“EVERY YEAR THE FESTIVAL’S NIGHTLIFE GETS BIGGER AND BETTER” | LEEDS FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW|
Yorkshire,Yorkshire,Yorkshire!
Leeds Festival 2023, where to start? Leeds is a festival close to my own heart. Like many of you Leeds was my first ever festival, and surviving your first Leeds is basically a rite of passage.
This year I got to head down to Bramham Park alongside thousands of other music fans armed with not much more than a cheap tent, a bucket hat and a pack of warm beers.
Leeds festival’s line up has diversified in recent years and has been the subject of many a debate online. Leeds has moved from a heavy rock festival, to featuring a wide variety of acts, with rap, grime, indie, pop and punk artists all appearing side by side on the bill. This diversification represents the shift in all of our musical tastes. We are living in an era that gifts us with instant access to thousands of songs at the push of a button (or a voice command to your friendly voice-controlled home robot), and we are consuming more music than ever. Our tastes and the range of genres each person connects with is expanding exponentially, it’s only natural that festival line ups will start to reflect this.
With acts like Bicep, Foals, Arlo Parks, Yard Act, Meekz, The Killers and even Jedward performing across the weekend, the line up for 2023 was a real mixed bag, with something to suit even the neichest of tastes.
Friday
We kicked off Friday by watching emerging Aussie indie stars Royel Otis on the festival Republic stage, followed by a chat back stage discussing their favourite things about the UK – spoiler alert it’s not the kebabs.
Meanwhile across the site Glaswegian singer songwriter Josef brought a dash of funk and soul to a packed out Radio 1 Dance Stage, treating the crowd to a rendition of his well loved Spotify Single version of Sister Sledge’s Thinking of You.
Bakar took to Main Stage East with an energetic performance of hit singles The Mission and Hell N Back going down a storm. He was followed by Declan McKenna who commanded mosh pits and full crowd sing alongs all whilst wearing an interesting get up consisting of a blazer, bare chest and Burberry tie.
We dashed off for a chat with fellow Scotsmen Vistas where we found out all about their plans for new music before watching the band tear up the Festival Republic stage.
Alternative Pop queen Billie Eilish closed out Main Stage East on Friday night, with an incredible set which is sure to go down in Reading and Leeds history. An impressive feat for an artist yet to celebrate their 22nd birthday. But the sea of Billie t-shirts and the audible harmonies of the crowd singing along to every lyric just goes to show how much this young artist is connecting with her fans on a personal level.
Saturday
Our Saturday began with a trip to watch Bilk on the Festival Republic Stage, if you’ve ever been to a Bilk show before you’ll know this is the perfect way to blow off the cobwebs and get in the mood for another day of music. The band brought their usual chaos, filling the tent with mosh pits and crowd surfers despite their early slot. New acoustic track Something added a rare and refreshingly intimate moment to the set.
Over on Main Stage East, Yard Act put on a fantastic performance, upping their game in terms of production, with a show that included a superbly choreographed surprise dance routine for the breakdown of their new track The Trench Coat Museum.
Canadian indie rockers Mother Mother brought a moment of choral catharsises to the Radio 1 Dance Stage, with dedicated fans taking to shoulders and singing back the words from the very first note. We caught up with lead singer Ryan back stage after their set, who let us know the origins behind the band’s unique vocal style.
Next to grace the BBC Introducing stage was Antony Szmierek, one of Manchester’s most exciting emerging artists. Accompanied by his band The Breeze he danced and joked his way through his set, even pausing for an emotional moment to thank (and tell off) some of his past students which had come down to watch. After the set we headed back stage to find out what ‘the busiest man in Manchester’ has been up to since we last spoke – the answer is a lot!
We finished off the day in style by watching Foals perform a set packed with bangers from the length and breadth of their 14 year career on Main Stage West. From 2022’s Wake Me Up to the nostalgia of 2008’s Two Steps Twice the band had the audience bouncing from the back to the barrier, cementing Foals place as one of the best live bands in UK.
