“Oh shit, I’m nervous,” smiles Fred Again sheepishly, looking out at the huge crowd of young and beautiful ravers gathered for his headline gig at Reading 2024 on Saturday, a cheeky bunch who have come to party. “I have to say, I know how you feel because when I was 16, that was my first festival.”
He’s been through the rite of passage where you get your exam results and jump on a train with your tent and a bag of cans to launch into your first full weekend of real hedonism – repeated every year until many people reach a time or age where the zeitgeisty line-up doesn’t go down so well. The names that filled those headline slots often wielded guitars, and there was a time when anything resembling pop could be swallowed from the stage. At the same time, the history of Reading & Leeds is also the history of dance, and there has always been a place to rave here. Now a nervous dance nerd and his turntables stand where Nirvana once stood, and he knows what that means.
When he makes a surprise appearance from the crowd on a B-stage to play for the audience in the round, it’s clear from the start that this isn’t going to be your usual Reading headliner set. With a sun-kissed, blissful sound and a superclub light and laser show, we’re transported from a chilly Berkshire field to what could be a moment from Tomorrowland or a late-night Primavera session.
“Turn On the Lights again…” floods Little John’s Farm with a euphoric balm, “Adore U” joins forces with his retro house bounce and things get a little hectic on the rocking “Places To Be”. We could do with some more intense drops and given his collaborations with the likes of Anderson .Paak, Charli XCX, Berwyn, Skillex, Stormzy, AJ Tracey, Lil Yachty and The Blessed Madonna, perhaps one would have hoped for a guest appearance or two? Perhaps some more recurring B-stage theatrics and some big drama? Still, he and his right-hand man Tony Friend (former dance maestro at Modestep) can’t give much more physically or emotionally as they go to war with decks, synths and keys.
“About nine months ago, I was going through a lot of crap,” says Fred, recounting how he heard the “most beautiful” lyric that pulled him out of the darkness and got the audience singing “I let you take a piece of me, I hope you get the peace you need“The boy has a beautiful voice, to be honest, and the crowd sings along like crazy in response. Fred’s dancing style has an emotional depth that really gets you going, especially in the post-lockdown catharsis of ‘Marea (we’ve lost dancing)’.”
Looking out at the hordes perched on each other’s shoulders as the fireworks light up the sky, resplendent in his Fontaines DC shirt (a band who secured a future headline slot earlier today), he is every bit the young fanboy he was at his first festival, a mirror image of the sea of Reading revellers before him. He knows what they want, and he gives it to them. Fred Again… redefines what an R&L headliner can be.
The setlist of Fred Again.. for Reading 2024 was:
“Turn the light back on…”
‘Main Stage’
“Danielle (smile on my face)”
‘adore you’
“Places to be”
‘Chanel’ / ‘A New Mistake’ / ‘Sabrina (I’m a Party)’ / ‘Leave Me Alone’
“Peace you need”
“BerwynGesaffNeighbors”
‘Jungle’
“Rumble” (Skrillex cover)
“France Freestyle” / “Rumble (Baby Keem cover)”
“Angie (I was lost)” / “Clara (the night is dark)”
“Marea (we have lost the dancing)”
“Billie (loving arms)”
‘Carlos (make it)’ / ‘adore you’ / ‘Kahan (last year)’ / ‘stick with it’ / ‘Hannah (the sun)’
“Delilah (get me out of here)”
“Peace You Need (Reprise)”
Follow all the action on the NME Live blog on Reading and Leeds here.
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