Charli XCX Electrifies Reading Festival With Era-spanning Set

The British singer's performance marked her first UK festival appearance since releasing the new album, and she treated the tens of thousands gathered at the main stage to hits from both her recent work and her back catalogue. The show opened with distorted, black-and-white videos of Charli as the chords of her new album's lead single, Rock Music, struck up. She delivered punchy renditions of new tracks Wink Wink, Yeah and Card Declined before changing from a black sparkly blazer into a black corseted dress.

The second act showcased the breadth of her work, moving from the pop hit Track 10 from her 2017 mixtape to the melancholic House, which she co-wrote for the recent Wuthering Heights soundtrack album. Fans craving her infectious dance tracks were rewarded later in the set with songs like Club Classics, 365 and the Grammy-winning Von Dutch from Brat, the album that became a cultural phenomenon in 2024. She closed with No One Lasts Forever, the final track from Music, Fashion, Film, which ends with filmmaker David Cronenberg saying "no one lasts forever / they are dead, they are gone" and "oblivion is freedom" — words that rang out as Charli stared across the crowd, surrounded by her dancers. Irish rock band Fontaines DC also headlined the first night.

Earlier, grime artist Skepta powered through downpours to hype up the main stage crowd, wearing a lime green waterproof jacket and belting out "it rains, it pours" from his hit collaboration Praise the Lord (Da Shine) with A$AP Rocky. He ended his set with Victory Lap, his collaboration with Fred Again.. and PlaqueBoyMax. The rainstorms drew more festival-goers into the new Gallery tent, where US rock band Geese pulled in a huge crowd who jumped and head-banged along to guitar-heavy tracks like Half Real and 100 Horses.

Earlier in the afternoon, BBC Radio 1's Sound of 2026 winner Skye Newman's powerful, husky vocals reverberated through the same tent as she performed hits like FU & UF and Family Matters. Jamie T kicked off the main stage at midday, using his 33 minutes and 10 seconds — a nod to his new single 3310 — to play indie hits including Zombie and Sticks N Stones. The twin festivals will feature six major headliners this weekend, with bosses saying Reading and Leeds will be the only UK festival appearances for all of them this year. Rapper Dave, singer-songwriter Raye, electronic duo Chase & Status and band Florence + The Machine are all set to top the bill.