The Brit School grad effortlessly performs her Mercury prize-nominated album and proves she was born to perform.
Fresh from delivering a show stopping set at Coachella, Olivia Dean comes to the Leeds University Stylus which is just the second stop of her UK and European tour.
Her crowds have seen a meteoric rise over the past year, having been nominated for three brits and poised for the Pyramid stage at this year's Glastonbury festival.
So it's no surprise that her Leeds gig is a sell-out with many still hoping to bag tickets on the night.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
But it's the intimacy of the University Stylus which makes the evening so incredibly special.
Sporting a yellow denim two piece complete with black knee high boots, the 25-year-old musician looks calm and at ease on her largest headline tour so far.
Gracing the stage with a seven-piece band behind her, she says "I'm very excited to be here this evening with you, it's Friday night in Leeds!"
Kicking things off with an atmospheric UFO, Dean wastes no time in showing off her hit heavy repertoire as she swiftly follows with Ok Love You Bye - a track that gets the whole crowd moving and singing along.
Her debut album Messy, nominated for the acclaimed Mercury Prize, is all about self-discovery and dealing with the turbulent aftermath of a break-up.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Tambourine in one hand and pint of beer in the other, Dean stylishly executes her big tracks whilst seamlessly interacting with the audience.
Introducing the titular track, she says "I wrote this song to feel like a big hug. I wanted it to feel like a big bowl of tomato soup."
And we can't put it better ourselves.
Dean glides through Messy, almost as if singing a lullaby, holding us in the palm of her hand as we slide up and down the catchy melody with her.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Later comes Carmen, a song dedicated to Olivia's Guyanese grandmother which sees the entire band come together in what can only be described as a real dance party.
Of course she ends with Dive, the standout track from the album that perfectly depicts the exhilarating feeling of falling head over heels for someone.
She thanks the audience and bids her farewells: "Hopefully see you again soon" she says, "You coming Glastonbury? Gosh pyramid stage, I'm bricking it."
And on that note, we were all left wishing we had a ticket to the farm this summer just to see this shining star who no doubt will pull big crowds to one of the biggest stages on earth.
It's clear that Olivia Dean was born for the stage, and the bigger the stage the brighter she will beam.
After closing for the entire second day, The Warehouse stage at Leeds Festival has once again been forced to evacuate.
One of the most anticipated dance acts of the day has been cancelled due to health and safety concerns just moments before the set.
Sheffield DJ Silva Bumpa was due to take to The Warehouse stage today at 1:30pm, but the set was cancelled due to overcrowding.
It's not the first time this has happened at Leeds Festival 2026, as yesterday Omar+'s set was cancelled due to the same issue and the stage was subsequently closed for the rest of the day.
The Warehouse stage is completely new for this year, and supposedly is designed specifically for dance music...which is quite ironic.
Announcing the news to Instagram, Silva Bumpa said: "So so sorry Leeds Fest but due to over crowding my set was cancelled last min I was just behind the stage and got told right before such a massive shame."
Prospa, another prominent DJ who's set was cancelled at Reading on Friday afternoon, spoke up on the situation: "We are disappointed in The Warehouse stage closure at Reading Festival. We were told it wasn't possible to play whilst on the way. This was due to too many people outside the stage.
"We have seen this happen before at larger festivals in the UK. It's time to double the capacity of tents or put dance music on the main stage."
It comes after another dance stage, LS23, was closed mid-set last night due to a health and safety hazard when all the lights suddenly switched off and ravers were forced to evacuate.
If yesterday is anything to go by, we wouldn't be surprised if The Warehouse was closed for the rest of the day which means anticipated sets from Rossi and Mall Grab will also be cancelled.
‘Actually lost for words’ – huge artist speaks out as Leeds Festival set is cancelled due to overcrowding
Clementine Hall
For the second day in a row, a huge set has been cancelled due to overcrowding at Reading and Leeds Festival.
Day two of the festival and there's some pretty disappointed ravers hanging their head as one of the biggest dance music sets of the day is cancelled.
Omar+, a rising British electronic DJ and producer, was due to play on the brand-new Warehouse stage at Reading yesterday and Leeds today.
Yesterday's set was cancelled last minute due to overcrowding, and low and behold the same has happened here in Leeds.
Announcing the sad news to his story, Omar+ said "Actually lost for words. My Leeds set has been cancelled due to overcrowding."
He then went on to show a screenshot of a text message, reading: "I've never seen something like this in my entire life where two shows back to back are cancelled due to overcrowding."
The Warehouse stage is completely new for this year, and supposedly is designed specifically for dance music...which is quite ironic.
Prospa, another prominent DJ who's set was cancelled at Reading yesterday, spoke up on the situation: "We are disappointed in The Warehouse stage closure at Reading Festival. We were told it wasn't possible to play whilst on the way. This was due to too many people outside the stage.
"We have seen this happen before at larger festivals in the UK. It's time to double the capacity of tents or put dance music on the main stage."
It comes after another dance stage, LS23, was closed mid-set last night due to a health and safety hazard when all the lights suddenly switched off and ravers were forced to evacuate.
Clementine Hall -
27th April 2024 
