This year was my first time attending Reading/Leeds since 2015. My reasons for not attending in the last few years have been down to my assumptions on what the experience would be like. I suspected I would feel very out of place, very old, and uncomfortable experience. It is worth saying that musically as well, I am far more of a rock and metal fan. Pop and hip-hop are genres that I dip my toe into, but don't listen to very much.

All of this is a precursor to say, that I had more fun at this years Reading Festival, than I have had in many years at any other large event. I attended with my family, all of whom are older than me, and we all had a fantastic time.

The site layout was fantastic. I really liked the two large stage set-up, and transitioning between the two was easy enough. The bars were dotted around well, and I never had to queue for long for them, or for any food truck. The toilets were as good as I have ever seen them at a festival, and I never had an issue with having to wait.

The people were (for the most part) very friendly, and welcoming. A much older crowd than I was expecting as well. Sure, there were a few teenagers who I would rather not associate with, many of whom I presume are the ones who caused the trouble yesterday, which I have to say I just somehow managed to not see, I did leave the arena after Halsey admittedly. But generally speaking, everyone was very kind, and I met some very nice people.

Musically, I saw some fantastic sets. Halsey, Bring Me The Horizon, Fontaines D.C. and DMA's were personal highlights. Also loved Wolf Alice, The Interrupters, Little Simz and All Time Low. If I have one complaint, I wish there was more of a place for underground guitar music. It does seem a shame to have lost the lock-up/pit stage, as I only visited that stage once all weekend, for The Interrupters, which was a very nice surprise announcement to see, on the drive up to Reading.

So, overall, I had a brilliant time, and I suspect that I will attend again. This will obviously depend on the line-up, and though I was absolutely gutted that Rage Against The Machine and Maneskin dropped out, their absence didn't ruin the festival for me. In fact I can honestly say that even as a general rock and metal fan, I had more fun watching Charli XCX on Sunday, than I have had with any standard Download Festival sub-headliner (Korn, Deftones, Lamb of God, etc) in years.

A great weekend, great people, great weather, great music, great.

Hope everyone else had a top weekend, (maybe) see you in 2023.