Yorkshire’s biggest festival took place right here over Bank Holiday weekend – and what a weekend it was.
Leeds Festival returned to Bramham Park this weekend – and if you were one of the 80,000 odd singing along to Liam Gallagher on Friday or wading through the sea of people queuing for a glimpse of Blink 182 – you’ll know exactly what we’re on about.
As a festival that’s now in its mid-twenties, it’s certainly got older and wiser over the years – and the lineups just get better and better ever year.
There’s no doubt this festival will go down in history as the year of Storm Lilian, Friday’s delayed opening time was met by the heartbreaking closure of three stages due to the high winds with flying tents landing in local’s back gardens…yes, really.
Due to a stripped back musical line-up, crowds for the main stages were vast as first headliner Catfish and the Bottlemen played their first live show in three years with a performance that did not disappoint and had fans flocking for spots at the front barriers.
The highlight of the first day, though, was most definitely Liam Gallagher as he shuffled onto the main stage in his parka and sunglasses to perform a set list consisting entirely of his former band’s early classics in celebration of Definitely Maybe’s 30th anniversary year.
The field was united with epic singalongs as Gallagher shouted “this one’s for the tents”, the absolute perfect tonic after a demanding and blustery day.
As the wind settled and Saturday rolled around, bucket-hat wearing festival goers were back on form ready for another jam-packed day of live music.
Belfast’s provocative rappers Kneecap kicked off proceedings with an electric performance that was as hilarious as it was controversial, urging a field full of Yorkshire to rap along with Get Your Brits Out.
Welsh pop-punk heroes Neck Deep added a political flair to the post-GCSE party quipping “it won’t always be like this”, whilst Jorja Smith‘s set was moved to the main stage due to the Radio 1 tent closure which she did was prowess and ease.
Scottish troubadour Gerry Cinnamon united crowds as the sun set, from the synchronised foot stomps to the bellowing chants you sort of felt like you were at a sing-song at the pub – but in the best way possible.
Naturally an enormous crowd formed for Blink 182, although no sign of Kourtney Kardashian unfortunately. It was a welcome return for the pop-punk pioneers who delivered a healthy dose of nostalgia alongside lighthearted teenage humour throughout their closing set.
Fontaines D.C.‘s Sunday teatime slot was perhaps the highlight of the whole weekend, a set which initially suffered from blustery sound issues but erupted into mayhem as the Irish post-punk heroes plunged into a double whammy of Boys in the Better Land and the fantastic In the Modern World, from new record Romance.
With no eye-catching visuals and only a mumbled “How you doing” from frontman Grian Chatten, it’s a performance that delivers entirely on their own terms and acts as a footnote in their inevitable meteoric rise.
Lana Del Rey‘s hazy California pop is met with echoes of screaming teenage girls, as the American singer-songwriter delivers a beautiful performance dotted with classics such as Summertime Sadness and Young and Beautiful.
Finally, breakout producer Fred Again makes history as the first electronic act to headline the main stage delivering a laser-inducing performance that had punters dancing through the rain.
“You’re the biggest set of troopers we’ve ever played to at a festival” he cries as the downpour refuses to cease, as a festival that started in disaster ends drenched in style.
Read more: Leeds Festival 2024 has ‘lost’ two stages after Storm Lilian chaos
Featured image – The Hoot Leeds
