Live at Leeds in the Park 2025 will go down as one of my favourite one-day festivals — big enough to get lost in the festival atmosphere, small enough to find your friends once the dust of the last act settles.
A family-friendly, party-ready day out and, despite the threat of rain all day, just a light drizzle during headliners Bloc Party made for a great opener to my festival season.
No festival is complete without a sing-along to some classics. For us, this came in the form of Leeds’ premier Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Weetwood Mac, over on the Dork Stage.
A perfect way to kick off the day, the band — composed of members of Ellen & The Escapades and Hope & Social — ran through near-perfect renditions of Rumours-era hits.
A scorching finale of The Chain was a particular standout, taking the packed-out tent right back to the ’70s.
Sunday (1994) were up next, again on the Dork Stage, and the California-based transatlantic duo didn’t disappoint with their signature ’80s-inspired dreamy synth-pop. While it’s arguably an overdone mash-up of styles, the particular flavour on offer from Sunday (1994) felt fun and fresh, toeing the line between nostalgic and modern with ease.
Like almost all artists these days, social media played a prominent role in the duo’s rise. The pair initially forged their writing partnership while working on music for ads and other artists before uploading their own songs to TikTok, where they gained traction and eventually dropped a self-titled EP in 2024.
The connection between vocalist Paige Turner and guitarist Lee Newell was evident on stage. While Turner gave me indie Sabrina Carpenter vibes, Newell and the rest of the band provided a glistening backdrop for Turner’s almost flawless vocal performance. I could easily see these two making serious moves in the near future — their woozy, subdued and easily digestible (but definitely not boring) sound, combined with lyrics laden with nods to love and heartbreak, are sure to resonate with the masses.
Reconvening with friends on the hill overlooking the Main Stage North, I managed to catch the last song from the newly rebranded Londoners Hard Life, before clambering up and over the hill to the Main Stage South to catch a glimpse of The Pigeon Detectives, who drew a huge crowd. While we didn’t stick around for the full set — we were parched and peckish — this side of the Festival was what I enjoyed the most.
Based in Temple Newsam, Live at Leeds in The Park is small, intimate, and somewhat family-orientated.
None of the stages is more than five minutes’ walk from one another, meaning it wasn’t necessary to apply the military-grade planning you’d need at larger festivals to catch every act you want to.
And despite having a vague plan at the start of the day, it’s often the acts you don’t expect to see that you enjoy the most.
Kingfishr were just that. The Limerick boys proved yet again that the Emerald Isle is at the forefront of good music these days. Although I wasn’t familiar with their music prior to the Festival, I thoroughly enjoyed the songs I caught.
After another wander around the site — deliberating over a second dinner, as almost all of the food looked and smelled divine — we posted up by the sound desk at the Cockpit Stage, ready for YouTuber James Marriott. He pulled a relatively modest, young but incredibly enthusiastic crowd — so loud I had to ask my friends if they were playing pre-recorded crowd sounds through the speakers.
His infectious, dance-ready indie pop sounded very The 1975-ish at times, and you could definitely spot some Matty Healy influences in his performance. While I didn’t find his lyrical content particularly endearing, Marriott and his band were tight and well-rehearsed. It’s easy to see why he’s such a hit with the younger attendees — his energy on stage was received and reciprocated by fans from start to finish.
Marriott had one of the most engaged crowds I saw all day, ever obliging to his constant calls for the audience to jump. He shouted, “We’ve come all the way from Brighton tonight — we didn’t come all this way to not see you jump, Leeds!” before having his fans crouch down and leap up at his command.
I’m already excited to see what Live at Leeds in The City has in store for later this year. They seem to have a knack for curating great line-ups, and the overall experience is always a 10.
Main image: Bloc Party by Millie Stephens.
Lots more great images to follow.
