Friday at Leeds Festival 2026 had everything you could want from a festival day, including fresh guitar bands, huge anthems, spectacular headline performances and enough bass to keep the whole of Bramham Park bouncing well into the night.
Starting my day were Westside Cowboy, who wasted no time getting the festival moving. The Manchester four-piece brought their scrappy, energetic indie sound to the stage with tracks including “Pin Up Boys,” “Kick Stones (The Boys),” “Dobro” and “Worried Age.” There was a real sense that we were watching a band on the rise, with “Pin Up Boys” particularly standing out as an early highlight. Their ramshackle energy was the perfect way to kick-start Friday.
Next up were The Clause, bringing a more polished indie rock sound and plenty of confidence. Their set featured “Nothing’s As It Seems,” “Tell Me What You Want,,” “I Don’t Care,” “Elisha,” “Fever Dream” and “In My Element.” They looked completely at home on the festival stage, delivering the sort of upbeat set that had people singing along while drawing more and more of the crowd in.
The K’s, who I have been following closely over the last couple of years, offered another injection of indie bangers with the likes ‘’Throw It All Away’’, ‘’Glass Towns’’ and ‘’Grave Stone’’ all hitting the mark for the Merseyside four piece.
Then came Florence + The Machine, and the scale of the day suddenly shifted. Florence Welch delivered the theatrical, emotional performance you’d expect, with tracks including “Everybody Scream,” “Shake It Out,” “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up),” “Spectrum,” “You’ve Got the Love” and “What Kind of Man.”
There was something genuinely special about watching thousands of people singing along to “You’ve Got the Love” together. Florence owned the stage, combining huge vocals, dramatic visuals and an incredible sense of occasion. It was one of those festival sets where you could feel the atmosphere change around you.
Away from the main stages, we also checked out the new Warehouse dance stage, and it was absolutely popping from start to finish. It felt darker, louder and more intense than some of the traditional festival stages, with a crowd that clearly had one priority: dancing. It’s a brilliant addition to Leeds and gives the festival a proper late-night dance hub.
In between replenishing my energy and meeting a few of the writers, Chase & Status came. The duo turned the main stage into one gigantic rave, firing through huge tracks including “Machine Gun,” “Disconnect,” “No Problem” and “BACKBONE.” The energy never dipped, with the crowd bouncing from the first drop to the last.
But just when it seemed they couldn’t take things any higher, Tom Grennan appeared on stage. The crowd erupted as they performed “All Goes Wrong” together, giving the night one final massive singalong moment. This moment was only matched by an orchetra of fireworks that left us wanting more.
It was the perfect ending to an already brilliant Friday. Westside Cowboy brought the fresh energy, The Clause delivered the indie swagger, Florence provided the spectacle, the Warehouse kept the dance crowd moving and Chase & Status blew the roof off with Tom Grennan providing the perfect finishing touch.
Friday at Leeds Festival was one hell of a way to start the weekend.
Main image: Chase and Status.
