Catch KETTAMA live in concert in Reading at The Gallery, where his mix of house, hard house, trance and rave energy meets an immersive festival setting. The show takes place on 30 August 2026 at Richfield Avenue, so plan your visit and ticket purchase in advance
KETTAMA in Reading: a pounding rave pulse on the new The Gallery stage
KETTAMA arrives in Reading at a moment when his transition from club favourite to an artist made for large festival spaces is already fully visible. Irish DJ and producer Evan Campbell performs on Sunday at Reading Festival, on Richfield Avenue, and his name appears on The Gallery - a new covered stage conceived as an immersive space with LED screens, lighting and production surrounding the audience. This is an important detail for understanding this performance: KETTAMA is not just another name on an open-air festival schedule, but an artist whose powerful kicks, broad synth chords and euphoric vocal moments are given a space designed specifically for an intense audiovisual experience.
Sunday's festival programme also includes Chase & Status Live, Florence + The Machine, Loyle Carner, Role Model, Kneecap, Chris Stussy, Men I Trust, Hybrid Minds, Hedex, Bou and other artists. KETTAMA is on The Gallery programme alongside names such as Chris Stussy, Kneecap, Holly Humberstone, Julia Wolf and Men I Trust, so his set is part of a highly varied day that moves from electronic music into rap, indie and large-scale festival pop-rock. Tickets for this event are currently on sale.
Why KETTAMA is currently one of the most recognisable names of the new rave generation
KETTAMA's sound is easy to recognise through its combination of house, hard house, trance, rave energy and melodies that often carry an almost sentimental weight. In a 2025 interview with Mixmag, he highlighted big chords and vocals as his key musical strengths, and it is precisely this combination that explains why his tracks work equally well in a club and in front of a large festival audience. There is little fear of excess in his production: the bass is firm, the rhythm direct, and the melody often moves towards euphoria rather than minimalism.
That formula is particularly clearly rounded out on the album "Archangel", released on 3 October 2025. The album has 15 tracks and brings together collaborations with Interplanetary Criminal, DJ HEARTSTRING, KLP, Fred again.., Shady Nasty, Prospa, Clouds, SΓΈlv and seantommy. Among the tracks are "Yosemite", "Take Me", "Fade Away (It's a Feeling)", "If U Want My Heart", "Air Maxes", "I Believe", "It Gets Better (Forever Mix)" and "Sort It Out". At the same time, the album is not merely a sequence of hard-hitting club tracks. Its structure also contains slower, more ambient and orchestrally coloured moments, which sets KETTAMA's music apart from the simple formula of "faster beat plus big drop".
For the audience in Reading, it is also important that KETTAMA in 2026 is not relying solely on last year's album. The single "Comes and Goes" became one of his most visible releases of the year and reached number 77 on the main UK singles chart and number 22 on the country's dance chart. In June, he also released "Pumpin" with Partiboi69, while July saw the release of a remix of "Comes and Goes" by Dom Dolla. This means the festival audience may arrive with very fresh material in their ears, although the specific repertoire for Reading has not been announced in advance and it should not be assumed which tracks will make the set.
- "Archangel" is KETTAMA's debut studio album from 2025.
- "Yosemite", "It Gets Better (Forever Mix)", "Air Maxes" and "I Believe" belong to the current phase of his catalogue.
- "Comes and Goes" is one of his most prominent 2026 singles according to the UK charts.
- "Pumpin" with Partiboi69 was released on 26 June 2026.
- During summer 2026, KETTAMA headlined the nine-week Steel City Dance Discs Monday programme at Amnesia Ibiza.
What to expect from the live performance
The best indication of what KETTAMA does in front of an audience is not pre-written setlists, but the way he builds energy. His recent performances and major festival season show an artist accustomed to working with crowds, quickly raising intensity and using his own productions alongside house, rave and trance material that maintains a constant sense of movement. During his 2025 phase, Mixmag also highlighted a major b2b performance with Chris Stussy in front of approximately 20,000 people at Ormeau Park in Belfast, while in 2026 KETTAMA ran his own series of nights at Amnesia Ibiza through June and July.
That is a useful reference for Reading because Chris Stussy is also performing at The Gallery on Sunday. There is no confirmation of a joint performance by the two of them in Reading and such a scenario should not be expected as fact, but the presence of both artists on the same stage on the same day clearly illustrates the direction of the programme: house and contemporary club music are placed alongside artists from other genres instead of being isolated in a separate late-night niche.
KETTAMA's set could particularly appeal to audiences who enjoy the feeling of old-school rave translated into contemporary festival production. Fans of hard house and trance will recognise the accelerated rhythms and strong melodic charge, while listeners who discovered him through "Yosemite", "Air Maxes", "It Gets Better" or "Comes and Goes" will be drawn to the directness of his best-known motifs. Long-time fans can expect a DJ approach rather than a traditional band concert: transitions, track selection and the dynamics of the set are more important than a fixed song order.
