A BRAND new stage for unsigned talent has been launched for the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
The BBC Introducing Stage will showcase the best new talent at the August Bank Holiday festivals.
While Leeds has had an unsigned stage in the past – backed by different sponsors – this will be a first for Reading.
The bands on the stage will be chosen by a combination of the BBC – through their UK-wide network of Introducing shows and a panel of music experts led by Huw Stephens – plus Sandman magazine and Leeds-based promoters Futuresound.
DJ Huw Stephens said: “Reading and Leeds is the festival for new music and so to have Introducing there is very exciting. The line-up for the stage offers a whole load of new talent and compliments the array of new artists playing.”
Live sets from the Introducing stage will be available at bbc.co.uk/introducing and the BBC’s Reading and Leeds Festival site at bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds.
Unsigned stages at Leeds Festival have helped bands land major deals in the past, including Twisted Wheel and Polytechnic.
This year, a few bands already making significant waves in the industry are on the bill – Northern Ireland’s General Fiasco and London’s Ipso Facto among them.
Other acts set to play include Attack Attack, The Cherry Cobb Cartel, Darlings of the Split Screen, Eureka Machines, Fangs, FF’ers, Flash Guns, Fox Cubs, Hungry Ghosts, I Concur, Kid iD, The Last People on Earth, Loqui, The Maybes, New York Fund, Our Fold, Out From Animals, Pulled Apart By Horses, Razmatazzlorryexcitement, Situationists, Skeletons, That F**king Tank, Thomas Tantrum, Tiger Shadow and Tripwires.
The Blackout have also been announced as a late addition to the main stage. The six metal troubadours from Wales have already enjoyed high profile gigs with NERD, Linkin Park, Gallows, Enter Shikari, Fightstar and Lostprophets. This festival could make them one of the hottest names of next year.
The line-up for the festivals’ Alternative Stages is soon to be announced – so watch this space.
For more, visit www.leeds festival.com.
