Concerts and Nightlife

Conan Gray AND Jacob Alon join Lewis Capaldi’s Roundhay Festival line-up

We're going 'Maniac' over this announcement (This article contains affiliate links).

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia - 27th February 2026

US pop star Conan Gray and BRIT award winner Jacob Alon join the line-up for Lewis Capaldi's headline date at Roundhay Festival.

Leeds' Roundhay Park is welcoming back live music to its grounds this summer for two outdoor gigs headlined by Lewis Capaldi and Pitbull titled Roundhay Festival, with special guests slowly being announced.

Gray is recognised for standout tracks like 'Heather' and 'Maniac' while Alon has built a cult following of fans around their indie tunes like 'Fairy in a Bottle' as well as 'Liquid Gold 25'.

Jacob Alon has been showing off their artistry within the indie music scene thanks to their 2025 LP In Limerence catching the attention of many in the process.

This album has gone onto attract widespread love from music listeners and even industry professionals bagging themselves their first-ever BRIT award nomination and win - The Critics' Choice award.

Conan Gray AND Jacob Alon join Lewis Capaldi's Roundhay Festival line-up / Credit: Supplied via Press Shots

Conan Gray started out covering other artists hits before creating some of his own and releasing debut studio album Kid Krow back in 2020.

The project has production credits shared between Gray and Dan Nigro, Grammy-winning producer who has worked with Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde and more.

It's always exciting hearing updates like these, but this one is even more impressive as it's not just one stellar act joining the Roundhay Festival line-up but two, with further acts to be announced.

The almost 70,000 crowd who are heading down to Roundhay Festival when Lewis Capaldi makes his way to Leeds next summer are going to be blessed with some phenomenal live music. 

This year marks American Express Presents Roundhay Festival first year with two star-studded dates fronted by powerhouse performers with the second show fronted by Pitbull and special guest Kesha.

These events have been organised with Leeds City Council and are expected to bring benefits to the local area by employing local suppliers, staff and boost spending on accommodation, food and entertainment.

Conan Gray and Jacob Alon will play alongside Lewis Capaldi at Roundhay Festival in Leeds on Saturday 4 July 2026 with tickets available HERE.

Read more: Turnstile to play their only UK headline show this year at Halifax Piece Hall

Featured Images - Supplied via Press Shots

Concerts and Nightlife

Headlong Theatre casts a dark spell on a Shakespearian comedy at Leeds Playhouse 

Declan Kelly Declan Kelly

Winter replaces summer in this unsettling Midsummer Night.

A night of dark magic swarmed Leeds Playhouse last night as Headlong Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe brought a strikingly dark reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, transforming Shakespeare’s most effervescent comedy into something far more psychologically raw.

For those who don’t know who Headlong Theatre Company are, they are known for their bold reimaginings of classics and for commissioning powerful contemporary plays that provoke fresh ways of seeing familiar texts, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream was their next task, directed by Holly Race Roughan. 

Gone was the warmth and floral abundance traditionally associated with the play, a play which is fixated on fairies and magic and all things whimsical. Instead, this production unfolded in a stark, wintry landscape.

Image: Supplied

The eerie white setting with pale tones and biting chill created an atmosphere that felt closer to a nightmare than a fantasy. From the outset, there was a sense that this dream would not offer escapism but confrontation. 

In this production, the quartet of lovers Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena played by Tiwa Lade, David Olaniregun, Lou Jackson and Tara Tijani, rendered a complex love story not as the bright, mischievous romantics of summer light, but as figures caught in a corrosive and bruising emotional spiral.

Image: Supplied

The love potion, rather than a whimsical device, became a symbol of manipulation and control.

Whilst the show did have its comedic parts throughout, laughter was present but not like we’d expect a Shakespearean comedy to be. A standout performance throughout was Danny Kirrane’s portrayal of Bottom. Rather than serving solely as comic relief, Kirrane emerged as unexpectedly poignant.

