Voted ‘Best Festival’ at the NME Awards, this year’s Reading & Leeds Festival have today announced the line-up for this year's Alternative Stage!

Russell Kane • Seann Walsh (L) • Rob Delaney • Mark Thomas (L)Shappi Khorsandi (R) • Josh Widdicombe • Paul ChowdhryTrevor Noah • Jamie Kilstein • Carl Donnelly’s National Novelty Dance Off Finals • Nathan Caton • Jarred Christmas (L) • Andrew O’NeillJoel Dommett • Katherine Ryan • Idiots of Ants • Tiffany StevensonRomesh Ranganathan (L) • Tom Deacon (R) • Ellis James • Rob BeckettLucy Beaumont (L) • Luisa Omielan • Suzi Ruffell • Mark SimmonsDaniel Townes (R) • Jim Smallman (L) • Andrew Ryan

MC DOOM • Shlomo & The Lip Factory • Jeffrey Lewis & The RainReeps One • Transgressive • Rebel Bingo (L) • Boogaloo Stu (L)Buttoned Down Disco (R) • Propaganda with special guests HaimSnoop Lion: Reincarnated (Film)
(L) Leeds only, (R) Reading only

Russell Kane’s hilarious brand of arch and intelligent observations ensures that there is no other comedian like him.  His recent accolades include the 2010 ‘Edinburgh Comedy Award’ and the 2011 ‘Barry Award’ for Comedy. Kane is also a highly sought after presenter, hosting shows such as ‘Unzipped’ and ‘I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now!’ among others. Comfortable as a performer, actor, author and guest, there is no doubt that Kane will retain his position as one of the nation’s favourite comedians for a long time to come.
(Reading Saturday / Leeds Friday)

Seann Walsh is the one of the most precocious talents to emerge from the UK comedy circuit; he’s charming and charismatic, a natural motor-mouth. Within three years of his first comedy performance in 2006, Seann became the winner of the ‘Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year’ and he has since established himself as a regular on prime time shows including ‘Mock The Week’, ‘8 Out Of 10 Cats’ and ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’. Witness this big screen star onstage this summer.
(Leeds Saturday)

Rob Delaney's Soho Theatre run last year sold out in an hour, after just one tweet from the man himself, making him the fastest selling US performer in the venue’s history. He performs stand up regularly at the top comedy venues across the United States. On Twitter, Rob has created a following of over 850,000 followers that grows every day. In 2012, he won the award for ‘Funniest Person on Twitter’ at the second annual Comedy Central Comedy Awards.
(Reading Friday / Leeds Sunday)

Comedian, presenter, political activist and self-proclaimed "libertarian anarchist” Mark Thomas joins the Alternative Stage. Achieving success with Channel 4’s ‘The Mark Thomas Comedy Product’ he is one of the leading British comics tackling head-on issues like the baking crisis, Palestine and religion. As the former Guinness World Record Holder for ‘Most Number of Political Demonstrations in 24 Hours’, sharing a platform with George Galloway, expect Thomas’ stand-up to be anything but safe.
(Leeds Friday)

Carl Donnelly’s Reading & Leeds National Novelty Dance Off promises high energy fun and plenty of laughs as the regional semi-finalists battle it out at each site to be crowned Novelty Dance Off winners. Championing the best in the all things cheesy, Carl and his friends, guests Paul McCaffrey, Damian Clark and Tom Deacon, will be there to assist with the judging process. Donnelly has become a fixture on the comedy circuit since winning the 2006 Laughing Horse Of The Year Award and has since taken his comic stylings to BBC Radio 4 and LBC’s Comedy Cabaret.
(Reading Saturday / Leeds Sunday)

 Villainous British-born rapper and producer MC DOOM will bring a huge dose of hip-hop to the Alternative Stage. Previously DOOM’s albums have featured cameos from past Reading & Leeds headliners Thom York and Damon Albarn. Expect twisted verses and songs like ‘America’s Most Blunted’ to make the crowd go wild at this rare live show.(Reading Saturday / Leeds Sunday)

Globally renowned beatboxer and Guinness World Record holder Simon Shlomo Kahn and his seven-piece vocal project Shlomo & The Lip Factory are an unmistakable musical inspiration. Critically acclaimed due to their mixture of soulful improvisations, intricately orchestrated compositions, and all-vocal renditions of classic tunes by everyone from Stevie Wonder to Paul Simon and the Prodigy, Shlomo & The Lip Factory are a force to be reckoned with. Not to be missed.
(Reading Sunday / Leeds Friday)

