Gracie Abrams brought the vibes, bows, songs and girlies to Leeds.
Let's face it, you were either at Gracie Abrams or Sabrina Carpenter last night but wow were we glad to be at Leeds First Direct Arena.
Gracie is a sensational performer and I personally only became a big fan of her at the end of last year after "That's So True” went viral on TikTok.
After a cancelled show last week, Gracie made a speedy recovery and rescheduled for Thursday 13 March. Best friend in hand, surrounded by girlies (and their parents) in bows, the atmosphere was wild and we were ready for the show to begin. With one beady eye on the look out for Paul Mescal.
She elegantly flowed onto the stage, wearing the most gorgeous long silk dress with sparkled black bowed arm ties. Kicking off the show with "Felt So Good About You” and "Risk” back to back and it's safe to say I’ve never heard the crowd roar with applause like that ever.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
She quickly apologised for being poorly and welcomed everyone by saying “Leeds, we made it, welcome to the Secret Of Us Tour”. She then went onto say how she has so many feelings about this rescheduled gig and thanked the crowd for being there "you're so understanding, showing up and being so generous. I can’t tell you what this means to be - sincerely thank you”
I’ve never seen a performer like Gracie before, she was beautifully interacting with the crowd at every opportunity, whether that was taking scrap books off the super fans, phones for selfies, talking to them directly or waving at every part of the arena possible. It was very clear to see her fans loved her and she loved them just as much.
Mid-set she took everyone to a re-creation of her childhood bedroom in the middle of the standing pit, where she wrote most of her early material. She sat down on her white double bed, next to her a bedside table with a lamp and of course, her keyboard where she continued to interact with fans and perform some of her early material.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
The evening was truly electric and I genuinely felt like I made a friend in Gracie. Her warm approach to the crowd was genuine and really beautiful. Time for one of my favourites “Cool”, although we all knew it was closing to the end, the roars and screams to every single lyric did not stop.
And that was my night over with, heading to my car with headphones on blasting Gracie Abrams complete on Spotify and contemplating If I could pull off cutting my hair into a sharp bob.
Leeds Festival 2026 is officially underway and we've rounded up drinks prices at the bars on the festival site.
While many of us will be sipping on warm cans of cider and boxes of wine at the camp sites, you can't take any of your own alcohol into the arena (where all the stages are) itself.
So you'll need to budget for drinks over the course of the weekend if you want to watch the headliners with a pint in hand.
And with headline performances from the likes of Fontaines D.C., Raye, Florence and the Machine and Dave, there's masses of amazing live music on the horizon at Leeds Festival 2026.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
We're already on site at Leeds Festival ready to bring you all the action and updates from this massive weekend - staring with, importantly, drinks prices.
So, let's get into it...
This year you're looking at paying around £7 of beer and £7.50 £7.50 for a pint of cider.
Different for this year, is you'll get 10% off if paying with a Paypal debit card which you can get for free - which we think is pretty class and well worth your time.
You can take your own empty water bottles in to refill at water stations around the festival site.
You're also allowed to bring in sealed water/soft drinks which are 500ml or less.
And if you're taking your own booze into the campsites, remember that there's no glass allowed, so you'll need to decant anything into plastic bottles.
Here are all your drinks prices for Leeds Festival 2026
Beer and cider
Budweiser - £7 (£6.30 with Paypal discount)
Corona Extra - £7.50 (£6.75 with Paypal discount)
Kopparberg Crisp Apple - £7.50 (£6.75 with Paypal discount)
Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime - £7.70 (£6.93 with Paypal discount)
Rose - 175ml £10 / btl £35 (£9/£31.5 with Paypal discount)
Italian sparkling - 200ml £10 (£9 with Paypal discount)
No and Low
Budweiser Zero - £5.80 (£5.22 with Paypal discount)
Water - £2.50 (£2.25 with Paypal discount)
And that should just about do you in terms of booze - as always, please drink responsibly and look after each other.
For all the other important information, you can consult our complete 2026 Leeds Festival guide down below.
Featured image - The Hoot Leeds
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Leeds Festival warning issued as police announce speed cameras and traffic restrictions
Clementine Hall
Leeds Fest is almost here, but festival-goers heading to Bramham Park by car have been warned to take extra care on the roads.
Driving to Leeds Festival has never been particularly easy, but West Yorkshire Police have issued a warning to those driving by car in an attempt to make it somewhat easier.
Ahead of Leeds Festival 2026, temporary traffic management measures will be in place from Wednesday 26 August until Monday 31 August.
The measures are designed to improve road safety, reduce congestion, and help ensure the safe movement of the tens of thousands of people expected to attend the event.
Speed camera enforcement vans will be operating throughout the festival period alongside clearways surrounding the festival site.
Police have warned that drivers caught breaking the temporary restrictions could face prosecution, so it's definitely worth keeping an eye out for the signage as you approach the festival.
Superintendent Dan Wood said: “Leeds Festival is one of the largest events in West Yorkshire and attracts a significant increase in traffic to the local road network.
"The temporary speed restrictions and clearways are being introduced to help keep everyone safe, including festival-goers, local residents and road users.
"We would ask all motorists to pay close attention to the temporary signage in place and allow extra time for their journeys. Speed enforcement will be carried out during the event, and we encourage drivers to comply with all restrictions for their own safety and that of others."
Festival attendees are also being urged to follow the event signage rather than relying solely on their sat nav. Dedicated routes will direct different categories of visitors to the correct locations, including:
Camping entrances
Day / Non-camping ticket parking areas
Drop-off and pick-up points
Staff and authorised vehicle access routes
Motorists who follow sat nav directions alone may be directed to unsuitable routes, causing unnecessary delays for themselves and other road users.
Fran Mallinson -
14th March 2025 
