I went to Reading Festival and something wasn't quite right

So when this year’s festival, held just 40 miles from Swindon, saw global artists drenched in water, hit with sound issues and finishing sets early, it’s no surprise that some fans were disappointed.

One Renee Rapp superfan said she travelled from Finland to see her hero perform a 45-minute set on Sunday but was left “heartbroken and disappointed.”

The American singer had to restart due to a broken microphone and was then drenched in water twice when rainfall that had collected on the stage roof poured down onto the artist and her electrical equipment.

Renee Rapp has expressed her frustration at her Reading Festival experience (Image: Oliver Welch)

Rapp was forced to leave the stage after performing just three songs (only one uninterrupted) and later took to Instagram to give the middle finger to Reading Festival.

Others having a less-than-good day were Catfish and the Bottlemen who had to pause the set due to sound issues, while headliner Liam Gallagher finished a whole 15 minutes early.

Saturday was also plagued with sound quality issues on the main stage for Lana Del Rey who started late due to setup and had to ask if the audience could hear her, and Raye was possibly the only festival act I’ve been to where I thought ‘could you turn it up a bit?’

But despite being disappointed by some of the main stage sets, for me it only emphasised how strong the local and lesser-known artists playing smaller stages were.

Only The Poets was a standout band on Sunday (Image: Oliver Welch)

'The smaller stages shone this year' (Image: Oliver Welch)

Standout musicians included Reading band Only The Poets who had the Festival Republic tent singing and dancing their hearts out to songs inspired by local bar Purple Turtle.

The band told crowds how they first attended Reading Festival at age 16 and were inspired to create music by what they saw, proving how the festival continues to shape the future of the music industry.

Arthur Hill, Alfie Templeman, Paris Paloma and Kingfishr were also firm crowd favourites who set the joyful, upbeat tempo with incredible talent.

Overall, the festival was a great experience with easy access including a ‘shuttle boat’ running between car parks, helpful friendly staff, thrilling fairground rides, and lots of (overpriced, as expected) food options available.

But whether it's down to the weather, a dodgy sound system or just poor planning ahead, it's clear that something wasn't quite right at this year's festival.