New Yorker Jeffrey Lewis brings his infamous live shows to the UK this year in the form of his musical trio Jeffrey Lewis & The Rain. The band have shared stages with the likes of Cornershop and The Fall and toured the world, receiving a wealth of critical acclaim. They play a thrilling set which moves between contemplative folk narratives to distortion-fuelled garage rock and back again. Their live shows often feature projections of Lewis’ extraordinary illustrations to accompany songs, and this is sure to be a real treat.
(Reading Friday / Leeds Saturday)

Reeps One is the winner of the UK Beatbox Championships twice running and is internationally renowned for his ultra-fast dubstep tinged routines. He’s part of the New School Beatbox Scene, but Reeps is also an accomplished artist using canvas and graffiti as his preferred mediums. 
(Reading Saturday / Leeds Sunday)

 For the seventh year running, Transgressive & Friends will be taking over the Alternative Stage at Reading & Leeds, promising their eclectic, after-hours blend of star live acts, special guests, DJ’s and visuals. Considering that last year Disclosure, AlunaGeorge, Metronomy, Theme Park and Ghostpoet were amongst those on their bill, you will not want to miss out. The full line-up - with a surprising twist - will be revealed shortly in the next few weeks - stay tuned!
(Reading Friday/ Leeds Saturday & Sunday)

Rebel Bingo, the nightlife phenomenon that has sold out shows everywhere from LA to London to Las Vegas and beyond, brings its brand of unabashed, hedonistic fun to Leeds Festival. This event promises a shocking amount of debauchery for those with a rebellious streak, so expect delightfully decadent cocktails, burlesque, disco balls and a carnival vibe that lasts long into the night.
(Leeds Thursday)

In just one hour, the Pop Magic audience members write, record and produce their very own pop single accompanied by an all-singing all-dancing pop video. Along the way, your host and musical impresario Boogaloo Stu reveals the modest but glittering highs and barrel-scraping lows of his own pop career and how music shaped his future career and forged his own desire to perform. The finished video is promptly edited and uploaded to the internet; the audience can then watch, download and share the results. Pop Magic is a hilarious and fast-paced D.I.Y. version of the X-Factor!
(Leeds Thursday)

Buttoned Down Disco is the largest indie dance party in the UK, taking place once a month at the amazing KOKO in Camden and treating music fans to a dancefloor kicking mash up of electro, indie and pop! Buttoned Down Disco have been throwing parties for over 10 years now, having rocked over 40 different venues and countless major festivals, and this summer they are coming to Reading to rock the Alternative Stage with a silent disco, armed with ace music to keep you dancing until 3am! 
(Reading Saturday)

The UK’s biggest club night, Propaganda, takes over the Alternative Stage for an incredible audio-visual extravaganza.  Regularly playing to 25,000 people every week across the UK, Ireland, Australia and Brazil, Propaganda are experts at keeping the party alive into the early hours. With a little help from one of our favourite new bands, Haim, Propaganda will bring you music from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, The Vaccines, Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, The Strokes, Disclosure and much more. If you’ve been to Propaganda before, you know this will be unmissable. If you haven’t, now is your chance.
(Reading Sunday / Leeds Friday)

Reincarnated traces the life and career of hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg, as he embarks on a journey of spiritual reawakening, eventually resulting in his reincarnation as Snoop Lion. The film follows his one-month pilgrimage to Jamaica, where he immerses himself in Rastafarian culture and records his twelfth studio album, Reincarnated. In between chain smoking sacramental blunts, Snoop aligns himself with his inner Rastafarian, finding harmony in the religion and in the enlightening, peaceful messages reggae music provides. 
(Reading Saturday / Leeds Friday)

Reading Festival takes place at Little John's Farm, Richfield Avenue, Rivermead, Reading, Berkshire, between Fri 23rd to Sun 25th August 2013 Tickets 

Leeds Festival takes place at Bramham Park, Wetherby, Leeds, West Yorkshire, between  Fri 23rd to Sun 25th August 2013 Tickets

Weekend tickets £202.50 plus booking fee

Day tickets £90 plus booking fee. Early entry permits £15, campervan permits £60, Lockers £16, Reading car park £5