Red Hot first announcement for Leeds Festival

Returning to the event nine years after their last performance, their live return is highly anticipated and will be a festival exclusive.

Festival organiser Melvin Benn is delighted to have secured the highly successful American band and promises more big names to come for an event set to take place again next August Bank Holiday.

He said: “I’m thrilled to be able to announce Red Hot Chili Peppers as the first headliner for Reading & Leeds 2016, as a festival exclusive. Their incredible live show will be an unforgettable headline performance at the UK’s biggest music festival.

“We’ve still got some really exciting names to announce and I can’t wait to reveal the rest of the line-up. It’s going to be our best year yet.”

Also announced for next year’s event are The 1975, whose appearance is expected to be huge following the release of their highly anticipated second album. With a gargantuan new stage set up and a fiercely dedicated fan base, their appearance is going to be interesting.

Mancunian festival favourites Courteeners will also be returning in majestic fashion in 2016, following the release of ‘Concrete Love’ and a huge show in Heaton Park earlier this summer, priming them for a massive performance.

With a famously visceral live show, Twenty One Pilots appearance at Reading & Leeds 2016 looks set to be nothing short of mind blowing, especially in the wake of their November sold-out UK tour and their recent album Blurryface, which topped the Billboard Charts.

This year has been a huge year for them and with another sold out tour under their belts in February and two nights at Madison Square Garden in the summer, 2016 is set to be another incredible year for this band and their performance at Reading & Leeds will definitely cement them as one of the most exciting bands around.

Slaves embody some of the emerging talent on offer at the festival, moving into a bigger slot after storming their performance this year, not to mention their Mercury Prize nomination earlier this month.

Another group known for their raucous live shows, Hinds have undoubtedly proved themselves as one of the finest new bands to surface this year, winning crowds over across Europe with their delightfully ramshackle performance.

Rat Boy is also joining the line up - fresh after a summer of huge shows, including last month’s inaugural Community Festival and a recent tour supporting The 1975.

Reading & Leeds favourites Crossfaith will no doubt see a crowd of thousands descend on the legendary Japanese rave-metal group’s performance.

Kicking off a huge dance line up, the iconic DJ EZ has also been revealed to perform. A master of his craft, EZ has played to crowds all over the world over the last decade, making him the perfect candidate to get the Reading & Leeds crowd moving.

Weekend tickets are on sale now, priced £205 plus £8 booking fee. An instalment plan is available with a first payment of £58 (£50 plus £8 booking fee) and two further payments of £50 and one of £55 plus £6.50 postage. Early entry permits are £20, campervan permits £75 and lockers £16.