The play-within-a-play still delivered moments of levity, but even here the humour seemed edged with fragility, as though the comedy might fracture at any moment.

Sergo Vares gives a strikingly original and unforgettable portrayal of Puck, transforming Shakespeare’s playful trickster into a darker, more unsettling figure. Ditching the usual impish charm, Vares appears in a peculiar combination of tutu and dinner jacket, his face painted white and movements measured and haunting, commanding the stage with an eerie intensity.

Image: Supplied

Small, seemingly inconsequential actions, like silently eating a banana, become disquieting, while his prowling presence turns mischief into something deliberate and menacing. Surprising entrances and exits keep both characters and audience on edge, and his closing address to the audience carries a sharp, ironic bite that lingers long after the play’s ending.

What distinguished this production was its commitment to exposing the brutality that pulses beneath Shakespeare’s text. Love was presented not as a harmless folly but as a force capable of humiliation, control and harm. The final moments resisted the usual buoyant reconciliation; instead, the ending felt ambiguous, leaving the audience reflective rather than reassured. This was not a dream bathed in moonlight and romance as we would have expected.

The production took on a colder, more introspective tone, serving as a striking reminder that even Shakespeare’s lightest comedies contain threads of darkness. Whether audiences find this approach exhilarating or simply a departure from the familiar, it is undeniably thought-provoking, prompting reflection on what kind of “dream” they have truly witnessed.

Overall, reimagining Shakespearean texts like this is an exciting venture, offering fresh opportunities to explore themes that might otherwise remain hidden and Roughan accomplishes this with remarkable ease and insight.

Headlong Theatre Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is on at  Leeds  Playhouse until 28  February 2026 and you can get your tickets here.

Read more: Inside Leeds’ newest Italian cafe and gelateria that’s inspired by the streets of Puglia

Featured image - Supplied

Concerts and Nightlife

Jack Whitehall announces huge Leeds gig as part of brand-new stand-up tour

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

British comedy legend Jack Whitehall is making a triumphant return to Leeds' First Direct Bank Arena.

He'll be bringing his brand-new stand-up tour Jack Whitehall: Bad Influence to Leeds on Saturday 6 February 2027.

The award-winning comedian is heading back on the road for a huge national arena tour that promises bigger laughs than ever before, so get ready to laugh your socks off.

Fresh from starring in crime thrilller Malice on Prime Video and stepping into the spotlight as host of The BRIT Awards, Jack Whitehall is returning to what he does best - live comedy.

Audiences can expect classic Whitehall awkward storytelling, and quick witted observations that has made him one of the UK’s most loved stand-up comedians.

Bad Influence will showcase brand-new material that has been specifically written for 2027.

Jack Whitehall Bad Influence tour dates:

January 2027

Thursday 7 January – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Saturday 9 January – Co-op Live, Manchester
Sunday 10 January – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Tuesday 12 January – Playhouse, Edinburgh
Wednesday 13 January – Playhouse, Edinburgh
Thursday 14 January – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
Saturday 16 January – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Sunday 17 January – Swansea Building Society Arena
Wednesday 20 January – Plymouth Arena
Thursday 21 January – Plymouth Arena
Friday 22 January – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Saturday 23 January – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
Thursday 28 January – Brighton Centre
Friday 29 January – Brighton Centre
Saturday 30 January – The O2, London

Feburary 2027

Tuesday 2 February – BIC, Bournemouth
Wednesday 3 February – Utilita Arena, Sheffield
Thursday 4 February – Connexin Live, Hull
Saturday 6 February – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Sunday 7 Feburary – Vaillant Live, Derby

Jack Whitehall tickets at Leeds' First Direct Bank Arena are available on general sale on this Friday 20 February at 10am. You can get your tickets HERE.

Read more: Leeds Pride 2026 announces dates and first wave of acts for 20th anniversary celebration this summer

Featured image - Supplied

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