March 1, 2023 8.00 pm This story is over 15 months old

Holly Humberstone gets main stage Reading & Leeds slot

A big booking for the Grantham star

By Local Democracy Reporter

Holly Humberstone will be performing on the main stage of one of the UK’s largest music events this year.

Reading & Leeds Festival has added the Grantham-born singer to its 2023 line-up.

The annual festival is held over the August Bank Holiday weekend each year, sharing acts across Bramham Park in Leeds and Richfield Avenue in Reading.

Headline acts are The Killers, Sam Fender, Foals, Lewis Capaldi, Imagine Dragons and Billie Eilish for 2023 – and there’s a notable Lincolnshire inclusion in the line-up.

Reading & Leeds Festival, which attracts over 100,000 people each and every year, announced a second wave of 70 acts for the 2023 bill on Tuesday, including a main stage east role for Holly Humberstone.

Holly will be a main stage act at this year’s Reading & Leeds Festival. | Photo: Reading & Leeds Festival

Holly will be one of the main stage’s opening acts on the Saturday in Reading and Sunday in Leeds, performing before the likes of Inhaler, Nothing But Thieves, Central Cee and The Killers.

The Grantham-born singer has been steadily rising in stock over the past couple of years – generating regular radio play and commercial success.

Humberstone won the Rising Star BRIT Award for 2022, came 2nd in the BBC Sound of 2021 list and was even nominated for an Ivor Novello Award, so has been backed for a big career in the music industry.

A very proud Holly Humberstone posing with her BRIT Award. | Photo: Holly Humberstone via Instagram

Her singles are a vulnerable glimpse into the life of an adolescent turned adult, with musical influences that include Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver and Lorde.

Holly is no stranger to the big stage either. She performed on the John Peel stage at Glastonbury in 2022, and as an opening act for George Ezra’s Finsbury Park gig in July last year, as well as at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Coventry.

All eyes are now on her eagerly anticipated debut album, which was initially slated for 2022 release but is yet to emerge.


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