What better way to welcome the summer than a good old one day festival? Live at Leeds kicked off festival season this weekend at Leeds’ Temple Newsam Park.
Live at Leeds is a great celebration of up-and-coming artists, and this weekend gave us some great acts. Despite the cooler weather after a well overdue sunny spell over the past few weeks, it stayed relatively dry (which I actually think is perfect festival weather) as crowds of people gathered to spend the day listening to music and eating good food without having to worry about getting sunburnt or dehydrated.
Weetwood Mac. Photograph by Mark Wheelwright.
I parked up and headed into the Festival for doors – the drive was easy and the walk to the Festival was pleasant. I spotted a few farm animals on my way in and the queues weren’t painstakingly long. A few people opted to join a bit later into the day; the crowds seemed to get bigger as the day progressed as thousands gradually filtered into the Park.
Temple Newsam is the perfect sized festival – the stages are close enough together to make the walking manageable yet far enough that you’re not overwhelmed by the noise of two clashing acts playing simultaneously, with food and water stations, bars and toilets dotted nicely around the venue, making it the perfect day out for families, or, if you want a taste of a festival without the hassle that comes with larger-scale, weekend slogs, Live at Leeds is a good way to dip your toe in the water.
I headed to the bar, grabbed a reasonably priced beer and went to see the first few acts of the day.
Some notable acts I kickstarted the day with were Weetwood Mac, We Are Scientists and Fat Dog.
One of the acts that I was most excited to see was Hard Life on the Main Stage. Formerly known as Easy Life before being sued by an airline company, Live at Leeds was the band’s first time performing post-name change.
They are scheduled to perform at various festivals this year, including Bennicasim, Boardmasters, Truck Festival and YNOT, and are also doing a few different dates around the UK in October and November.
Hard Life definitely have a summery sound, and everything about their set was perfect’ warming the large crowd up with groovy, silky-smooth sangria featuring Arlo Parks. The crowd didn’t disappoint and sang her verse.
Hard Life were energetic and lively, flowing through old and new bouncy, synth-driven tracks such as Life’s a Beach, Skeletons and Othello.
Frontman Murray Matravers joked and spoke to the crowd at multiple intervals through the set. He came down to sing along with fans in the front row, and at one point even jumped in and joined the mosh pit.
Although the band have struggled with legal and financial issues surrounding their name, Hard Life have maintained a loyal fanbase and a positive attitude, and made their debut as Hard Life memorable.
Whilst their rebrand was unplanned, the controversy has arguably helped with publicity and their resilience highlighted the band’s ability to grow and adapt during challenging situations – unapologetically sticking to their alternative soundtrack and continuing to thrive and build after a clean-slate in their career
whilst still building on their previous years of success. Instead of allowing the knock to let them falter, the tongue-in-cheek name change clearly demonstrates that they have a great sense of humour, even in adversity.
They also played a few new tracks off their upcoming album Onion, which was well-received by fans. Their next album is due to be released in July 2025.
I’m really looking forward to seeing where the band go next – I have been a huge fan since their early days and their sound is memorable and unique, and despite a difficult few years, I’m excited about their future.
Next on my radar were Kingfishr. After popping into a few of the acts in between, I was keen to catch the Indie-folk trio from Limerick, Ireland. I’ve written about my fondness for Ireland’s thriving music scene in the past – producing some of my favourite bands over the past decade or so. Kingfishr performed at the Cockpit stage and drew in a sizable crowd.
Having sold out their previous tour ‘The Prologue’ and even having to add additional dates to the tour, Kingfishr are a band to watch. Their performance felt like you had been transported straight into an Irish bar, and the band played effortlessly, switching between instruments as their set progressed.
The band’s talent was mesmerising, and frontman Eddie Keogh spoke frequently to the crowd, noting that the trio had never expected the level of success they’ve achieved when they decided to pack in their engineering degrees and dive into the music industry head-first – and the risk has paid off.
Kingfishr have an impressive supporting history; with the likes of George Ezra, Dermot Kennedy and even the legendary Bruce Springsteen under their belts. It’s not just the luck of the Irish though – there’s something about Kingfishr that had me captivated from the moment I first listened to them. The band
are undeniably charismatic and poetic.
They interacted with their fans and mentioned that their first ever show outside of Ireland was in Leeds, and they were glad to be back performing at the Festival. They very obviously love what they do. Their Irish charm definitely rang true on stage, and for an up-and-coming band, it was truly remarkable to watch them at Live at Leeds – there’s just something so special about catching a band at this stage in their career, especially when you know that they have the talent and repertoire to be playing to much larger crowds in packed-out venues within the next few years.
Whilst a lot softer than the bands we have seen emerging out of Ireland in the past decade or so, Kingfishr’s set was intimate and personal. Their songs are soulful and enchanting, and they were a perfect fit in this year’s lineup.
Main image: Hard Life. Photograph by Jazz Jennings.
