Sombr began his Reading Festival set on August 29 by being wheeled towards the stage on an ambulance stretcher, with Slayyyter walking him in. The entrance was filmed backstage and played out on the screens above the main stage, now called The Grid, at Little John's Farm. The footage showed the ambulance doors opening, Slayyyter sitting alongside him, and the two taking each other's hands for the walk in.
Partway along the route, Sombr dropped to the ground for a set of press-ups. Slayyyter did the same beside him. They arrived together at the side of the stage, where she hyped the crowd briefly and waved to fans before leaving him to start the set.
The audience was one of the biggest of the weekend so far, on a day that closed with headline sets from Dave and RAYE. Sombr had arrived at the site less than 24 hours after playing Electric Picnic in Ireland, where he brought out Noel and Mike Hogan of The Cranberries for a version of Zombie. That was his second turn with the brothers this year, after the pair joined him for Linger at Dublin's 3Arena in March.
Slayyyter had played her own set on The Grid earlier that afternoon, drawing heavily on her third album WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, released in March. NME gave the performance four and a half stars, describing it as a hangover-demolishing set from an artist who nearly walked away from music before her breakthrough arrived.
Sombr released his debut album I Barely Know Her in August last year, a record NME called sad boy indie with a smirk in a four star review, driven by heartache but closer to catharsis than misery. He has kept a heavy festival schedule since, including a first European festival headline slot at Sziget, and his songs are due to appear on the NBA 2K27 soundtrack.
Both Sombr and Slayyyter were billed to play Leeds Festival the following day, August 30. The rest of the weekend's pop bookings and site news are collected on the festival tracker.
The facts
- Sombr entered the Reading main stage from an ambulance stretcher on August 29.
- Slayyyter walked him in and the pair paused for press-ups.
- His set drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend.
- He had played Electric Picnic in Ireland less than 24 hours earlier.
- Slayyyter played her own Grid set earlier that afternoon.
- Both were billed for Leeds Festival on August 30.
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