The last hurrah of the summer season is upon us, and there's plenty to check out...
Between bingo that's more about the dance-offs than the numbers, to family friendly dinosaur hunts, Sicilian feasts and Leeds' biggest music festival, there's endless ways to spend the long weekend in our city.
Keep reading to find out more about what's on this weekend...
Bingo Lingo at Chow Down
Friday 26 August 2022 | Chow Down, Temple Arches
For those looking for the perfect way to celebrate the August Bank Holiday Weekend in Leeds city centre should look no further than Chow Down’s Summer Special Bingo Lingo event. We’re talking about bingo like you’ve never seen before. Think confetti-filled spaces with dance-offs, twerking aplenty and a hilarious combination of prizes available to those getting a full house (though with everything going on, it’ll be the last thing on your mind).
Tickets cost £14.00 per person, plus a booking fee.
Get tickets for Bingo Lingo at Chow Down on Friday 26 August 2022 here.
Kirkstalpalooza
Friday 26 August - Sunday 28 August 2022 | Kirkstall Brewery, Kirkstall
Image: Kirkstall Brewery
The Kirkstalpalooza is going to be just as exciting as the name suggests. Over the bank holiday weekend, head over to Kirkstall for performances from live bands and DJs on the Brewery Stage.
Plus, there will be some rather tempting street food to keep you busy all weekend long. Expect vegan Instagram-heaven burgers and loaded fries from Döner Summer, Kirkstall Bridge's own BBQ menu and a pizza menu from Kirkstall Tap Room, plus ice cream, coffee, cocktails, guest breweries and brewery-fresh beer Tickets £5 each but include your first beer.
Leeds Festival has returned for yet another year, and the team behind Leeds’ biggest festival is bringing global musical talent to the city like you’ve never seen before. Arctic Monkeys, Dave and Bring Me The Horizon are set to headline each day, with a further 70+ performers from around the world taking to the stage across the three-day festival.
Some of the most notable names include Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Willow (Smith), Beabadoobee, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, All Time Low, The Lathums and The DMA’s.
Saturday 27 August 2022, 12 – 3.30pm, Leeds city centre / Chapel Allerton
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Served on Saturday 27 August 2022, 12 – 3.30pm, Sukhothai is getting in on the bottomless trend and bringing unlimited cocktails, wine and juices to the table for a ninety minute brunch experience.
There’s two different options on the menu. Choose either a two course lunch with starter and main course or opt for a Thai tapas-style serving of three small plates per person.
These small plates come wiuth the likes of crispy duck bao buns with hoisin sauce and spring onions, or Sukhothai Dumplings with steamed taro and vegetable dumplings, served with sweet soy sauce and topped with crispy garlic.
Located in the gorgeous pastel-coloured setting of PASTEL cocktail bar on Kirkgate, this is a ninety minute free-flowing experience supersizing the best of Leeds booze for one unforgettable afternoon.
Serving up a range of the cocktail’s signature bar, Pastel has joined forces with one of Leeds most-sought-after pizza makers, Homeboy Pizza Co. Also on the menu, the best of Pastel’s happy hour specials like the Garabaldi bitter and OJ make an appearance alongside the Guava-Colada with Barcardi Coconut, lime, coconut cream and guava juice.
After the success of the first bottomless, Pastel is offering two different brunch options over the bank holiday weekend: you’ll be able to try a whole new range of cocktails and grab yourself a pizza on two different sittings:
Early Bird Brunch is 12pm - 1pm and costs £25pp, including 1x pizza and unlimited drinks for 60 minutes or 'Regular Brunch', 2pm - 6pm, £35pp which also includes 1x pizza but with unlimited drinks for 90 minutes.
Sunday 28 August 2022 | The Key Club, Merrion Street
A nostalgic night of 00s emo anthems and Chop Suey, Nu Metal anthems are pitching up at The Key Club over the bank holiday to bring back the best of old school emo music. Expect the likes of My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, The Used, All American Rejects, Jimmy Eat World, Enter Shikari, You Me At Six, A Day To Remember, Pierce The Veil and plenty more until the early hours with like-minded punk-metal and alt music fans, the only person missing will be Gerard Way.
Tickets cost just £6.00 each plus a booking fee.
Get tickets for Black Parade at The Key Club on Sunday 28 August 2022 here.
Casa Loco 26th Birthday
Sunday 28 August 2022 | The Warehouse, Somers Street
Longtime bassline lovers might remember when Casa Loco first arrived on the scene, but regardless of whether you’ve been pulling all-nighters with Casa Loco since the 90s, or you’re just discovering the breadth of events with Casa Loco classics and bassline anthems, this birthday special is not to be missed. There’s a huge yet-to-be-revealed guest playing alongside all your favourite DJs for the biggest Casa Loco line-up yet.
Tickets cost £15.00 each plus a booking fee.
Get tickets for Casa Loco 26th Birthday at The Warehouse on Sunday 28 August 2022 here.
Call Lane Street Party
Sunday 28 August - Monday 29 August 2022 | Call Lane, Leeds city centre
Image: Knaves Kitchen
This two day event is going to bring the best of Leeds' nightlife to life across the bank holiday. On Sunday, you can expect street tacos, boozy slushes from Neon Cactus with treats aplenty whilst Monday brings together Power, Corruption and Lies, Knaves Kitchen, Oporto, Jake's bar and more with more foodie finds to soak up the (likely hungover) post-weekend blues for one last day of celebrations before we all head back to work.
