New stage announced for Reading & Leeds 2024, with The Aux for ‘groundbreaking digital creators’

With less than 100 days until Reading & Leeds 2024, the festival has announced a new stage called The Aux.

Announced today (May 21), the new venue will be introduced for this year’s edition of the double event and is the first of its kind.

According to a new press release, The Aux is designed to showcase “groundbreaking digital creators” and will, for the first time in R&L history, feature a range of content creators in an effort to highlight “some of the most from today. popular and culturally relevant personalities and providing a new platform in the live sector”.

It will allow festival-goers to participate in live podcasts, interactive discussions and live streams, as well as adapt to the current media landscape.

To celebrate the announcement of the new stage, several acts have been announced as the first to play the platform later this year.

These include Useless phone line – a podcast hosted by Max Balegde and George Clarke that sees listeners submit questions and dilemmas – as well as another podcast called Pecans with asheshosted by Ash Holmes.

Manchester’s best podcast M1 also joined the line-up, hosted by Mordz, SK and BillyTheGoat, as did Ayamé Ponder, who gained notoriety on TikTok and Instagram for her reactions to “satisfying” videos.

Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, said of the new stage: “The relevance and impact this new generation of creators is having on our culture and audiences is undeniable. The Aux Stage is a platform to bring their brilliant and innovative work to a live stage.

“Music and digital innovation have always gone hand in hand, and this is a new and exciting time when the online world can connect with the offline, and our audiences can get a little closer to the faces and voices they know and love.”

Benn added: “We’ve backed and supported musicians from emerging talent to headliners, and we hope The Aux will play a role in that for those transforming entertainment as well.”

The introduction of The Aux comes after Benn has spoken NME last year and teased that “stage changes” are on the way.

It also comes just months after Reading & Leeds announced another new stage for the 2024 edition called The Chevron – bringing the festival’s two main stages format to an end.

Chevron will boast the world’s first floating outdoor LED video canopy and has been specially created to host dance, pop and hip-hop music. This year’s venue will be headlined by The Prodigy, Sonny Fodera and Skrillex, as well as performances from Nia Archives, Denzel Curry, Barry Can’t Swim and Kenny Beats.

The world’s biggest silent disco will also return to R&L in 2024, but in its new home, The Chevron.

“We can present different genres very comfortably, and dance, hip-hop, pop and British grime need this home. Chevron can do that,” Benn said NME in February.

“Headliners on all stages always create their own show. We facilitate that, but we don’t direct or interfere. It’s not a request from us, but it’s a special wish that the headliners always bring. Effectively, we have a video mesh roof that will be all-encompassing and give the artist the opportunity to create in a way they haven’t in the past – and not just headline.”

The 2024 edition of R&L will take place from August 21-25 and will be headlined by Liam Gallagher, Lana Del Rey, Blink-182, Fred Again.., Gerry Cinnamon and Catfish & The Bottlemen.

Denzel Curry, Kenny Beats, Beabadoobee, Kenya Grace, Nia Archives, Two Door Cinema Club, Neck Deep, The Wombats, Ashnikko, David Kushner, Rachel Cinouriri, Hak Baker, The Last Dinner Party, Sonny Fodera and others were also , announced as the first wave of artists.

It was later confirmed that 21 Savage, Jorja Smith, and The Prodigy were new additions to the bill, and after that, it was announced that Fontaines DC, Reneé Rapp, Pendulum, and more had also joined the bill. Visit here for remaining tickets.