Despite the mud, the crowd turned up early and in large numbers for Lambrini Girls on the Main Stage. The Brighton punk rock trio immediately set the tone with a huge “Fuck Marine Le Pen”, greeted by cheers from the audience. This political statement was followed by several anti-fascist chants taken up by part of the crowd.

For Ruby Roberts, Reading Festival was a milestone. It was her first festival appearance, and with the atmosphere of The Canopy behind her, she had plenty to celebrate.

Beth McCarthy has officially entered her villain era. After performing on the main stage at the Reading Festival, McCarthy was still trying to process what had just happened.

On Tuesday night, Violet Grohl played her first of two shows at the newly reopened Barfly, Camden. Having released her debut album, Be Sweet To Me, in May, Grohl has spent the summer bringing her songs to bigger stages, so seeing her in a room this small felt like a good chance to see how the songs work up close.

By Saturday, the Reading Festival site was well and truly muddy. Rain fell throughout the day, leaving puddles scattered across the site and turning every walk between stages into a careful attempt to keep your shoes intact. But the weather did little to distract from a day packed with performances, moving from intimate sets in The Ballroom and The Canopy to some of the festival’s biggest stages.

Despite the unruly British summer weather, FORWARDS 2026 was a lot of fun. If anything, the shared misery of the rain forced a unique, tight-knit camaraderie among the crowd. Perfectly embodying the community-driven ethos the organisers aimed for. A massive shoutout to the incredible media team at Plaster for keeping the press tent warm, organised, and beautifully looked after.