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Jamie T confirmed for a surprise Reading Festival opening set

The noon main stage slot ran 33 minutes and 10 seconds, a nod to the recent single 3310.

Jamie T

Jamie T sings upward into a microphone while playing a red semi-hollow guitar, with a drummer and a bassist behind him.
Jamie T playing Pryzm in Kingston in July 2022. Photo: Drew de F Fawkes, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jamie T opened Reading Festival with a main stage slot at noon on Friday August 28, a booking that had not been on the published bill. Clash reported the confirmation after a week in which the songwriter had been placing cryptic previews on social media without saying what they were for.

The set had a joke built into its running time. It was billed as 33 minutes and 10 seconds, which is a reference to his recent single 3310, and that kind of detail is the sort of thing a returning artist uses to signal that the comeback is being handled with some humour.

He arrived at it in good form. A recent headline show at London's Scala was packed and sweaty, and he used it to debut new material rather than run through the back catalogue, which is the harder choice for someone who has been away.

The album behind all of it is Ghosts (100 Days of Morning), his sixth, due October 9. A large UK tour follows through the autumn, so the Reading appearance functions as the opening move of a much longer campaign rather than a one off festival booking.

The bill he joined was dominated by Charli xcx, Fontaines DC and Skepta, which made a noon main stage slot an unusual place to put a returning name with a record two months out. It also meant the earliest crowd of the weekend got the surprise.

Reading has had a complicated year off stage, including its bid to extend the Thursday music licence meeting noise concerns, and other acts used the weekend the same way, with Royal Blood revealing their own 2026 secret set. His autumn indie dates sit on the tour guide.

The facts

  • Jamie T opened the Reading Festival main stage at noon on Friday August 28
  • The set was billed as 33 minutes and 10 seconds, after his single 3310
  • He teased it on social media across the preceding week
  • Sixth album Ghosts (100 Days of Morning) is due October 9
  • He recently headlined London's Scala and debuted new material there

How this checks out

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