Live at Leeds in The City was back with a bang. This was an explosive day of talent from near and far.
Live at Leeds Festival weaves itself through some of the most loved venues in the City, making it a beneficial pillar for Leeds’ ecosystem. It’s a day of discovering new music, new venues, new friends and just an absolute blast to be a part of.
Like your traditional festival, it can go many different ways when it comes to the planning. Are you going to be the person that rocks up to any venue that’s in close proximity, immerse yourself in music, whether you know the band or not and just see it as a really fun day out, with some bevs and pals? OR are you the person that writes out your own schedule, researches the bands before, maybe even makes a little festival playlist for you and your friends (I have done this in the past) and then runs back and forth between stages to make sure you have ticked off that list? Well…..with Live at Leeds you can be a beautiful blend of the two.
The set times were carefully curated so that there wasn’t a massive number of clashes. Between big artists there were roughly 45 minutes between sets, and with some venues (like Leeds Beckett) having multiple stages meant that you could get a real variety throughout the day.
Baby Said
The first band I caught at Live at Leeds in the City, was Baby Said at Santiagos. I picked this because I have been to Santiago’s many times but weirdly enough not actually seen a band play there. I was intrigued by how that would work. For those not familiar, the Bar is kind of on three levels: you have the seating area with chairs, tables, sofas etc, then the bar area which has the coolest decorations, and then up a flight of stairs is the gig room.
We were packed in for Baby Said. Probably the sweetest venue I’ve been to in a long time, but it’s a festival and the more people the better. I will say, there is an eagerness to get a spot when it comes to multi venue shows, so there were already spectators in the room before the band was ready. This meant extra pressure on the girls for having to do all their soundcheck with an audience. I believe the room was too loud, and it took away from how talented the band is. It felt like the amps were all fighting with each other instead of blending and there was a lot of feedback. That being said, Baby Said was incredible.
Fashion and music go hand in hand, and Baby Said had such a strong look, all wearing great outfits. There was a 90’s/00’s style. Think early days P!nk, with a modern twist. Jess, who was lead vocals, had a pink sparkling bass with neon green glow in the dark strings, and that was the best instrument I saw throughout the day.
It’s always brilliant to see girls dominate in a genre that is quite male-dominated. Rock and Grunge is getting better at being more inclusive, but considering there is so much internal rage that comes from being a woman, I’m always surprised that this isn’t a bigger music genre.
Baby Said has released some really strong tracks on streaming in the past year and signed a very impressive management deal with Big Hug Management. Panic Attack was their stand out song, with huge vocals from the sisters.
English Teacher
Moving from Santiagos to Leeds Beckett, I caught the Mercury Award winners, English Teacher, returning to their hometown with open arms. This was a golden booking from Live at Leeds. English Teacher have been everywhere at the moment and for all the right reasons.
Seeing this set, live there were no questions as to why they won the highly credited Mercury Award. There was a lovely mix of big tracks and heartwarming anecdotes from the band. Albatros had a special dedication to studying in Leeds and the beautiful notes from the keys danced around the room, gently bouncing from corner to corner. There’s something really well made when it comes to this track – it tricks you into thinking it’s a shoegazing, indie dream of a ballad and then when performed live, there’re these little snippets of glitchy autotune that put you on edge. Makes you really wonder what we’re meant to feel when listening to it.
The lights during this set were absolutely captivating. Big fan lighting shone over the band, giving an almost petal shading that brought an extra element to the show. This felt like a theatre production over a gig in a university.
Other tracks performed from the award winning album were I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying and Broken Biscuits. As mentioned before, there was a lot of theatrics throughout English Teacher’s set; the band had an infectious energy that bounced off one another. You could see them playing to one another and almost rifting in real-time.
To see a band of this grandeur on such an already impressive line up, when tickets were going as cheap as £45, is really accessible when we compare it with most stand-alone gigs these days. The people behind Live at Leeds really do deserve a pat on the back for how well selected some of the shows were.
Everything Everything
The last band of the evening, for me, was Everything Everything. I have loved this band for so many years and have had the privilege of seeing and meeting the boys a few times. This was the beauty of the day – I could discover new bands and have it as a bit of a research day of exciting bands to look out for, but also celebrate bands who have been near and dear to me for many moons.
The venue was packed out for EE, and in lots of different pockets dotted around were groups of die-hard fans having a really good singsong. Seeing people’s experience of being in the same room as bands they absolutely love will always be one of my favourite things in life. I always try and remind myself that live music is so important because it’s a completely isolated and special occasion. You are witnessing a unique experience that even the best, most rehearsed bands in the world will never do the exact same show. There’s always something that makes that night singular. I made sure to situate myself closeby to the most energetic people so I could have a dance with my fellow fans.
With a cosmic backdrop and matching outfits, Everything Everything brought the big band vibes to see the festival out. Throughout the set, we saw tracks that perfectly paired with the energy of the crowd. Old loved classics such as Cough Cough, Kemosabe, and Distant Past were shown lots of love.
There is also no escaping the most iconic album Get To Heaven (to this day, one of my favourite pieces of album artwork) which was heavily woven into the set list. No Reptiles, Spring/ Sun/ Winter/ Dread and title track Get to Heaven went down an absolute treat.
It was wonderful to see Everything Everything get their flowers at Live at Leeds. They’re in the sweet middle ground of being a headliner-worthy band without being too commercial and I imagine we will have a similar experience seeing Bloc Party headline Live at Leeds in the Park in 2025.
Photography:
Baby Said by Jazz Jennings
English Teacher and Everything Everything by Mark Wheelwright
Main image: English Teacher
