Florence + The Machine headlined Reading Festival for the first time on 30 August 2026, closing out their "Everybody Scream" tour with a call for fans to put their phones away and experience the show live. During "Dog Days Are Over", Florence Welch asked the rain-soaked crowd to join a "small ritual" by putting phones down, arguing that filming stops people experiencing the music, a moment that produced one of the night's biggest reactions.

The Grid stage set, played just before Sunday co-headliners Chase & Status, marked the band's first Reading appearance since 2012 and came two days after their Leeds Festival headline slot on Welch's birthday. IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen joined for "One Of The Greats", a song the pair co-wrote, having also appeared with the band at earlier tour dates. The 14-song set drew from across their catalogue, including "Shake It Out", "You Got The Love" and "Free", while Welch reflected on Reading being the first festival she attended as a teenager. The tour supported their fifth-star-rated sixth album "Everybody Scream", released last October and shaped partly by her near-fatal ectopic pregnancy in 2023.