow.
Reading & Leeds runs from Friday through to Sunday. Check back at NME for the latest news, reviews, photos, interviews and much more.
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