{"id":753483,"date":"2026-08-29T10:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/753483\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T10:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:42:10","slug":"heres-what-charli-xcx-played-as-she-headlined-reading-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/753483\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s what Charli XCX played as she headlined Reading 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charli XCX<\/a> headlined Reading Festival 2026 <\/a>last night \u2013 find all the highlights from her set below.<\/p>\n

The singer made her headline debut appearance on the festival\u2019s main stage<\/a> \u2013 now\u00a0known as The Grid<\/a> \u2013 last night (August 28). She\u2019ll play another set tonight in Leeds, marking her first time playing the dual festivals since 2022.<\/p>\n

The performances come on the heels of her latest album \u2018Music, Fashion, Film<\/a>\u2019, and ahead of\u00a0a North American arena tour with Underscores<\/a> in September.\u00a0After a day of heavy rain on site, Charli took to the main stage to kick off her first full UK set of her \u2018Music, Fashion, Film\u2019 era, opening with the album\u2019s first single \u2018Rock Music\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unlike the \u2018Brat\u2019 era, which often saw her alone onstage, the set featured a full band and a host of dancers, all dressed in black.\u00a0Charli sailed through a setlist predominantly made up of songs from her latest album, though it also drew from \u2018Brat\u2019, with high-octane performances of \u2018360\u2019, \u2018Von Dutch\u2019 and \u2018Guess\u2019, as well as her \u2018Wuthering Heights\u2019 album, which came out back in February.<\/p>\n

Before \u2018Apple\u2019, Charli told the audience: \u201cHere\u2019s a classic for you, Reading\u201d, while \u20182007\u2019 was preceded by her being handed a cigarette by a dancer.<\/p>\n

The set wrapped up with \u2018Nothing Lasts Forever\u2019, the closing track from \u2018Music, Fashion, Film\u2019, with the final words of David Cronenberg\u2019s monologue: \u201cThey are dead, they are gone, nothing lasts forever\u201d repeating over the main stage.<\/p>\n

Find the full setlist below, and read NME\u2018s full review of the performance here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

@concertsuk<\/a> <\/p>\n

charli xcx opening with \u2018rock music\u2019 at reading festival @Reading & Leeds Festival #charlixcx<\/a> #readingfestival<\/a> #musicfashionfilm<\/a> #brat<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u266c original sound \u2013 concertsuk<\/a> <\/p>\n

NME\u00a0gave the set four stars<\/a> in a review that read: \u201cThe set really comes alive after \u2018House\u2019, when\u00a0John Cale<\/a>\u2019s recorded voice booms out of the PA over black screens, before Charli re-enters the fray for her part of the\u00a0Wuthering Heights\u00a0song, crawling across one of the platforms as lights flash artfully around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs sparks fall from the roof and fire bursts up in the background, it passes the baton to \u2018Dying For You\u2019, that soundtrack album\u2019s far poppier cut, before she leans into \u2018Brat\u2019 with a megamix that ends with underwear shooting into the sky at the end of \u2018Guess\u2019.<\/p>\n

Charli XCX\u2019s Reading Festival 2026 setlist was:<\/p>\n

\u2018Rock Music\u2019
\u2018Yeah\u2019
\u2018Apple\u2019
\u2018Wink Wink\u2019
\u2018Card Declined\u2019
\u2018Track 10\u2019
\u2018Girl, so confusing\u2019 (featuring Lorde remix)
\u2018pink diamond\u2019
\u2018House\u2019
\u2018Dying for You\u2019
\u2018Club classics\u2019
\u2018365\u2019 (Featuring Shygirl remix)
\u2018360\u2019
\u2018Sympathy is a knife\u2019
\u2018Von dutch\u2019
\u2018Guess\u2019 (featuring Billie Eilish remix)
\u2018If You Take Away the Music Then What Has She Got?\u2019
\u20182007\u2019
\u2018Camera\u2019
\u2018party 4 u\u2019
\u2018Playboy Bunny\u2019
\u2018SS26\u2019
\u2018No One Lasts Forever\u2019<\/p>\n

Ahead of her set, Charli watched back some of her previous performances at the festival<\/a>,\u00a0and teased what fans can expect from her 2026 headline set.<\/p>\n

Also headlining the 2026 festival are\u00a0Florence + The Machine<\/a>,\u00a0Fontaines D.C.<\/a>,\u00a0Dave<\/a>,\u00a0RAYE<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Chase & Status<\/a>, and other names on the line-up include\u00a0Skepta<\/a>,\u00a0Sombr<\/a>,\u00a0Role Model<\/a>,\u00a0JADE<\/a>,\u00a0Kneecap<\/a>,\u00a0Geese<\/a>,\u00a0Skye Newman<\/a>,\u00a0Holly Humberstone<\/a>,\u00a0Gurriers<\/a>,\u00a0Westside Cowboy<\/a>,\u00a0Declan McKenna<\/a>,\u00a0Maisie Peters<\/a>,\u00a0Paris Paloma<\/a>,\u00a0Overpass<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Duke Dumont<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer, Charli\u00a0made a surprise appearance during The Strokes\u2018 set<\/a>\u00a0at Outside Lands, and also\u00a0made a virtual cameo during Djo\u2019s set at the festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before then, she\u00a0recorded an intimate live performance from Maida Vale<\/a>,\u00a0performed her first full headline show of the \u2018Music, Fashion, Film\u2019 era at Lollapalooza<\/a>, and also\u00a0joined Lorde on stage at the Chicago festival for \u2018Girl, So Confusing\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since her latest album dropped, the singer\u00a0has \u201cbegrudgingly\u201d released the \u2018B-sides Edition\u2019\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0shared an accompanying film for the original album<\/a>.<<\/p>\n

Check back at NME here<\/a> for the latest news, reviews, photos, interviews and much more from Reading & Leeds 2026.<\/p>\n