Florence and the Machine singer Florence Welch got soaked to the skin during her performance at Britain's Reading Festival on Saturday night when a severe storm hit the site.

The "Dog Days Are Over" hitmakers were playing second on the bill to Kasabian when a downpour lashed the event, but frontwoman Welch refused to retreat to the rear of the stage, instead choosing to remain at the front, standing in the driving rain.

She kicked off her shoes to splash barefoot in the puddles on stage and dedicated her track What the Water Gave Me to the miserable weather, telling the crowd, "Oh Reading, what are we going to do? We are just going to have to embrace it."

By the close of her set, Welch's vintage dress was stuck to her body, her hair was drenched, and her eye make-up was streaked down her face.

Before leaving the stage, she said, "This was a total dream, thank you. And I'm also completely soaking wet!"