There's a whole lot of live performances going on this month.
As we transition into summertime gig season and intimate indoor venues turn into outdoor festivals, June is giving artists one last month to play on stages big and small around our city.
From You Me at Six at Temple Newsam to The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess at Brudenell Social Club, there's plenty to choose from- and that's before we've even talked about the Jubilee weekend festivals.
Keep reading to find out our top ten picks for live performance, music gigs and concerts this month.
Popular band You Me At Six will take over the Temple Newsam site to perform a special one-off set in honour of the ten year anniversary of their album Sinners Never Sleep. This might not be affiliated with the Slam Dunk Festival taking over Temple Newsam the following weekend, but the 2021 headliners are long standing favourites of the festival so the band are certain to set the scene for the weekend’s festivities.
Slam Dunk Festival North is back for another year and there’s a huge line-up to look forward to. Set in the heart of Temple Newsam, one of Leeds’ best known festival venues is the hosting a one day set of metal, emo, punk and ska music from some of the industry’s biggest names.
The one-day festival kicks off on the bank holiday Friday, with live performances across five stages at Temple Newsam from Neck Deep, Sum41 and ALEXISONFIRE, amongst other exciting names.
Tickets start at £69, but you’re likely to get a ticket priced over £85 as the date gets looms closer. Those looking for VIP entry tickets can pay £129 for entry to the VIP Guest area, VIP toilets and guest bar. All tickets can be purchased from the Slam Dunk Festival website.
Find out more here.
Made in Leeds Festival
Saturday 4 June 2022 | Church Fenton Airfield, Selby, Leeds
Image: Made in Leeds
During the Bank Holiday Jubilee weekend, Made in Leeds Festival will return for another year of live music and entertainment from the city’s finest homegrown acts. Local owner of Dollhouse and newly-opened club-dining experience, Playroom, Tom Zanetti will be returning to his home city for a Made in Leeds set.
Craig David’s legendary set, Craig David Presents TS5 is will be live from Leeds during the bank holiday weekend too. David started the project in 2012 after the artist hosted a series of parties for friends in his penthouse apartment. The likes of Holy Goof, Nathan Dawe, Marc Kinchen, Hannah Wants, Low Steppa and Tom Zanetti will also be in attendance.
Prices now start at £30.25 but will increase to up to £66 as the tiers sell out. Students can grab a ticket for just £16.50 and there’s a 3-for-2 deal too on Skiddle: bargain.
The popular festival is usually held each year across the inner-city centre, with artists playing at a range of Leeds venues, but it was pushed back until October this year due to pandemic-related restrictions. As a result, the Live at Leeds team have decided that the multi-venue traditional Live at Leeds will be hosted in October 2022 and an outdoor one-day festival will take place in its usual May spot.
Joining the hefty line-up of rising Indie headliners: Alfie Templeman, The Pigeon Detectives, Cassia, Laruran Hibberd, Tribes and Dream Wife have all been confirmed to perform alongside The MYsterines, Kid Kapichi, Coach Party and Zuzu.
Headliners: The Vaccines, Holly Humberstone, Sports Team and The Snuts will be joining the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club, Arlo Parks, Easy Life and Sea Girls at Temple Newsam over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend. Nothing But Thieves were originally set to play but has since had to cancel and their headline slot will be replaced by The Vaccines on Saturday 4 June.
Tickets: Live at Leeds Tickets are now available on the Live at Leeds website for the 2022 one-day festival, with general admission priced at £60.50.
Saturday 4 June 2022 | Church Fenton Airfield, Selby, Leeds
Image: Made in Leeds
During the Bank Holiday Jubilee weekend, Made in Leeds Festival will return for another year of live music and entertainment from the city’s finest homegrown acts.
Local owner of Dollhouse and newly-opened club-dining experience, Playroom, Tom Zanetti will be returning to his home city for a Made in Leeds set.
Craig David’s legendary set, Craig David Presents TS5 is will be live from Leeds during the bank holiday weekend too. David started the project in 2012 after the artist hosted a series of parties for friends in his penthouse apartment.
Headliners: Craig David Presents TS5, Holy Goof, Nathan Dawe, Marc Kinchen, Hannah Wants, Low Steppa and Tom Zanetti.
Tickets: Made in Leeds has sold out of its first release tickets. Prices now start at £30.25 but will increase to up to £66 as the tiers sell out. Students can grab a ticket for just £16.50 and there’s a 3-for-2 deal too on Skiddle: bargain.
The original people's poet is performing at the O2 Academy this month- and ticket holders shouldn't expect anything short of the Poet Laureate of Punk's usual antics. Taking on some of the most important conversations in modern society, Dr John Cooper Clarke has made a name for himself as one of Britain's most influential writers, social commentators, radio presenters and fashion icon to many- so this will be a night to remember.
The gig will also feature new poetry and spoken words, sharing anecdotes aplenty and even the secret to the performer's successful career- with thoughtful musings, riffs and a good ol' fashioned sense of humour thrown in for good measure.
