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Sheaf Street goes ‘into hibernation’ after roadworks blocks off the bar and event space
"The current model is sadly not sustainable. We are taking this action in order to survive long term."
Sad news from one of Leeds' staple event spaces.
Sheaf St has officially announced today that the cafe, bar and event space will be going 'into hibernation' after struggling to get customers through the door.
Speaking from the heart, Sheaf St left a lengthy announcement on social media explaining that the Aire Park developments and multitude of additional roadworks have meant that the space has been 'cut off both physically and visually'.
The space will still be open for ticketed events, the usual Friday Residency and the cafe will run at a reduced service, as well as the workspace, Duke Studios.
The full statement can be found below:
"Sheaf St Cafe and bar is going into hibernation!
"When we close for Christmas (end of Fri Dec 23rd) - we will not reopen the cafe for at least 6 months.
"We will continue to be open for ticketed events, and for Friday nights (The Friday Residency) but closed all other daytimes, and weekends.
"The cafe will have a significantly reduced staff and only service our workspace (Duke Studios) and pre-booked meetings and events in our Meeting Rooms and Event Space.
"Why? We have been very adversely affected by local developments (Aire Park) and significant ongoing major roadworks to Crown Point Road both of which have cut us off both physically and visually. Our footfall is through the floor and has been for the majority of 2022. The current model is sadly not sustainable. We are taking this action in order to survive long term.
"We have been through several rounds of reducing staff hours and cutting opening times to try and improve things. We have begged for support from the council and developers but not received any meaningful help and are now left with no other options.
"We are truly sad to lose a good deal of really great staff members, and it’s heart-breaking not to be able to provide the full offering that Sheaf St has done since 2016.
"We will regroup, cross our fingers for things to improve locally and globally, and we will be back.
"In the meantime, please do come see us in these last few days - current opening times are on the website."
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For more information, you can find Sheaf St on Instagram here.
Feature Image- Sheaf St
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James Blunt announces huge European tour, kicking off in Leeds
Daisy Jackson
Singer-songwriter James Blunt is heading back out on tour next year, kicking off a run of arena dates here in Leeds.
The singer, perhaps best-known for his iconic 2005 pop ballad 'You're Beautiful', is hitting the road again in 2027.
The newly-announced European tour is in celebration of his new album Airplane Mode, which is set for release this autumn.
James Blunt will kick off his tour here in Leeds next spring, with a massive show at the First Direct Arena.
Then he'll head to more cities including Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and London.
His new album, Airplane Mode, is being released on 6 November and will, according to his press release, be 'exhilarating'.
James has already released the first single, 'Tastes Like Summer', and 'Weight Of It All', with 10 more songs to come on the record.
Airplane Mode was recorded with James’ brilliant long-standing live band, who'll be back on tour with him next year.
Speaking of the new album, and recording in Pig Music Studios, he said: "Somewhere back there, I lost my way, but found it again in a studio in Banbury."
James Blunt will be at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on 26 March, 2027. Tickets go on sale from 10am on 9 September.
James Blunt UK and Ireland 2027 tour dates
- 26 March - Leeds
- 27 March - Birmingham
- 28 March - Newcastle
- 30 March - Dublin
- 31 March - Belfast
- 2 April - Glasgow
- 3 April - Manchester
- 4 April - London
- 6 April - Cardiff
- 7 April - Bournemouth
- 8 April - Brighton
Read more: Blossoms announce massive First Direct Arena gig in Leeds
Featured image: Supplied
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Major DJ has set cancelled as overcrowding concerns continue at Leeds Festival
Clementine Hall
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.
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