With just 93 days to go until one of the UK’s most popular festivals, Reading & Leeds, a new stage has been announced which is the first of its kind. The Aux will further the possibilities of music festivals by featuring “a digital content creator-led lineup for the first time…highlighting some of today’s most popular and culturally relevant personalities and providing a new platform in the live sector.”
It will allow festival-goers to attend live podcasts, interactive talks, streams and more to tune into the current media landscape and how, especially younger audiences, have a current fascination with online content. Several acts have been announced as the first to play The Au in 2024. These include podcasts like The Useless Hotline, hosted of Max Balegde and George Clarke where listeners send their fun and wacky queries and dilemmas as well as Antics With Ash, where Ash Holme states that “nothing is off limits, chaos is embraced, and tomfoolery is ENCOURAGED!”
Alongside the two of them, Ayamé Ponder will take on The Aux. Ayamé is known for her hilarious TikTok and Instagram videos where she reacts to a variety of ‘satisfying’ videos from bottles smashing to hydraulic presses. She launched her podcast In Ayamé We Trust in 2023 where she helps her listeners through tricky situations; she will be doing a live version of this at Reading and Leeds.
Finally, The M1 Podcast has joined the lineup for the new stage and will give audiences a live show. Hosted by Mordz, SK and BillyTheGoat, this is the number one podcast in Manchester and offers listeners “off-the-cuff freestyles as well as huge laughs.”
Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, spoke of the huge positives surrounding the stage:
“The relevance and impact that this new generation of creators has on our culture and audience is undeniable. The Aux stage is a platform to move their brilliant and innovative work onto a live stage. Music and digital innovation have always gone hand in hand, and this is a new and exciting moment where the online world can connect with the offline, and our audiences can get a bit closer to the faces and voices they know and love. We have supported and championed musicians from emerging talent to headliners and we hope The Aux will play a part in doing just that for those who are transforming entertainment too.”
We can’t wait to see The Aux at Leeds Festival! Keep an eye out for any updates, more announcements and festival coverage in the coming months.
