ARE you ready to rock at Reading?

Here, Victoria Birch speaks to three bands, You Me At Six, Bucks band Hacktivist and Hudson Taylor, who will be appearing at the festival this year.

Rock giants Queens of the Stone Age, Paramore, Arctic Monkeys and Blink-182 will be headlining the bash, held at Richfield Avenue from August 22 to 24, and will be joined by 200 other artists.

See next week’s Bucks Free Press, plus more interviews on our website as we lead up to the event.

Metal-grime-rock hybrid Hacktivist have this year taken a leap to open the main stage on Friday.

Here Ben Marvin reveals their excitement for the show, and their new single, which came out on Monday.

Your new single and video False Idols came out on Monday. Are you excited or nervous?

Excited. Never get nervous about releasing new material. When we put something out we are always 100 per cent happy with the final product. If people dig it then that’s cool, if they don’t that’s also cool. But yeah this is our first release in a while so there’s definitely gonna be a lot of hype surrounding it.

Explain what it is like to someone who hasn’t heard it yet.

It’s Hacktivist just a year down the line. It’s got a catchy chorus, more heavy bits and overall I think it works really well as a single.

You’ve toured with the likes of Korn and Limp Bizket so far this year. Who was your favourite?

Yeah we’ve had the honour to play with some amazing bands this year. For me the Korn tour was the best. Unreal. They’ve been one of my favourite bands since I was like 12 so to go away in Europe for two weeks with them is something I never thought would happen. They were all really sound guys. They made us feel welcome and showed a lot of interest in what we were doing. Watching them every night was a bonus aswell.

You’re playing Reading’s main stage this year. How many times have you played Reading?

We’ve played it once and that was last year. To be asked back again but this time to the main stage is insane. It was sick last year so this year’s gonna be even better.

Was it one of your main achievements - to play on the main stage at Reading?

Yeah definitely. We’ve played similar sized stages, but not in the UK. To play Reading main stage has got to be one of the best things that will happen in my life. I never thought I’d be playing it… especially after only forming a couple of years ago.

What do you have planned for the fans?

A straight up Hacktivist show, crazy as always... just on a bigger stage.

You are Milton Keynes-based - one of you lives in Aylesbury. How do you find the area?

Yeah it’s alright here. Can get a bit boring though especially when you’ve lived here your whole life. Guess it’s worked in our favour though means we have more time to write music. We have a lot of friends here in the music scene, that’s the best thing about it. A lot of talented artists all vibing off each other, it’s cool.

What song do you wish you had written?

Haha. All the ones I have written. I don’t aspire to be anyone else. I’m happy with what I create.

This year You Me At Six have celebrated the release of their first number one album Cavalier Youth. Here lead guitarist Chris Miller reveals what they love about playing Reading Festival.

What do you have planned for the Reading Festival set?

We are planning to just go out there and give it everything. Reading Festival is a major platform to play to existing fans and many people that could have never heard of us. If we can win over ten per cent of the huge main stage audience then I feel like we've done our job. There might be a few surprises along the way.

Is there a particular band you want to watch at Reading Festival this year, and why?

It's normally super busy for us at the festival with press and promo but I’d like to catch a bit of The 1975 and Blink.

What do you love most about playing Reading Festival?

I think it holds a special place for us all as growing up we would always attend the festival so to have worked our way up the stages over the years has been great. It's just a great time all round.

Do you ever have moments, when you are on stage playing to thousands of fans at a festival, that you realise you have achieved your dream? How does that feel?

I often take a step back during sets as big as these and just reflect for a moment. Normally I'm concentrating too hard on playing well and not messing up. It's a great feeling and hard to describe. When you pick up a guitar you always imagine yourself playing to crowds such as Reading or big arena size venues so to actually get to do it is awesome. We are very grateful for everyone that's helped us get to this point and really do not take it for granted.

What song do you love playing?

A favourite in the set of mine has to be Forgive and Forget from the new album Cavalier Youth. It's quite a chilled song, guitar wise, so I can sit back and just enjoy the moment. It's great for people singing along also.

What’s the craziest gig you have ever done, and why?

Craziest gig was probably the first time we did Reading on the festival republic stage. The tent was packed and the crowd was absolutely mental. Was a lot of fun.

What’s next for You Me at Six?

We will be touring extensively for the rest of the year. After Reading we are off to Asia, Australia and the USA for about three months so it will be Christmas by the time we get home. Will have a few weeks off then straight back to it in 2015.

Hudson Taylor honed their craft at an early age by busking in Dublin. Here brothers Alfie and Harry (Hudson Taylor is their surname) at still only 18 and 20 respectively, reveal how they have achieved their success.

You have a beautiful, mature sound which I love. Where do you find the inspiration to make songs like that?

First of all, thank you, that's very kind of you to say. We get inspired by our day-to-day life, playing gigs and listening to great music. We're particularly inspired by music from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

How would you describe your sound to anyone who hadn’t heard it?

Folk rock - we are a brotherly duo who sing in harmony and both play acoustic guitars.

What do you have planned for Reading Festival?

Well it's going to be our first time coming to Reading. We're hoping to go see Jake Bugg because we're supporting him this coming October for his headline tour.

What would you like the Reading gig to lead to? What's your goal?

We hope to put on a good show so that maybe we get invited back next year.

What is your advice for bands starting out?

We believe you have to love it. Write a load of songs, as many as you can. Play and write music because you love it, not to seek fame or fortune.