Gene Gallagher, the 25-year-old son of Liam Gallagher, took to the stage with his band Villanelle at Reading Festival on Friday, but kept fans waiting around 15 minutes as the group turned up late for their set. Sporting dark hair and sunglasses, Gene bore a striking resemblance to his Oasis star dad as he performed on the Canopy stage.
Second-generation stars at Reading and Leeds
It was a significant moment for the musician, with Liam having famously headlined Reading with Oasis 26 years ago in 2000. Gene, whose mum is All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, is now attempting to forge his own path in music with Villanelle. But he is not the only famous offspring appearing across Reading and Leeds this weekend.
Moses Martin, the 20-year-old son of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, also performed at Reading on Friday with his indie-pop group People I've Met. Moses fronts the band alongside Orlando Wiltshire and Andrew Suster, with the trio first getting together while at school in Los Angeles before beginning to perform live in recent years. His appearance came 27 years after Coldplay played the festival.
Violet Grohl and Cruz Beckham on the bill
Dave Grohl's daughter Violet, 20, performed at Leeds on Friday and is due to appear at Reading on Sunday. Her festival appearance had briefly been thrown into doubt after she cancelled shows in Liverpool and Manchester earlier in the week because she had lost her voice. However, she recovered in time to perform tracks from her album Be Sweet to Me. Her dad is certainly no stranger to Reading and Leeds, with Foo Fighters having appeared at the festivals numerous times over the years, most recently headlining in 2019.
David and Victoria Beckham's youngest son Cruz, 21, is also due to perform with his band The Breakers, appearing at Reading on Saturday before heading north for Leeds on Sunday. The influx of celebrity offspring comes amid debate over opportunities for emerging musicians at the festivals following changes to the BBC Introducing stage.
Debate over emerging talent and a possible surprise
The platform launched at Reading and Leeds in 2008 and gave early festival slots to acts who would go on to become huge stars, including Ed Sheeran, The 1975, Florence + the Machine and Charli XCX. Festival Republic announced an overhaul last month, with the previous Introducing stage removed and organisers saying the changes would allow them to showcase a "much wider pool of emerging talent". The presence of Gene, Moses, Violet and Cruz on this year's bill has subsequently prompted some criticism online over whether artists with famous parents have an advantage when trying to break into the industry.
There could be another surprise addition to Reading's line-up before the weekend is over, although this one has nothing to do with a famous surname. Fans believe Lola Young has dropped a major clue that she will perform at the festival after she shared a cryptic message about her return to the stage. The Messy singer told followers she had enjoyed performing around the UK again and was working on new music, before teasing that she hoped to see them "very soon". But fans quickly noticed seemingly random capital letters hidden throughout her message. When read together, they spell READING.
The clue has fuelled speculation that Lola could fill the festival's unannounced special guest slot at 3.15pm on Sunday. Fans had previously suggested Royal Blood could be behind the mystery appearance. Reading and Leeds continue throughout the weekend, with major names on this year's bill including RAYE, Chase & Status, Florence + the Machine, Fontaines D.C. and JADE. More than 100,000 music fans are expected across the two festival sites, with selected performances also being broadcast by the BBC and streamed on iPlayer.