The American rock band that brought the world classic anthems like Sex on Fire and Use Somebody will be taking to Leeds' largest indoor stage- with all four brothers expected to be in attendance. The two-time BRIT award winners have nine Top 40 singles under their belt already, so expect plenty of sing-a-long hits, as well as the latest tracks from their 202 album When You See Yourself.
Having been around since 1999, the well-known rock band are in their 23rd year performing together, with little sign of slowing down anytime soon.
Thursday 16 June 2022 | Brudenell Social Club, Burley / Hyde Park
Image: Wikicommons
English musician and The Charlatans frontman will be taking on the intimate 400-odd capacity venue over in Hyde Park for a one-off show- and what a treat this will be. Any fan of the indie-alt singer will be delighted to hear tunes from his solo career, hopefully including the full range of his musical capabilities.
As a harmonica player, keyboard, piano, melidoca and guitar rift enthusiast, there's plenty of scope here for The Charlatans singles too.
Saturday 25 June 2022 | O2 Academy Leeds, Millenium Square
The Sherlocks in Sheffield earlier this month. / Image: The Sherlocks
Yorkshire's own indie rock band will be performing at the O2 Academy to kickstart what is sure to be a festival-packed summer. Having initially played at Reading and Leeds Festival 2015 to a small, passive audience, the indie band have since gone onto support the likes of The Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs, The Kooks and release three albums, each of which hitting the UK Top 20 during their release period.
The Yorkshire band made it to the 100 years of Elland Road celebrations but are this time swapping the football stadium for a smaller crowd, each of which are guaranteed to spend the evening quoting Live For The Moment- or at least Chasing Shadows.
The 60-year-old DJ has come along way since first playing a set at a friend's wedding some 45 years ago- and Halifax's Piece Hall is set to witness a lifelong dedication to the decks first hand this summer. The international DJ just released a Tiesto remix of Ibiza Classics You Got The Love with Becky Hill- and if that isn't going to get you in the summertime spirit, what will?
The Halifax Piece Hall is a short car under an hour from Leeds city centre and with plenty of train links available, you won't want to miss out on this for the sake of a short commute.
We don't need much of an excuse to go shopping for vinyls and CDs - but World Record Store Day will do just fine.
Whether you've been an avid collector of vinyls and CDs or you've jumped on the band wagon this time round, there's nothing quite like grabbing yourself a new disc for your record player.
Leeds is absolutely packed with amazing independent record shops where you can browse for rare vinyls and pick up other collectors' items.
And that applies all year round - not just for World Record Store Day, which this year will fall on Saturday 18 April.
Here are our favourite places to go record shopping in and around Leeds.
Jumbo Records
1-3 Merrion Centre, Leeds city centre
Jumbo Records in Leeds. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
Jumbo Records is an absolute record shop institution and has proudly stood in Leeds for more than 50 years.
Located inside the Merrion Centre, this huge music hub has every single type of music you can imagine and their wonderful staff are on hand to help you navigate around this treasure trove. Within their four walls you'll find endless new and old vinyls, CDs, books, magazines, cassettes, limited edition prints, tickets and loads more - whatever you can imagine, they have it.
Jumbo Records even holds live performances in-store. Remember when a few stages blew away at Leeds Fest? Well, Jumbo opened its doors to the likes of Wunderhorse so they could swing by and play a few songs. So basically what we're trying to say is Jumbo Records is goated and if you need anything music-related, this is where you need to be heading.
For Record Store Day 2026, they'll be open from 8am with 500+ releases, live music, and a pop-up bar.
Vinyl Whistle and Meanhood
Otley Road, Headingley
The Vinyl Whistle in Leeds. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
Named after a love of both vinyl records and football, Vinyl Whistle is an indie record store that stocks new and old EPs, and has a coffee shop/ beer taps/live gig venue right in the middle of their store.
Owners Jim and Katie just expanded their offering even further too, launching Meanhood right beneath Vinyl Whistle with a mission to make DJing more accessible across Leeds.
This record store day, they'll have friends on the decks ALL DAY from 8am to 11pm.
Released Records
Corn Exchange, Leeds City Centre
You can also shop with them at Hyde Park Book ClubReleased Records in the Corn Exchange
Hidden away from the crowds inside Leeds Corn Exchange, Released Records offers an eclectic mix of new and pre-loved records. They're a dog-friendly store too, and they'll be offering all of the best World Record Store Day options to lucky shoppers too.
The owners are happy to talk all things music all day long and the brand even has its own label: The Lost Record.
You can shop their curated collections elsewhere in Leeds too - these guys are in charge of the vinyl collections at Hyde Park Book Club, and Outlaws Yacht Club.
One of our go-tos for vinyl shopping in Leeds has to be Crash Records, which is a true cornerstone of the Leeds music scene.
It's been around for 41 years this year, specialising in indie, alternative, rock, punk, and metal.
