UK's Reading Fest comes stateside

NEW YORK (Billboard) - One of the U.K.'s long-standing music traditions will make its way to the U.S. in September, as the first stateside version of Reading Festival is held at the Tweeter Center in Camden, N.J. Mean Fiddler, promoters of the U.K. festival - happening concurrently Aug. 24-26 - will stage the festival Sept. 8 at the Philadelphia-area venue and hope to make Reading an annual U.S. event, a spokesperson said.

At deadline, rappers Eminem and Xzibit, and modern rock act Linkin Park are the only artists confirmed to perform, but a full day of music is planned. Music will be performed on two stages, with the addition of a third stage pending.
Tickets for the event went on sale Saturday. Mean Fiddler previously has brought the Guinness Fleadh festival to the U.S. That festival, which began as a two-day New York event, grew to a multiple-city tour by its third year, but did not return last year after the loss of Guinness as the stateside sponsor.