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The Leeds festival that’s always one step ahead of spotting ‘the next big thing’

Every Live At Leeds: In The City route will be completely different. It's one of the joys of attending a city-wide festival.

Sophie Smith Sophie Smith - 15th October 2023

15 venues, some 100 artists and 20,000 steps later...

Live At Leeds: In The City is one of the biggest events in the indie music lover's calendar in Leeds, and for good reason.

The festival, no matter how big it's grown over the years, still manages to hold onto its community feel, and given it's track record of spotting up-and-coming artists, it's no wonder that people across the north will travel over for a day of none-stop hits from those 'one's to watch'.

Ed Sheeran, Royal Blood, George Ezra, Catfish and the Bottleman, Jake Bugg, Rudimental, Bombay Bicycle Club, Mumfords and Sons, The Cribs, Spector, Stormzy, Alt-J, Frightened Rabbit, The Ememy, Pulled Apart By Horses, Everything Everything, Clean Bandit, The Maccabees, Frank Carter and the Rattle Snakes, Sam Fender, Lewis Capaldi, Rag n Bone Man, Northing But Thieves, DMAs, Tom Grennan, Easy Life, Arlo Parks... the list is truly endless: this festival has seen some huge names over the years.

Hosted at fifteen venues across the city centre, the 12-hour festival is like almost like a scavenger hunt for musical talent, and a great opportunity to venture into venues you would never normally would have step foot into.

Every Live At Leeds: In The City route will be completely different. It's one of the joys of attending a city-wide festival.

And this year's was no different...

Paris Paloma kicked off the Stylus at Leeds University Union, bringing a fusion of dark pop, folk, and indie tunes to the stage. Following her viral success for Labour, a song 'giving a voice to feminine rage' with strong repetitive beats that wouldn't be out of place in a battle march, the Derbyshire-born artist explained that she thought "that would be the peak of my career". How wrong she was.

The SU begins to pack out for new single Dry Wall, a song that's only been out for three days, but every syllable is already uttered by the front row.

Paris Paloma at LUU Stylus. / Images: The Hoot Leeds

Our route took us down to Mill Hill Chapel opposite Leeds Train Station to listen to the soft melodies of Katie Malco, a singer-songwriter that's well atuned to the festival circuit. Describing herself as 'post ironic and overly emotional', Malco's emotional acoustic set touched on breakdowns, boyfriends and breakups "where you still have to live in the same house as them because you're not rich".

Sat on pews taking in the architecture of the Grade II listed chapel, surrounded by candles, LGBTQ+ flags and a well-stocked bar, once you're inside the doors of Mill Hill, you really do escape reality for a moment - it's got to be one of the more unusual music venues in the city, but one that's built for acoustic sets like this.

Katie Malco at Mill Hill Chapel. / Images: The Hoot Leeds

The festival is all about exploring different genres and undiscovered talent, and as the sun began to hide away for another day, ever Live At Leeds: In The City venue started to fill out with indie music enthusiasts searching for a new favourite band.

Bedroom High Club, a Barnsley-based band packed out Oporto, and nodded as the 'one's to watch', the four-piece arrived hot from supporting Seb Lowe on tour. For anyone that missed the rock band, tickets to their now sold out gig at The Leadmill will be like gold dust to find, but well worth every penny.

'Alternative Rock Project' Tummyache, brought The Key Club harsh guitar riffs and Delights, hot from a performance over the Pennines at new Manchester venue CANVAS MCR, had The Wardrobe on its feet. Since performing an intimate headline gig at The Lending Room last year, the band has had a whirlwind year, ticking off nine festivals prior to Live At Leeds.

Tummyache at The Key Club. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
The Last Dinner Party at Leeds Beckett SU. / Image: The Hoot Leeds

Over at Leeds Beckett Student Union, The Last Dinner Party, brought a mesmerising performance that showed just how far the band have projected themselves since their last performance at the Brudenell Social Club (that they say had a very small turnout), "look at us now!" proclaimed lead singer Abigail Morris as she introduced her band members to the stage.

