You don't need us to tell you how talented our wonderful city is, but it's always nice to be reminded isn't it?
And luckily for us, The Light on The Headrow are shining a light (pardon the pun) on local talent throughout summer.
Introducing 'Live At The Light', an exciting new event series that celebrates the local Leeds music and arts scene, bringing the centre to life with live music and talent in collaboration with Heart Radio.
The best part? It's completely free to attend.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Located on the balcony level of The Light by Vue Cinema, incredible Leeds musicians, singers, DJs and more have performed over the past few weekends, but it's only going to get better with lots of talented acts lined up for the rest of the month and into August.
And if you fancy not only watching but performing yourself, you can even sign up for a chance to showcase your talent by the Live At The Light booking form.
Since July, the space has been open to the public, who have been signing up for their chance to showcase their talents through the Live at The Light website booking form.
The Light has been encouraging Leeds locals to pop-in, browse the centre and take some time to enjoy the live performances as they go about their busy weekends.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Not only that, on select weekends there’s even a complimentary bar provided for visitors, with the option to make a voluntary donation to a very special local cause: St Gemma’s Hospice.
In November, Wayne from The Light’s Security Team, will be trekking 5,000 metres up through the Himalayas to reach Everest Base Camp, all to raise funds for St Gemma’s.
It's an incredible cause which you can support by heading to Live At The Light, and you'll have a great time whilst you're there too - it's a win win.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Stephanie James, Marketing Manager at The Light, commented: “We’re thrilled that Live at The Light not only brings amazing local talent to the city centre throughout summer, but also gives us a platform to support a cause as important to Leeds as St Gemma’s Hospice.
“The energy in the centre has been fantastic, it’s been amazing to see people coming together to enjoy the music, support local acts, and give back to the community.”
To keep an eye on the latest updates and line-ups, keep an eye on their socials.
An independent music festival in South Yorkshire has been forced to cancel.
It's official, music festival season is on the horizon and it's getting us very excited to be stood in a field with a pint of cider in our grasp.
But unfortunately, that won't be the case for those looking to attend Reytfest - an independent music festival 'run my music fans by music fans'.
Set to take place at the end of June, the festival announced on Tuesday 12 May that they have had to cancel the event due to 'the cost of living crisis'.
Posting the news to Instagram, Reytfest said: "We have had to make the heartbreaking decision to not go ahead with the REYT FEST event this June. This is due primarily to poor ticket sales which we can only attribute to the cost of living crisis.
"We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the festival, from the bands, vendors, stakeholders, suppliers and all other interested parties. We’d also like to thank you, our followers, liking and sharing our posts really built our fanbase, but especially to those of you who purchased tickets.
"Rest assured your ticket money will be refunded and please don’t get disheartened by this news, keep on booking live events whether its grassroots music in a local bar to big band stadium events or something completely different such as theatres, cinema, sports, etc, if people don’t buy tickets, they will disappear.
"We had a dream that unfortunately we can’t see through to fruition on this occasion, but we’ve learnt so much and we don’t want to throw all that knowledge and experience away, so when the time is right - watch this space!! Thank you - Jon (Brad), Ian, Jess and the rest of the REYT FEST Team."
Leeds Jazz Festival returns to the city this month complete with best lineup yet
Clementine Hall
The 2026 edition of the Leeds Jazz Festival is here, and it's set to be bigger and better than ever before.
If you're a lover of jazz, then you're going to want to keep reading.
Now in its fifth year, Leeds Jazz Festival showcases the best of local, national, and international music through gigs, screenings, DJs, talks and more.
The festival is set to take place across the city from Thursday 21 to Tuesday 26 May 2026, making it the perfect event to enjoy across the bank holiday weekend.
Image: Supplied
Kicking the festival off is Submotion Orchestra, a boundary-pushing musical collective originally formed in Leeds who will be making their return to The Wardrobe for a very special gig.
Over in Chapel Allerton, Jazz Leeds will bring Donovan Haffner to Seven Arts, fresh from his wins for "Jazz Newcomer of the Year" at the UK Parliamentary Jazz Awards and "UK Breakthrough Act" at the 2026 JazzFM Awards.
Leeds Jazz Festival legend DJ Lubi has curated a fantastic night of live Cuban music, alongside a Cuban dance class and a DJ after-party at Howard Assembly Room.
Image: Supplied
Elsewhere at The Domino Club there'll be a whole host of different events taking place, including Three or Four Shades of Mingus, Alligator Gumbo, and two special shows celebrating the 100th birthday of jazz icon Miles Davis.
For more laid-back chill vibes on Bank Holiday Monday, Mercury Music Prize-nominated pianist Kit Downes will play an intimate performance in the stunning acoustics of Mill Hill Chapel. Now that is something not to be missed.
For full details on the lineup as well as information on free activities as well as ticketed gigs, visit the Leeds Jazz Festival website.
Clementine Hall -
28th July 2025 
