Lola Young has been confirmed a surprise at for the closing afternoon of Reading 2026 today (Sunday August 30).
Following other ‘secret’ sets from Jamie T and Royal Blood on the opening Friday (both of which were announced up to days in advance), the last minute reveal of the ‘Messy’ hitmaker comes ahead of her taking to the main stage, now known as The Grid’ at 3.15pm today. None of these acts will be performing at the northern sister site in Leeds.
Today will be Young’s R+L debut, and will be one of her first major UK festival appearances after the London singer made her return to the live stage after cancelling her 2025 tour to recover from exhaustion, having previously collapsed on stage in New York City. She would later go on to open up about seeking treatment for addiction during that hiatus and attending AA meetings to help get things back on track.
Speaking to NME earlier this spring, Young told us that while she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, she is “definitely in a much better place”, and feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music” now.
As for the support she received from fans after opening up about her personal struggles, she added: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Jamie T opened The Grid with a surprise midday set on Friday, rolling out indie classics as well as giving early arrivals a taster of his new album ‘Ghosts (100 Days Of Morning)’.
Royal Blood then followed later that afternoon, playing a raucous 2pm set in The Gallery tent where the Brighton duo got the Friday crowd moshing with fan favourites and cuts from new album ‘Ten Over Ten’.
Reading 2026 concludes today with performances from Florence & The Machine, Chase & Status, Kneecap, Westside Cowboy, Violet Grohl and many more.
Check back at NME here for all the latest news, reviews, photos, interviews and more from Reading & Leeds 2026.