After huge success, Day Fever is returning to Leeds this May and it's going to be a hoot.
And this time they’ll be coming to the city centre, bringing the party to Project House on Saturday 3 May 2025.
Created by Line of Duty and This Is England star Vicky McClure, Day Fever invites the forever-young-at-heart to indulge in a daytime disco experience, where adults can relive their glory days on the dance floor without sacrificing their beauty sleep.
It’s hard not to be a part of the 2020’s wellness era that we all seem to have entered, but if you can’t shake the early 00’s carefree and rebellious party days, then Day Fever is exactly what you’re looking for combining the best of both worlds.
Image: Supplied
Starting at 3pm, the event has a strict curfew of 7pm, so you’ll be back in time to bid adieu to the babysitter or settle in for a few episodes of your favourite series before clocking in those crucial 8+ hours of beauty sleep.
We’ve all seen the AI-generated photos of what workers will look like in 50 years due to the incessant screen time consumption, right? What better way to loosen off those stiff joints by dusting off those disco shoes and heading to Project House for an afternoon groove?
Image: Supplied
And whilst you’re there, why not kick the day off by grabbing some lunch and a few drinks from Galleria next door – it really would be rude not to.
It’s also co-founded by Sheffield legend and Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McClure (no relation), who you’ll often spot behind the DJ decks.
Described as ‘the daytime disco that doesn’t ruin your Sunday,’ Day Fever will be an event not to miss with nostalgic TV shows, films and adverts shown on a big screen during the event so you can relive those good old glory days.
Light Night Leeds has announced some changes to this year's glittering light festival, along with an exciting new theme.
For the first time in its history, the beloved, free light trail will take place during half term, making it more accessible than ever to families across West Yorkshire.
The streets will be filled with projections, immersive artworks, and light installations across two nights - 28 and 29 October.
Happily, that also means it will fall a week after the clocks have gone back, which means the full programme can benefit from the darker evenings and begin from 6pm.
Leeds City Council has now revealed the theme for its 2026 edition of Light Night, which will be centred around tales of the city's past and future.
With the theme 'A City Speaks…', this year's Light Night will form part of Leeds 400, marking 400 years since Leeds was granted its first Royal Charter by King Charles I.
Contemporary art installations like performances and projections across city landmarks will explore the stories, people and places that have shaped Leeds over the past four centuries.
Familiar streets and buildings will be totally transformed for two very special evenings, with more than 40 artworks to discover.
Light Night Leeds will return on 28 and 29 October 2026. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
Last year, Light Night Leeds attracted more than 200,000 visitors to the city.
The full programme for 2026 is set to be announced at the end of September.
Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, said: "Light Night Leeds really shows off our city in the best light each year, bringing thousands of people together to enjoy hugely impressive projections and immersive experiences.
"The event is so important for the city, helping to establish Leeds as a cultural destination while making art accessible to everyone.
"The move into October half term, when the evenings are darker and children are off school, will make it easier for even more families to experience everything Light Night Leeds has to offer.
"It's wonderful to see an event that has been such an important part of Leeds since 2005 also play a key role in the Leeds 400 celebrations, using contemporary creativity to explore our past while looking towards our future."
Light Night Leeds 2026 takes place on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October, from 6pm to 9.30pm.
Audio North’s Artist of the Month – Lucky Iris | August 2026
Declan Kelly
There’s something about Lucky Iris that feels completely made for a packed-out club at 1am.
The Leeds-based duo, made up of Maeve and Jasper, have spent the last few years carving out a sound that refuses to sit neatly inside one box. Hyperpop, electro, indie, dance, synth-pop throw it all in, and you’re somewhere close, but even then, Lucky Iris are busy smashing those pop archetypes to pieces.
And right now, they’re doing it better than ever.
After a huge 2025, Lucky Iris have kicked off 2026 with their debut mixtape, 'fall in love with the dj', a project that feels like the culmination of everything the pair have been building towards since their bedroom-pop beginnings during lockdown.
Released in January via Launchpad+ and EMI North, the six-track mixtape takes Lucky Iris back to the place that shaped them: sweaty, low-lit, bass-heavy rooms where music becomes something bigger than just something playing through a speaker.
As Maeve puts it, the project is about 'finally making the music we want to hear', and that philosophy runs through every corner of the record.
FROM BEDROOM POP TO ELECTRO CHAOS
Lucky Iris might now be turning heads across the UK, but their story started much closer to home.
What began as a bedroom pop experiment during lockdown has evolved into something far more ambitious. The pair have continually pushed their sound forward, experimenting with electronic production and finding a space somewhere between alternative pop and the dancefloor.
Lucky Iris on a tour of Leeds with The Hoot. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
Their latest mixtape is arguably the clearest expression of that evolution yet.
Tracks like i just want to dance, play me like a speaker and heart 4 heart had already started building serious momentum throughout 2025, giving listeners a taste of the direction Lucky Iris were heading in.
Then came 'fall in love with the dj'.
The title track captures exactly what makes the duo so exciting. It’s not simply a song about going out it’s about that strange, almost euphoric feeling of losing yourself in music.
THEIR BREAKOUT YEAR
2025 was the year Lucky Iris started making serious noise.
The duo completed their first UK tour supporting Master Peace, while also sharing stages with artists including Babymorocco, Dorian Electra, Hannah Diamond, Bimini and Jessica Winter. They also made an appearance at SXSW London.
DIY, Wonderland, The Forty Five and BBC Radio 1 have all been among the tastemakers backing the duo.
The duo were also selected as a Spotify RADAR Artist of the Week/First Listen Artist, joining a list of previous RADAR artists that includes Griff, Central Cee, Rose Grey, Barry Can't Swim and Rachel Chinouriri. Artists who have all gone on to achieve big things, and it appears that Lucky Iris are heading in those footsteps.
Not bad for a project that started in a bedroom.
LEEDS IS WRITTEN ALL OVER IT
There’s also something particularly Leeds about Lucky Iris.
The city has been part of their story from the beginning, from those early nights out that inspired their music to the grassroots venues such as Hyde Park Book Club where they developed their live show.
And live is where Lucky Iris really come alive.
Their commanding performances have become a major part of their identity, transforming their electronic productions into something that feels less like watching a band and more like stumbling into the middle of a party, from larger-scale production to smaller settings like Rat and Pigeon in Manchester we’re we recently saw them transform the space into a hyper-pop evening alongside similar artists.
They’ve even managed to bring their music and their football obsession together.
As lifelong Tottenham Hotspur fans, Maeve and Jasper have collaborated with the club, featured on Sky News and appeared pitchside at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the club’s The Warm Up series. Their music has also found its way onto the Premier League Official Playlist.
Because apparently Lucky Iris weren’t content with taking over the dancefloor, they wanted the football stadium too.
MAKING MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT
Ultimately, Lucky Iris aren't trying to reinvent pop for the sake of it. They’re making the kind of music they genuinely want to hear.
Music that is loud. Music that is messy. And music that understands why we keep going back to clubs, gigs and dancefloors in the first place.
'fall in love with the dj' feels like a statement of intent from a duo who have finally found their sweet spot. It’s crunchy, electronic and relentlessly fun, but underneath all that noise is something incredibly human: the desire to feel something.
And with everything Lucky Iris have achieved already, it feels like we’re only just getting started.
Keep an eye on them because if the last 12 months are anything to go by, the Leeds duo are going to be making a whole lot more noise.
Clementine Hall -
6th March 2025 
