Red Hot Chili Peppers
Air slap bass at the ready: Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline 2016’s Reading and Leeds festival. Having topped the bill at the event in 2007, 1999 and 1994, the Californian funk-rock group will make their return to the annual event in August.
Aside from Flea’s various ventures with Thom Yorke and the Mars Volta in the past few years, there has been no new material from the group since their 2011 album, I’m With You. Drummer Chad Smith, however, gave an interview this summer in which he revealed the band had been in the studio completing their 11th album.
“We’ve written and recorded in a way that we’ve never done before, so the record is going great,” he told Rolling Stone. “We all have high hopes that it’s going to take off and we’re going to do something very different and unique for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”
Festival organiser Melvin Benn said he was thrilled to have the band perform as a festival exclusive. “Their incredible live show will be an unforgettable headline performance at the UK’s biggest music festival,” he said. “We’ve still got some really exciting names to announce and I can’t wait to reveal the rest of the line up. It’s going to be our best year yet.”
Included in the first wave of names for the annual event are the 1975, who will be making an appearance at next year’s festival following the release of their second album, as well as Mancunian group the Courteeners. Grime collective Boy Better Know, Twenty One Pilots, Crossfaith and DJ EZ will also perform, while Spanish garage rock group Hinds, BBC Sound of 2016 longlisted Rat Boy and the Mercury prize nominated Slaves have been confirmed.
“It’s always a pleasure to play at Reading and Leeds and it’s an honour to be invited back to play again in 2016,” said Slaves. “The crowds have been good to us and we are always very grateful. The lineup is always a good’un and we’re looking forward to being part of it and taking things up another level this time. See you there.”
Reading and Leeds festival takes place 26–28 August 2016.