This year No.1 Son turned 17. Apart from the whole “Seventeen! HOooooow is my baby so old????”-type angstyness, the age thing has also created a need for a whole raft of new parenting skills.
Because the boy wants to go do stuff. On his own, for god’s sake.
With no adulty-type person to make sure he doesn’t get squished by a car or snatched by danger-strangers or any of the gazillion things that might happen to him if someone’s not there to check.
But. y’know. He’s 17 (*gulp*), and I keep reminding myself how completely able I was at his age. If we’ve done our job well enough, of course he’s more than capable of handling himself with confidence, grace and aplomb.
A few weeks ago he headed into London on his own, and my home grown Dorset boy who’s never really done much of the city-thing navigated the whole of Central London with ease and confidence, meeting with a friend, and ‘sidetracking’ with a spare couple of hours to ‘drop in’ to Slick Willies Skate Shop.
Having proved his ability to remain alive and un-stolen, he’s now plotting his next Big Plan. This year he’s heading off to Reading Festival.
On his own.
Well – with mates, but y’know. No adulty person to keep his ticket safe and make sure he keeps his sleeping bag dry and eats something other than cheesy chips and doughnuts for three days straight…
But of all the festivals he could have chosen, why’d he choose Reading? Mostly because of one thing.
For a boy who’s serious about his music, and especially his alt rock, there’s one big fat huge reason to choose reading this summer.
Of course there’s loads of bands in the line up he’s keen to see (yes, yes, he’s already made himself a plan of attack for getting to all the stages at the right times to see all the bands on his must-see list, and he’s a little disgruntled that there’s a potential clash on Friday between Foals on the main stage and Twenty One Pilots on the NME stage…), but it’s Fall Out Boy who have made it imperative that THIS is the year he must be at Reading Festival. Closely followed by the Chilli Peppers of course (oh how clearly I recall a smaller, colt-legged 9yr old version of him, intensely singing to Snow…).
(and just in case you were keen to learn the entire back catalogue, I just spotted through Groupon that FOB CD’s are 2 for £10 at HMV right now…)
So naturally we’ll be looking into tents and festival must-haves for him in the coming months… but for now, I’ll leave you with the Reading 2016 line up. And if your teen went last year as a first time, let me know how it went…
5 HEADLINERS OVER 3 DAYS – A UK FESTIVAL FIRST
Joining a packed weekend of international heavyweights, Reading & Leeds are delighted to announce their final UK Festival Exclusive co-headliners of 2016; Biffy Clyro and Fall Out Boy. Unstoppable forces in alternative rock on both sides of the Atlantic, both will take to the stage to co-headline an emphatic evening of heavy riffs and melodies.
Catalysts for an entire generation, alt rock kingpins Fall Out Boy have sound tracked the teenage dreams of fans around the globe. Their catalogue of unmistakable anthems laid the blueprint for a genre of their own, standing the band as one of the most influential acts of the 21st century. Their 2013 return to Reading & Leeds triggered one of the biggest crowds in festival history, so expect euphoria, nostalgia and pandemonium as Fall Out Boy headline Reading & Leeds 2016.
Speaking about their massive co-headlining spot, Fall Out Boy said:
“It’s pretty surreal to hear we are going to be co-headlining Reading and Leeds. R&L was our first real festival experience outside of the U.S. and since the start we have buckled in and had an insane and memorable experience every time we have played. This is it, the big one for us and we are excited to be a part of it.”
Melvin Benn, commented: “This year really is a big one for Reading and Leeds. Five headliners across three days – it’s a first for us and the UK Festival scene. We’re always looking to give Reading and Leeds fans something new and this year isn’t going to disappoint. Biffy Clyro and Fall Out Boy are going to be incredible.”
Biffy Clyro and Fall Out Boy join an unparalleled line up of headliners for Reading & Leeds 2016, boasting headline performances destined to last long in the history books from Foals, Disclosure and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. With 5 Headliners over 3 Days, Reading & Leeds is the go-to destination for countless, mammoth festival moments.