Running around the stage for the full set and hopping down from the stage on more than one occasion to serenade the audience, Morris truly kept the crowd alive and made this one of the most memorable performances of the day. The five-piece band dressed in their signature floaty dresses and structured corset-style tops, only have three released singles on Spotify, but packed their set with six confident, well-rehearsed tracks.

The Last Dinner Party at Leeds Beckett SU. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
Kid Kapichi at LUU Stylus. / Image: The Hoot Leeds

Having signed with Island Records (think Foals, Muse) even before releasing their debut single, supported names like Lana Del Ray and Florence and the Machine, and now selling out an upcoming US tour, there's a lot of hype around The Last Dinner Party with a momentum that just keeps building.

By contrast, over at Leeds University Union Stylus, Kid Kapichi brought circle pits and handed out English muffins and gravy from the Co-op. The four-piece British indie punk band from Hastings draw some similarities to Soft Play (formerly Slaves) and Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes, both bands that have graced the Live At Leeds stages in previous years.

@thehootleeds Kid Kapichi spotted at @Live At Leeds handing out gravy! #liveatleeds #leedsfest #leeds #leedsuni #gravy #northern #north #kidkapichi #livemusic #leedsfestival #leedscitycentre ♬ original sound - Thehootleeds

As the night drew in new crowds, Wunderhorse took to Leeds Beckett SU for one last rock set, whilst Antony Szmierek at The Wardrobe, Lynks at the Brudenell Social Club and The Covasettes all brought the small Leeds venues to their final crescendos.

Walking away with plenty of new musical inspiration, Live At Leeds: In The City continues year-after-year to predict artists destined for global success, and we can't help but wonder who we've seen this weekend that'll be on the Main Stage at Leeds Festival in a few years time.

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Feature Image - The Hoot Leeds

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Audio North’s Artist of the Month – Kenzo Jae | September 2026

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Kenzo Jae is a creative who wants to put Bradford on the music map through his alternative-rap tracks and now he's Audio North's Artist of the Month.

This multi-tasking mastermind doesn't only record his own music, he's also a digital illustrator and graphic designer - Oh, and he even directs his own music videos (Leave some talent for the rest of us - We're begging).

Embarking on The Sloth Tour with three UK based dates in Manchester, Leeds and London throughout October, where Kenzo Jae will be playing out hits like 'Softly', 'Chicken Bagel', 'End of the World' and more.

This storytelling songwriter now sits down with Audio North to chat all things Artist of the Month and share a little more insight into his music career so far.

Audio North's Artist of the Month - Kenzo Jae | Interview

How much does being from Bradford influence the music you release?

All aspects of my personality have been influenced by Bradford,  and I’m never more myself than when I’m writing. So lyrically Bradford has had a big impact. 

What’s it like being an artist from Bradford? 

At first it felt like something I had to hide. Now it’s something I wear as a badge. There’s not many of us in the grand scheme of things. It’s a niche club and I love that. The underdogs. 

What northern artists are you loving at the minute?

Ellur and Wilfred.

If you could describe your artistry in three words what would they be and why?

Honest - I try not to hide behind anything in my music even when it’s critical of myself. If something has happened to me or I’m feeling something, I’d rather put it into a song exactly as it is. Might take me a few years but once it’s in the song I can get over it 

Colourful - The vision of the world of my music to me feels saturated and bright. the occasional darkness but for the most part. 

Arrogant - I think it takes a level of arrogant to do and say certain things in my music. Even to do the visual aspects too painting myself pink, wearing a sloth hat etc Takes an arrogance to think yeah I can put myself in such a weird position and believe it’s going to work 

You’ve already amassed over 100k streams on SLOTH - How are you feeling about its reception so far?

It’s been great to see that people have really resonated with the story and the arc I have been on. I want to push it further and hope it reaches everyone that needs it 

How fulfilling is it for you to release the SLOTH mixtape, a title you’ve held onto since you were 16?

The most cathartic feeling. Especially when it’s you know you’ve made it exactly the way I intended. It’s also a learning curve for things I will do differently for the next one. 

