After previously attending Live at Leeds in the Park in 2024, I was excited to experience Live at Leeds in the City this past weekend.
Live at Leeds festivals are organised by Futuresound and in The City this year spanned over 20 unique spaces across the ever-growing City.
After dipping into various venues throughout the afternoon, I headed to Leeds Beckett for one of the many 8pm band slots on the line-up, to see Divorce.
Divorce are an exciting four-piece Indie/Alternative band from Nottingham, with clear inspiration from country, infused with driving guitar rhythms. There is an effortless ebb and flow to their songs, paired with complimentary co-lead vocals from bassist Tiger Cohen-Towell and guitarist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, with lead guitarist Adam Peter-Smith and drummer Kasper Sandstrom.
This set had drawn the largest audience of the day so far, personifying Divorce’s growing following since first putting out music in 2021, with their debut album “Drive to Goldenhammer” releasing earlier this year.
The crowd were well rewarded, with the band’s tight cohesion and refined onstage chemistry and performance easily justifying their later slot within the day. The 45-minute set flew by in a flash, with the band keen to showcase their music to newcomers with an effective ten-song set, whilst still making time to engage with the audience and show their appreciation for the support.
Divorce’s quality and growing reputation is also embodied in their high demand. The band were playing in Leeds on the back of supporting The Last Dinner Party in Dublin on the Friday night – referenced by Cohen-Towell as the source of her otherwise unnoticeable “sore voice.” They have UK gigs before the end of the year, and a handful of US tour dates across early 2026.
As the audience filed out of Leeds Beckett, weaving around fancy-dressed students, and into the cold Leeds air before dashing to the next venue and artist, the set achieved everything it could for all parties. The crowd were left entertained and impressed, and the band undoubtably earned themselves a host of new fans, including myself.
Divorce are a band that is now firmly on the radar, on the Spotify daily rotation playlists, and a band I would see again – I’m eyeing up their homecoming gig at the iconic Rock City, Nottingham on 13th December. It’ll be intriguing to watch their continued rise in the coming months and years.
Photography by Emma Gibbon.