Royal Blood have been announced for a surprise secret set at this weekend’s Reading Festival. The duo sat down for an exclusive interview to share what fans can expect.
Fresh from unveiling their fifth studio album ‘Dead Company’ alongside the thunderous comeback single ‘Ten Over Ten’, the Brighton-based rock pair have been added to a star-studded bill featuring Fontaines D.C., Charli xcx, Geese and many others. Their surprise early set will take place on The Gallery stage this Friday (August 28) at 2pm.
“The set planned for Reading is pretty brutal,” frontman Mike Kerr told NME. “That’s been the theme for these shows. It’s only 45 minutes long so that allows us to play all the heavier songs that we have. The theme of the show is to make it as relentless as possible.”
Looking ahead to the typically unpredictable British weather, drummer Ben Thatcher quipped: “Hopefully it rains so we can get more people in the tent.”
This announcement follows the rock veterans’ recent return to the stage after a two-year touring hiatus, which they say has left them feeling refreshed and eager to perform again.
“We’re now just having the best time,” Kerr shared. “We missed playing and it’s been a long time for us. The whole point of the band is to play live. That’s why we make records.”
He continued: “Nothing prepares you for that rush of adrenaline of playing live again. After three or four tracks we were settled in. By the time we played Lowlands Festival, we were worrying less about playing things right and just having fun and being more free-spirited.”
Recent setlists have offered fans a preview of the new record, with Kerr and Thatcher weaving in ‘Ten Over Ten’ alongside other hard-hitting newcomers like ‘Swallow The Bomb’ and the title track ‘Dead Company’.
“‘Ten Over Ten’ has been great,” the singer said. “You can already feel that little bit of familiarity in the room. It sits alongside some of the biggest songs in the set already. ‘Swallow The Bomb’ has been really good because I can already see people in the crowd connecting with it even though they’ve never heard it before. It’s confirmed our suspicions that these songs are meant to be played live.”
Royal Blood share a rich history with Reading and Leeds, having made their festival debut in 2014 as a promising new act.
“The first time we played Reading was pretty mental,” Kerr remembered. “If my memory is correct it was when we had ‘Out Of The Black’ and ‘Figure It Out’ on the radio. We were doing a UK tour of about 100-capacity rooms, some of them were selling out and some of them were not. We were in that very early stage of touring and trying to get fans. We rocked up to Reading and we went from playing to 100 people to playing to a tent that was rammed with thousands.
“I remember it being quite intimidating. It was a huge surprise because we didn’t think we could do that. It was scary but the energy was great.”
Returning the following year on the strength of their chart-topping self-titled debut album, they graduated to the main stage. Their profile continued to rise, culminating in a pre-headliner slot in 2019 before The 1975.
“Reading was one of the first major festivals I went to when I was about 17,” Kerr told NME. “It was absolute carnage and almost medieval. Everyone was covered in mud and in a primal way of being. It was so much fun.
“I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t part of me watching bands playing on the main stage with the thousand-yard-stare thinking: ‘One day’. To play these stages is pretty surreal, and I always think back to that 17-year-old me and how impressed he’d be.”
When asked what makes Reading and Leeds stand out from other festivals, the frontman responded: “It’s an anything-goes festival and feels less family-oriented for all the right reasons. It’s loose and rowdier.”
Thatcher echoed that sentiment: “We always associate it with the GCSE results day. You party with your mates, do things for the first time without your parents watching. It’s a rite of passage.”
Turning their attention to the broader lineup, which includes headliners RAYE, Dave, Florence + The Machine and Chase & Status, the band praised the festival’s commitment to broadening its musical scope.
“It’s great, and I love the day we’re playing on,” said Thatcher. “We’re playing on the same day as Fontaines who are in a similar position to us with a new album coming out.”
Kerr added: “I like how Reading & Leeds is now much more of a mixed bag. Back in the day it was more straight up guitar bands and rock, but I actually like where it’s landed. It seems more reflective of how people listen to music now. It’s not genre-based, but more on what’s exciting at the moment.”
Royal Blood’s surprise Reading 2026 set is scheduled for 2pm on The Gallery Stage this Friday, August 28.
The band will release their new album ‘Dead Company’ on November 13, followed by a 2026 UK headline tour.
Reading and Leeds runs from Friday through to Sunday.
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