The Gallery changes the character of this festival set
Reading Festival 2026 is undergoing a major stage transformation, and The Gallery is one of the most interesting new spaces. It is a covered, immersive stage with LED screens and production extending throughout the space. In practice, this means that KETTAMA's performance will not rely solely on daylight and the enormous open space typical of a main festival stage. The covered format can retain more visual focus around the DJ booth, while the lighting and screens can play a greater role even before darkness falls.
That is a good match for his music. Tracks with big synths and sudden changes in energy require a sound system capable of clearly conveying both the impact of the bass and the breadth of the melody. The Gallery is not a small club room, but its concept promises a more concentrated feeling than a classic open festival field. Audience members who want to be close to the stage should arrive earlier, especially because artists with very different but large fan bases rotate through the same space on Sunday.
It is worth securing tickets in good time.
Reading as a festival base for travellers
Richfield Avenue is located in Reading, a town west of London with very good rail connections. For visitors arriving from other parts of the United Kingdom or via London, the train is one of the simplest options. Reading Festival states that the railway station is around a 15- to 20-minute walk from the festival site, and there are direct connections from London Paddington.
For the return journey, it is wise to allow significantly more time than the distance alone might suggest. Organisers recommend allowing at least one hour from leaving the festival to the planned train departure, because the end of festival days is among the busiest times for the town and the station. Sunday is also the final day of Reading Festival, so a large number of visitors move towards the same exits, shuttle routes, taxis and railway station after the final performances.
The festival has shuttle bus routes 97 and 98 between the town, the station and the area near the festival entrance. For visitors arriving by car, it is important that passenger drop-off and pick-up do not take place on Richfield Avenue. The designated pick-up and drop-off zone is located at Hills Meadow Car Park, from where visitors can continue towards the festival on foot along the Thames or use boat transport. For Sunday, the festival also lists a free shuttle boat between Green Car Park and Green Gate during the day and night.
Practical plan for Sunday
- The arena opens at 11:00 on Sunday and operates until 03:00.
- The exact time of KETTAMA's set is not listed on his festival page, so the stage schedule should be checked closer to the event or on the day itself.
- With a Sunday day ticket, re-entry is not permitted after leaving the arena.
- A day ticket does not provide access to the campsites.
- Reading station is approximately a 15- to 20-minute walk from the festival site.
- For the return journey by train, it is recommended to allow at least one hour from the festival exit to the train's departure.
- There is no passenger drop-off or pick-up zone on Richfield Avenue.
How to prepare for KETTAMA's part of the day
If KETTAMA is the main reason for attending, the best approach is to plan the whole of Sunday around The Gallery, but without assuming that his time slot will coincide with the time of entry into the festival site. The festival lists the arena's opening hours, but the detailed hourly artist schedule should be checked separately. This is particularly important on a day when performances take place simultaneously across multiple stages and when a short delay at the entrance or while moving through crowds can mean missing the start of the set.
For a sound like KETTAMA's, it is also worth considering hearing protection. A covered stage and a powerful sound system can create a physically intense experience, particularly closer to the speakers. High-quality earplugs designed for concerts reduce the sound level without completely sacrificing the clarity of the music. This is a practical addition for anyone planning to spend several hours around electronic performances.
The festival allows food for personal consumption inside the arena, sealed water in containers smaller than 500 ml, and empty reusable plastic or metal bottles. Because this is a full-day festival stay, it is useful to arrive prepared for changing weather, walking and longer periods of standing. Reading at the end of August can bring sunshine, rain and a noticeably cooler evening within the same day, so light layers and footwear capable of handling wet grass make more sense than clothing chosen only for photographs.
KETTAMA arrives in Reading during a highly active phase of his career: following the album "Archangel", major international performances and a summer residency in Ibiza, alongside new releases that continued to appear throughout 2026. The Gallery, meanwhile, gives him a format that should emphasise exactly what he is best known for - a powerful rhythm, big emotional chords, vocal hooks and the sense that club energy can be transferred to a festival crowd without losing intensity.
For visitors who already follow him, this is an opportunity to see the current phase of his sound in a space that is completely new for Reading 2026. For audiences who know him only through a few viral or streaming hits, the performance can be a good introduction to a broader catalogue that goes beyond one genre and one formula. The most important thing is not to count on a preconceived setlist, but on a DJ set whose actual character will depend on the time slot, the audience and the rhythm of the entire festival day.
Sources:
- Reading Festival - 2026 programme, KETTAMA on Sunday's The Gallery programme, arena opening hours, day-ticket rules and travel information.
- Steel City Dance Discs - release date and track list of the album "Archangel".
- Apple Music - current KETTAMA discography, the album "Archangel", the single "Pumpin" and releases from 2026.
- Official Charts - chart positions of the single "Comes and Goes" on the UK charts.
- DJ Mag - KETTAMA's Steel City Dance Discs programme at Amnesia Ibiza in 2026 and the context of his current career.
- Mixmag - artist profile, musical approach, major performances and the context of the album "Archangel".
- Rolling Stone UK - description of The Gallery stage and the production concept of Reading Festival 2026.