The announcement of the Reading and Leeds Festivals line-up confirmed that organisers are still refusing to address an ongoing problem
At this point, we have to assume they don’t care. The line-up for Reading and Leeds Festivals was announced this week and it was… well, a number of things. Bland. Lazy. Nostalgic, if you’re feeling generous. Regressive, if you’re not. But I suppose all of these are a matter of taste. What isn’t up for debate is that the line-up is sexist. I’m sure the organisers would reject this, but I’m afraid I can’t think of a better word.
All three of the headliners – Stormzy, Liam Gallagher and Rage Against the Machine – are male, which is already poor optics, but it is what happens lower down the bill that is most troubling.
Of the 91 acts announced so far, only 20 feature women, while just three women – Mabel, Lady Leshurr and the lead singer of Bloxx, Ophelia Booth – will appear on the main stage.
Maybe it’s unfair to single out Reading and Leeds. The headliners at Isle of Wight Festival are all male, too. It’s the same with Download and Wireless. Latitude fares slightly better: one of the headliners is all-female band Haim, while five female acts will perform on the main stage. We wait to hear more about the Glastonbury line-up, but it is encouraging that Taylor Swift is one of two confirmed headliners.
Every year, we have the same conversation, yet festival organisers simply shrug and carry on as before. It feels reductive to list female artists who could headline these festivals, since it’s obvious to anyone with even a passing interest in music that a lack of alternatives isn’t the problem. But for those of you at the back: Christine and the Queens, Lizzo, Charli XCX, Janelle Monáe, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen – any one of these would more than justify a spot at the top of the bill.
So, what to do about it? Raising the problem in newspapers and on social media clearly isn’t working.
Logistically, it won’t be easy, as Healy acknowledged: “I’m sure my agents are having kittens right now, but times up, man.”
Nevertheless, it’s an admirable stand and one that the thousands of festival-goers in this country should follow. If the line-up doesn’t feel right, go and spend your money elsewhere.
