Gene Gallagher performed at Reading Festival with his band Villanelle today as several children of famous musicians took to the stages across the weekend event.
The 25-year-old musician, whose mother is All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, played on the Canopy stage in what marked his biggest live performance to date. Sporting rock chic black hair and dark sunglasses, he looked remarkably similar to his famous father, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, as he fronted the three-piece grunge and indie rock outfit.
The Canopy stage represents a smaller platform than the main festival stage where Oasis famously headlined 26 years ago in 2000. Reading Festival, which first launched in 1971, expanded into a twin event at Bramham Park in Leeds in 1999. Organised by promoter Festival Republic, the annual August bank holiday weekend music extravaganza attracts over 100,000 festival-goers across both locations, with artists tag-teaming both sites over three days.
Moses Martin and Britpop Feuds
Shortly before Gene took to the stage, Moses Martin performed a 35-minute set at Reading with his indie-pop group People I've Met. The 20-year-old son of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow sang lead vocals while dressed in a white t-shirt and dark blue denim jeans during his festival appearance.
Moses formed the band alongside fellow members Orlando Wiltshire and Andrew Suster while attending school together in Los Angeles, California. Although the group formed during their high school years, they only began performing live concerts two years ago. His set came 27 years after his father Chris Martin performed at Reading with Coldplay, the London-formed rock band that went on to achieve global stadium success.
The simultaneous appearances by Gene and Moses provided a second-generation chapter to one of Britpop's most famous rivalries from the late 1990s. During the height of UK rock feuds, 53-year-old Oasis singer Liam Gallagher publicly mocked Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin by claiming he looked like a geography teacher, while also branding the band's fanbase as bedwetters.
Violet Grohl and Cruz Beckham
Violet Grohl, the eldest daughter of Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl and Jordyn Blum, also joined the festival roster on Friday. The singer took to the stage at the Leeds site at Bramham Park before travelling south to appear at the Reading festival site on Sunday for her scheduled performance slot.
The vocalist suffered health setbacks earlier in the week, cancelling two separate gigs in Liverpool and Manchester after losing her voice. However, she recovered in time to perform hits from her album Be Sweet to Me. Her father Dave Grohl, the former Nirvana drummer who founded Foo Fighters in 1994, has performed at Reading and Leeds seven times, last headlining in 2019.
Cruz Beckham, the 21-year-old youngest son of David and Victoria Beckham, is also performing across the weekend with his band The Breakers. The group plays at Reading on Saturday before heading to Leeds on Sunday. His parents, former England football captain David Beckham and Spice Girl turned fashion designer Victoria, will watch his sets while continuing their summer holiday in Spain.
Controversy Over Stage Overhaul
The inclusion of multiple celebrity offspring across the weekend stages sparked accusations of elitism on social media platforms. The backlash followed a decision by festival organisers to overhaul the site layout and axe the long-running BBC Introducing stage, which had operated at the festival since its initial launch in 2008 to champion unsigned musical acts.
Bosses at Festival Republic announced an overhaul of the stage structure last month, explaining that the new layout would open performing opportunities to a much wider pool of emerging talent. However, music fans online criticized the decision after high-profile slots were handed to the children of established music icons including Gene Gallagher, Moses Martin, Violet Grohl, and Cruz Beckham.
The BBC Introducing stage has played a pivotal role in British music history, launching mainstream careers for hugely successful artists such as Ed Sheeran, The 1975, Florence + the Machine, and Charli XCX. Furthermore, the platform was responsible for nurturing approximately 70 per cent of all British musical acts performing across this year's Reading and Leeds festival line-up.
Headliners, Weather and TV Coverage
Pop star Charli XCX, who previously built her reputation on the BBC Introducing stage, returned to Reading this year to perform on the Grid stage, sending the crowd wild. She joins a star-studded list of main stage headliners across the weekend that includes Irish rock band Fontaines DC, former Little Mix member JADE, RAYE, Chase And Status, and Florence and the Machine.
Meanwhile, Britain's extended summer spell of hot and dry weather came to a sudden end as festival-goers arrived at both campsites on Thursday. Rain clouds forced arriving music fans to don rubber wellies and waterproof ponchos while pitching their tents, with campers bracing for wet conditions across the remainder of the three-day event.
For music fans unable to attend in person, the festival's biggest sets are being broadcast live by the BBC. Performances are being televised on television and streamed digitally via BBC iPlayer throughout the weekend, featuring major headline sets from singer RAYE on Saturday night and electronic duo Chase And Status on Sunday evening.
