Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Free-Spirited Indie Rock Icon Gives Strict Orders to Begin Concert ‘Ritual,’ and It Honestly Sounds Pretty Nice

During their set at Reading Festival, Florence and the Machine singer Florence Welch urged the crowd to put their “phones the f**k away.”

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Florence and the Machine are one of the biggest Millennial indie rock bands on the planet. So, when frontwoman Florence Welch gives their concert crowd an explicit demand, you better believe it’s for a good reason.

On August 30, the iconic band was playing a headlining set at Reading Festival in the United Kingdom. As the performance wound down, it was time for their biggest hit of all time: “Dog Days Are Over”.

Before going into the song, Welch asked the audience to participate in “a small ritual” with her. She then implored “every single person at this festival” to put their “phones the f**k away.” The singer explained that “filming this song will stop you from experiencing this song, and is that not why........

© Vice