You posted a reel describing how you spent two weeks animating a music video for yourself- How important is being hands-on in all aspects of your music career?

I’m a control freak. And if something is in my head, it’s a lot easier to do it myself. Don’t get me wrong , I work with a lot of hard working talented people that I can now trust and delegate work to. But on this instant, I love animation and I find the most enjoyment in editing visuals 

Since you have a track titled ‘Chicken Bagel’, where are some of your favourite brunch or general food spots in West Yorkshire?

I grew up on chicken shops and Salah's is the goat. In terms of restaurants, Classic Persian is the best for me. 

You’re not afraid of risk-taking and standing out, even going as far as painting yourself pink for one of your visuals - what advice would you give to any emerging artists who want to be as confident as you?

You have to be willing to embarrass yourself. The stuff that feels slightly uncomfortable, is usually the stuff that people remember.

And confidence doesn’t necessarily mean thinking you’re amazing. Sometimes it’s just being willing to say, “I don’t care if this is weird, I like it.”

It’s also it’s just more fun to feel like your outside of the box

Read more: Innovative Leeds music venue TESTBED announces launch party lineup

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Leeds and West Yorkshire, subscribe to The Hoot Leeds WhatsApp broadcast HERE.

Featured Images - Press Shots (via Supplied)

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Innovative Leeds music venue TESTBED announces launch party lineup

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Ever-evolving Leeds music hotspot TESTBED is making its grand return to Leeds city centre with an impressive launch party lineup.

Recognised as a cultural venue for bringing people together via music, TESTBED has hosted a variety of club nights in its warehouse location since 2024.

Back in April, it was announced that the team behind this rave-centric club were transforming this space from it's 'Phase 1.3' to 'Phase 2.0'.

Now, TESTBED has released the full lineup for its upcoming launch party which will show off some of the venue's latest features like its 360-degree DJ booth, improved acoustics and 5,000 sq ft mezzanine and balcony area.

Annie Mac is headlining the TESTBED Leeds launch party joined by Horse Meat Disco / Credit: Press Shots (via supplied)
Annie Mac is headlining the TESTBED Leeds launch party joined by Horse Meat Disco / Credit: Press Shots (via supplied)
Annie Mac is headlining the TESTBED Leeds launch party joined by Horse Meat Disco / Credit: Press Shots (via supplied)

Previous performers include Liverpool dance music duo Camelphat, house music DJ Alisha, Netherlands-own Chris Stussy and more, so it will come as no surprise that this relaunch features an equally-stellar lineup.

Fronting the bill for the TESTBED Launch Party is none other than EDM connoisseur and influential figure Annie Mac, who's hosted a variety of radio shows across the BBC as well as curating a set or two herself.

Also in attendance is Horse Meat Disco, a group who put disco and queer culture at the forefront of each and every high-energy set.

Irish selector Shee is also showing off his music expertise and already having collaborations with the likes of A-trak and Karma Kid, expect to hear some tunes.

Shee and Junior Simba will be taking to the decks to wow the crowds over at TESTBED Leeds / Credit: Press Shots (via supplied)
Shee and Junior Simba will be taking to the decks to wow the crowds over at TESTBED Leeds / Credit: Press Shots (via supplied)
Shee and Junior Simba will be taking to the decks to wow the crowds over at TESTBED Leeds / Credit: Press Shots (via supplied)

Seasoned club DJ and presenter Marcia Carr, known for playing live sets with vinyl records, will also be soundtracking the night too, playing out everything from Afrohouse to dubstep.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Leeds-based party without some local talent courtesy of Junior Simba who's quickly become a key player in the house music scene.

And if that wasn't enough raving for you, TESTBED has already announced even more insane nights of music madness featuring ROSSI., Interplanetary Criminal and Obskür.

TESTBED's opening party is taking place on Saturday 3 October from 2pm til 12am and you can grab tickets from as little as £20 HERE.

Read more: Jane McDonald at First Direct Arena, Leeds – tickets, times and more for UK tour

Featured Images: Press Shots (via Supplied)

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