You'll find endless treasures hidden inside these walls, PLUS Crash Records is given an allocation for local gig tickets - and shopping with them is so much more exciting than just logging on to Ticketmaster.
Too Damn Loud
Kirkgate Market
This is one of the most long-standing businesses inside Kirkgate Market, operating since 1974 with a huge selection for music-lovers to browse through.
Peter, along with his wife, have run the store themselves for the past half-century - and during this time have made the transition from vinyls, to tapes and CD, and then back to vinyls again - plus you’ll find video tapes and DVDs in here too spanning across all genres and age groups.
The name came from the owner’s original neighbour complaining that the store was ‘Too Damn Loud’ - and it’s stuck ever since.
Plant & Deck
Upstairs in The Doghouse, 93 Kirkgate
Where do you go when you want to buy vines and vinyls these days? The answer is obviously Plant and Deck in its new home.
Head upstairs (and upstairs again) in Doghouse and you'll find this haven for vinyl records and house plants.
With those amazing vaulted ceilings and wood beams, and vinyls spinning all day long, this jungle of electronic music looks as good as it sounds.
Holding Patterns
2A Albion Place
Holding Patterns is a bar in Leeds that sounds as good as it looks.
From a vinyl listening station to a state-of-the-art sound system, and with vinyl DJs and selectors blessing your ears in the evenings, this is where to bring all the music-lovers in your life.
There’s a concise list of gorgeous cocktails, natural wines, crafts beers and delicious coffees too.
Tribe Records in Leeds is a renowned independent vinyl shop specialising in electronic music, including house, techno, electro, reggae, and dub.
Reopened in 2020 after a hiatus, it acts as a vital community hub run by Simon Scott, supplying new/used records, and supporting local DJs with expert advice.
North South Vintage
Headingley Lane, Headingley / Hyde Park Corner
For those solely interested in shopping for second-hand treasures, North South Vintage (formerly Vintage Boutique) is an unmissable stop.
Located right in the heart of studentsville spaces between Hyde Park and Headingley, this vintage store has plenty of hidden diamonds in the rough, just waiting to be uncovered.
Expect a huge array of 70s and 80s bangers, as well as contemporary house mixes amongst old football scarves, retro Nikes and an impressive collection of classic novels.
Yungblud at First Direct Arena, Leeds – stage times, setlist, support and more
Daisy Jackson
Yungblud is set to play a massive gig in Leeds this week, as the Yorkshire-born rocker returns to his home county.
The boundary-pushing artist from Doncaster will take the stage at the First Direct Arena on Friday 17 April as part of his Idols World Tour.
Announcing the tour last year, he said: "UK. It’s been two years! I’m so excited to announce our biggest shows yet... Let’s go."
Yungblud has amassed legions of fans since exploding onto the scene in 2018 with his debut album 21st Century Liability.
And thousands of those fans - who call themselves the Black Hearts Club - will be gathering together this week to see him performing at Leeds' First Direct Arena.
Over the course of his career, Yungblud has collaborated with artists such as Halsey, Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Barker, and Denzel Curry, with notable hits including 'I Think I'm Okay', 'Zombie' and 'Parents'.
He's had three albums hit the top of the UK Albums Chart, including last year's Idols, which has lent its name to this world tour.
And you might recognise him as the vocal talent trusted to take the place of Ozzy Osbourne, performing Changes as a tribute following the rock legend's death.
If you're one of the lucky ones with tickets to see Yungblud at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, here's everything you need to know.
Tickets
Yungblud at First Direct Arena, Leeds - stage times, setlist, support and more
We've already mentioned that Yungblud has a massive, and very dedicated fan base - which means the show is almost completely sold out... but not quite.
A handful of standing tickets have appeared for sale, priced at £54.50.
There are also a few resale tickets popping up - you can check the latest through Ticketmaster HERE.
Support act
Yungblud has two excellent groups supporting him on the Idols World Tour, including here in Leeds.
Opening the show will be The Molotovs, an sibling rock band from London who released their debut album, Wasted on Youth, earlier this year.
Then the main support will come from The Warning, a Mexican rock group which, coincidentally, is also made up of siblings - this time the Villarreal Vélez sisters: Daniela, Paulina, and Alejandra.
Yungblud stage times in Leeds
6pm - Doors open
7pm - The Molotovs
7.45pm - The Warning
9pm - Yungblud
11pm - Curfew
Expected setlist
This has been the setlist Yungblud has been performing elsewhere on the Idols tour so far.
Hello Heaven, Hello
The Funeral
Idols Pt. I
Lovesick Lullaby
fleabag
Lowlife
Changes (Black Sabbath cover)
War Pt. II
Fire
Tin Pan Boy / braindead!
Loner
Encore:
Ghosts
Zombie
Suburban Requiem
Camping out
Again - really, really dedicated fanbase this guy has, which has led to First Direct Arena issuing a strict 'no camping outside' warning.
If you want that barricade, the queue will likely start early tomorrow morning, with a numbering system in place.
Sophie Smith -
31st May 2022 
