Royal Blood reveal Reading Festival 2026 secret set

Royal Blood have been announced as the surprise secret set at this weekend's Reading Festival, joining a bill that includes Fontaines D.C., Charli XCX and Geese for a set on The Gallery stage.

"The set planned for Reading is pretty brutal," frontman Mike Kerr told NME, explaining that the 45-minute slot lets the band lean into its heaviest songs. "The theme of the show is to make it as relentless as possible," he said. Drummer Ben Thatcher joked about the forecast: "Hopefully it rains so we can get more people in the tent."

The secret set follows the Brighton duo's return to the stage after more than two years away from touring, a break Kerr said has left the band reinvigorated, calling live performance "the whole point of the band." Recent setlists have folded in new songs including "Ten Over Ten" and "Swallow The Bomb" alongside the title track of their upcoming fifth album, Dead Company.

Royal Blood have a long history with Reading & Leeds, first playing the festival as a buzzy new band in 2014, when they were touring a run of UK club and theatre shows, before rising to pre-headline slots by 2019. "The first time we played Reading was pretty mental," Kerr recalled, describing the jump from 100-capacity club shows to a packed festival tent. Kerr said he now appreciates that the festival has become "more of a mixed bag," moving beyond a strictly guitar-and-rock lineup.

Dead Company, the duo's fifth rock album, arrives November 13, with a UK headline tour to follow. Dates for that run, once confirmed, will join other autumn shows in the tour guide, giving Reading crowds an early preview of songs that will anchor Royal Blood's next album cycle.