As the ever popular Reading & Leeds Festival draws nearer, we thought we’d share with you 5 HUGE reasons why we think every festival go-er needs to check out the BBC 1Xtra stage at some point over the weekend. Of course we know that you’ll be heading over there anyway to watch the likes of Krept & Konan and Lethal Bizzle amongst others, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded about just what you’re in for, does it…
1. The independent home-grown artists making a name for themselves…
With social media allowing artists to establish large and passionate fanbases in recent years, independent urban artists have been able to amass a serious following. With public interest in Grime, Hip Hop and the entire UK scene on the rise and with artists such as Fekky, Bugzy Malone, Isaiah Dreads, Stormzy and Nick Brewer performing, there are a tonne of talented unsigned urban delights available for your listening pleasure.
2. About 25% of the entire festival’s ‘female-featuring’ acts are set to appear on the 1Xtra stage…
There’s been a lot of talk about women being under-represented at R&L this year, due to this line-up picture showing what the festival line-up would look like if it only included acts featuring at least one female member. Thankfully, the 1Xtra stage is bucking the trend with R&L regular Azealia Banks headlining the Saturday night, whilst Ms Dynamite, Lady Leshurr and Siobhan Bell are also set to take to the stage across the weekend. So if you’re looking to support the ladies this year, the 1Xtra tent is the place to be.
3. The ‘hype’ that Tempa T causes at a festival…
If you’ve never experienced the mass craziness that Tempz creates during his sets, then catching him at R&L this year is a must. With his live performance of ‘Hypest Hype’ (Chase and Status’ track on which he features) guaranteed to cause mosh pits from front to back, Tempa T is always an artist who has the potential to put on one of the best shows of the weekend. His track ‘Next Hype’ is a Grime anthem, making Tempz a ‘must see’ for any urban music fan.
4. The American acts embracing UK festival culture…
Although several of the US acts who are set to appear on 1Xtra stage at Reading & Leeds have previously appeared at other UK festivals, only Azealia Banks has graced the R&L stages before. That means Rae Sremmurd, A$AP Ferg, Young Thug, Vince Staples and Ratking amongst others will be eager to impress the passionate R&L audience and should, in turn, put on a performance to remember.
5. The calibre of DJ who will be on show…
The DJ world is being represented heavily on the 1Xtra stage this year and with the quality of master spinners that they’ve managed to get on the line-up, you can be sure of hearing your favourite tracks pumping out of those hefty speakers all day long. Whilst the superb selection of Target, Semtex, Siobhan Bell and Oneman hold it down for the UK, Craze (who was named “America’s best DJ” by Time Magazine) is representing for the rest of the world. He’s the only solo DJ to win the DMX World Championships three times over and is also the official tour DJ for non other than Kanye West.
If you’re heading down to R&L this weekend, make sure you tweet or tag us us in some of your pics (bonus points if you’re at the 1Xtra stage).
Matt Tarr
@MattTarrJourno
Matt Tarr
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