Reading Festival’s TikTok stage draws crowds

Down on the slightly damp grounds of the Reading Festival, ponchos are all the rage.

Young music lovers brave the unpredictable weather to watch headlining sets from artists such as Fred Again, Lana Del Rey and Catfish and the Bottlemen.

But this year, there’s a new type of artist attracting the masses: TikTokers.

For the first time, the festival has introduced the Aux Stage, featuring some of Britain’s best known internet personalities.

The line-up includes Chunkz and Filly, who together have over 8.7 million followers on TikTok – numbers that some of the bands based here can only dream of.

Then there are people like Max Baledge (3.6 million followers) and George Clarke (2 million followers) of The Useless Hotline, as well as Ayamé, host of the podcast In Ayamé We Trust, with 3.8 million followers.

A place where the audience can sit back and laugh between music numbers is nothing new for Reading & Leeds – last year the comedy stage featured big names such as Joel Dommett, Russell Kane and Fern Brady.

But there’s a sense that a new generation of stars is emerging this year, one that Gen Z festivalgoers may be more familiar with.

“The influence of content creators on our culture, particularly among young people, is undeniable,” Reading and Leeds organiser Melvin Benn said in a statement to the BBC.

“They spend countless hours with them online and the Aux Stage was created to bridge that gap and give them a live platform to connect beyond the screen.”

He said that “Reading and Leeds will always be a music-first festival” but that there is room for “other innovators redefining entertainment”.

The introduction of this innovation did not go entirely smoothly.

At Reading’s sister festival in Leeds, the Aux stage had to be closed and most performances cancelled after it was hit by Storm Lilian on Friday.

Max Baledge – one of those scheduled to perform – said he would still travel to Leeds and organize a meet and greet for his disappointed fans.

Baledge wrote in his Instagram story a few hours later that the number of people present had been deemed a health and safety risk and that he had been told to leave the scene.

Meeting fans in Reading is nothing new for Balegde, so he believes that booking the stage by promoters Festival Republic was a good decision.

“I’ve been at the Reading Festival for two years and every time we’ve been surprised by how many people come up to us, recognise us and ask for photos. It’s really fascinating,” he said.

“So when you think about all these Gen Z people who want to go to Reading and Leeds, in their daily lives they are recording people through TikTok, YouTube and all social media.”

Ayamé – who was due to appear in Reading on Saturday – launched her “chaotic” podcast in 2023 with just a microphone and a camera.

And although she says many of her under-30 target audience attend the festivals, she doesn’t believe artists like her will outrank musicians.

“I wouldn’t say it competes with the main stage, any more than I would say people would come to a festival and watch a podcast rather than watch a musician.

“But I think it’s definitely an incentive for people who want to take a break and see something other than just music.”

On Saturday, Sephy and Wing – the hosts of the podcast “Goes Without Saying” – opened the Aux stage.

A large audience stood at the stage and the presenters asked people to share dilemmas and embarrassing moments.

Nothing is taboo – there is a lot of talk about painful toilet mishaps, betrayal of relationships and friendships.

A girl tells how her best friend convinced her to leave her boyfriend, only for her best friend to get together with her boyfriend the next day.

Another says she went out with a boy yesterday before finding out he was trying to get “reading points” – a so-called “game” in which men try to accumulate their sexual encounters during the festival.

Eliz, 24, and Lilyemma, 23, who are sitting in the audience, have their own podcast. Lilyemma says it was “really inspiring” to watch the performance.

Some spectators are just there to shelter from the rain.

Ellie, 25, and Barry, 27, wait for a secret performance by rapper Niko B.

“It’s interesting that there’s a stage like this,” says Ellie, “but we’re more here for the music.”

Hannah and Jade came to Reading for the day and were seeing indie rock band The Last Dinner Party – but they told me they were going to check out the Aux stage later.

“Have you heard how many girls here say, ‘very reserved, very attentive’?” jokes Jade, referring to a current social media trend.

“Everyone is watching TikTok,” Hannah says, “and then to actually see some people and take a break from live music – it’s great.”