Sunday
Awaking on Sunday with slightly sore heads Arlo Parks’ low-fi pop and angelic vocals were a welcome start to the final day’s proceedings. The Yorkshire weather did make an appearance with fans sticking around despite the alternating moments of torrential rain and bright sunshine.
Alro Parks was followed by hip hop rockers Easy Life, who got the party going in true Easy Life style. The band showcased their newly released mellow track Palm Tree Days alongside the contrastingly dark and moody BEESWAX displaying that Easy life are far from a one trick pony. Drummer Oliver Cassidy joined the crowd during the final song in what was probably the largest pit of the weekend.
We made it in time to catch another of our favourite up and coming bands of the weekend L’objectif on the BBC Introducing stage. As home town shows go, this is one of the best you can get, and the young four piece from Leeds are sure to have garnered a whole host of new fans to the stage with their ferociously good 20 minute set. We stole the band for a chat backstage to find out the origins of their unusual band name, watch the full interview here.
Then as the sun began to set it was time for The 1975 to take their place on Main Stage West. Love them or hate them, in 2023 The 1975 are inescapable. From dominating your TikTok feed, to stealing the headlines there’s no telling what unapologetically outrageous front man Matty Healy and his band of best mates will do next. After filling in for Rage Against the Machine in 2022, the band returned again as last minute edition to the line up replacing Lewis Capaldi. The band used the set to treat a sea of merch clad fans to an incredible career defining rendition of their debut album ‘The 1975’ in full to celebrate it’s 10 year anniversary.
The Killers took to Main Stage East for the final performance of the festival with a set packed full of bangers. Of course they saved the best for last, with Mr Brightside closing out Leeds 2023 like it has closed out many a club night across the UK since its release in 2004.
After Hours
But it didn’t stop there. anyone who has been to Leeds knows that when the arena closes for the night, things are just getting started. Every year the festival’s night life gets bigger and better, with campsite DJ sets, Piccadilly Party, the recent addition of Andachronica, and LS23 – previously known as (and still referred to by most as) the ‘Relentless’ stage. LS23 really steals the show when it comes to post arena entertainment. Festival goers can dance their way to the early morning with DJ sets complemented by a mesmerising overhead light show, nestled between Bramham Park’s trees. And if that’s not enough the cinema tent is also open every night showing anything from short films, big name block busters and cult classics like ‘Cocaine Bear’.
Out with the old and in with the new
One thing which it is bittersweet to say goodbye to is the ‘cow shed’ style toilets which have become synonymous with the festival over the years. The Leeds campsite toilets have always been a notorious part of the festival and are far away from the glitz and glamour of the Main Stage. The previous incarnation consisted of not much more than a hole in the ground, a wooden toilet seat and a metal door which was a fraction too short and allowed you to occasionally clock eyes with an unassuming passer by. I am sad to inform you that these toilets are no more, and the campsite toilets (thankfully) have been replaced with a much more luxurious portaloo version. Although for may staunch Leeds goer’s this will be bittersweet, as this marks the end of the ‘Poo Girl’ legend– if you don’t know what this is … I would say google it but I also strongly advise you against doing so.
The last night’s apocalyptic scenes of tent fires which went viral last year are also a thing of the past, and it seems that the 2023 festival’s increased security and safety measures have made Leeds and all together safer and nicer place to be for everyone. Though the chaotic Leeds spirit has not completely faded away, a highlight of the last night’s celebrations was a sea of air beds and pop-up tents being ceremoniously crowd surfed across LS23’s final rave of the weekend.
Although it may look a little different than we are used to, Reading and Leeds is an example of a festival that is not afraid to move with the times. After the success of 2023’s event, there is no doubt that Reading and Leeds remains and iconic festival, and is well deserving of its crown as one of the biggest weekends in the UK festival calendar.
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