In light of a recent video of Becky Hill getting booed and people leaving at the start of her set as she announces that she is only going to "perform new material" during a festival set. When at a festival, is that what you want, new material? Or do you think you are more of the kind to appreciate one or 2 new tracks but you're mostly there for "vibes" and to enjoy the stuff you are familiar with?

When I'm at a festival, I just want to hear the hits in all honesty. It's awkward enough when an artist plays one new song that like 100 people in a crowd of thousands is familiar with. Save the new material for the accompanying tour.

I appreciate it's your biggest slot and will showcase your music to a larger audience, but when the casuals that are there just getting high/drunk/vibing with their friends aren't engaged, is it really worth it? One or two new songs is cool, but at a festival it should be primarily the hits, imo.

I mean thats what your concert is for. Thats not what festivals are for. To not play one of your hits is kinda weird.

I mean even when you search up Becky Hill festivals it literally says she's playing some of her big hits so like fans were kinda expecting that.

I was at Reading 1991 when in an early afternoon slot I watched a band whose debut album I had only quite liked. They decided to play a set that was to feature a stack of as yet unreleased songs from their upcoming 2nd album.

That band was Nirvana and it was brilliant.

I also saw Mansun live years ago and they played a set mostly comprised of their as yet unreleased (and subsequently cancelled) new album and it sucked.

They key factor was differential was the material and the performance. Mansun were fine but the songs were so-so and they were on the decline. Nirvana had brilliant songs and they were on an upward curve.

I've always enjoyed being able to hear early, sometimes 'work in progress' versions of an artists new material so if I'm a fan it doesn't bother me too much. That being said, if I'm at a festival and someone I don't care that much about, like say Stereophonics, is playing 2 hours of new stuff before finishing with Local Boy, I'm off to go watch someone else.

I think as regards to festivals - stick to the songs people know. Your new single is fine, but when you're on a bill with loads of other artists, unless you're headlining it's best to stick to what the crowd knows.

Not sure if it makes it better or worse, but for a bit of context Becky Hill’s TRNSMT set was a secret set, and she did do Afterflow and Disconnect at the end.

Although most of the songs she did weren’t just new, they were unreleased!

I saw Rita Ora at the Isle of Wight Festival the other day, and she did 5-6 newer or less well known songs. It was a bit of a mood killer.

Festivals (or other associated events like the Capital balls) really aren't the places for new music to flourish on the whole. A handful of new songs isn't so bad but statements like Becky's come across as quite arrogant to me - secret set or not, it's bold to assume a big crowd of people who didn't pay to see you would be interested in hearing only new music.

I've never been to an actual festival but I have been to many of Capital's events and new music can often be a mood killer, even from very popular artists. Even if it's a song I'm personally obsessed with!

I think at a festival, you could get away with one new track just to give a different flavour, but otherwise no, I don't think that's what people are there for.

As an aside to this question. I go to festivals every year, some big, some small and there is usually a line up stacked full of bands I know by name only or may only know 1 or 2 songs but I will often spend half a day watching bands that are totally new to me, often discovering brilliant acts.

That to me is no different to an artist playing only new stuff as I'm as equally unfamiliar with this material.

So what I'm asking is, do those of you one here who go to festivals never do anything similar? I go to the festival for the event experience and 2000 Trees for example this year has a line up largely unknown to me and a bunch of old Emo-Pop bands that are still knocking around that I didn't care for in the first place. Yet, I wouldn't consider not watching some of them. Do you only ever go to watch bands or artists whose work you're pretty familiar with?