For those that need a little foodie TLC to finish off the long weekend, three of Leeds' loved indie businesses will be teaming up to host a Sicilian Street Food event in Bramhope. Much-loved coffee shop, Corner Cup, will be joining forces with Leeds wine legends Latitude Wines and the talented chef from Simmer Events Kitchen to bring warm coffees and sweet treats to the table, and that's before the Sicilian style al fresco feast has had a mention. Expect a delicious combination of wood fire pizzas, salads and arancini, and a real taste of Italy with hand-chosen alcoholic pairings.
For all the family: Leeds Jurassic Trail
Monday 1 August – Wednesday 31 August 2022 | Various locations
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Looking for a family-friendly alternative to fill the bank holiday weekend? You might have already spotted a few of these as you walk about Leeds, but there’s a total of twelve speciality built, life-size beasts dotted around the city for children to seek out and explore.
Spanning across 4km (or 2,000 dino steps), there’s a trail to track each dinosaur from the dedicated programme across Leeds or use the digital map, which can be found here on the Leeds Jurassic Trail website.
West Yorkshire's very own Jane McDonald is coming to First Direct Arena in Leeds for a hometown show that's set to be spellbinding.
Making her British TV screen debut nearly 30 years ago on The Cruise, before joining the Loose Women panel and going on to present a whole host of travel shows including Cruising with Jane McDonald, now this Wakefield legend returns to First Direct Arena.
This latest tour titled after her 2026 LP Living The Dream, will see Jane singing hits from both past and present including a couple covers too.
Earlier this year, Jane's Mighty Hoopla performance went viral online after she commanded the stage in a red leather jacket, donning a singular rainbow hair extension while belting out RAYE's 'Where Is My Husband!'
Audio North even got the opportunity to interview this legendary lady when she visited her hometown HMV store in Wakefield for an exclusive album signing - Oh look, it's me!
The Wakefield wonder-woman's latest album Living The Dream was released in March and considering the tour is named after this impressive LP, we're sure fans can expect to hear quite a few tracks from this album.
Living The Dream
I'll Not Be Beaten
You Don't Know What You Got
Don't Mind If I Do
The Hand That Leads Me
Ain't Gonna Beg
I Will Always Love You
Islands in the Stream
Jolene
9 to 5
You're My World
Where Is My Husband!
Let the Light In
Cake by the Ocean
Jai Ho!
APT.
Right Where I Belong
How Do I Move On
Beautiful Soul
All By Myself
You Still Lead Me
Of course, Jane also loves to cover a tune or two, and we'll never forget her renditions of 'Cake By The Ocean', 'Jai Ho' or 'APT.'.
What are the stage times for Jane McDonald in Leeds?
The doors for Jane McDonald's Living The Dream Tour in Leeds are set for 6pm with the event set to start at 7.30pm.
First Direct Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you have enough time to dash home and eat 'Cake by the (Sofa)' before ringing in the new day.
How to get to First Direct Arena
Bus Station
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in Leeds
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena, Leeds – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
American rock band Kings of Leon are making their way to Leeds for a visit to First Direct Arena as part of their current EU/UK tour.
Formed in 1999 by brothers Caleb, Nathan, Jared, plus their cousin Matthew Followill, the rock band has gone on to achieve nine top 40 singles and six UK number one albums.
The rockers have two singles in Spotify’s Billions Club, including their standout hit ‘Sex on Fire’, which has amassed over 2 billion streams and ‘Use Somebody’ with 1.2 billion – two tracks that helped skyrocket them from cult favourites here in Britain to global superstars.
This four-piece’s latest LP, Can We Please Have Fun, dropped mid-2024 and knowing how energetic Northern crowds can be, it’s safe to say we’ve got this covered.
Last time they travelled over the pond, they let the Manchester crowd know the England score in real-time (read our full review).
Gig guide – Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena, Leeds
Kings of Leon UK tour dates
Fri 3 July – Glasgow, UK – Bellahouston Park
Sat 4 July – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Mon 6 July – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
Are there any tickets left for Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena?
If you’re wondering where you’ll ‘Find Me’ on Monday 6 July, it is probably watching these four relatives play their two decades’ worth of hits at First Direct Arena.
Don’t ‘Waste a Moment’ as there’s only a limited number of tickets left if you’re after catching a glimpse of Kings of Leon live – get yours HERE.
Kings of Leon are gearing up for their Leeds gig at First Direct this July (Credit: Press shot)
Kings of Leon setlist for 2026 UK tour
These American rockers have been performing all across Europe, switching up a couple of songs at each show; however, the hits below have featured at most of their appearances.
Slow Night, So Long
Waste a Moment
Find Me
On Call
Radioactive
The Bucket
Revelry
Manhattan
Use Somebody
Wait For M
Split Screen
Closer
Molly’s Chambers
Razz
MyParty
Supersoaker
Fans
Back Down South
Seen
Pyro
Black Thumbnail
To Space
Knocked Up
Sex on Fire
What are the stage times for Kings of Leon in Leeds?
Doors for Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena in Leeds are set to open at 6pm with a kick-off time of 7.30pm from a huge indie rock band.
Supporting the US rockers is a band who have received comparisons to Kings of Leon, the loud-and-proud Scottish stars The Snuts, known for their tracks like ‘Glasgow’, ‘Elephants’ and ‘Maybe California'.
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in Leeds
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
Sophie Smith -
25th August 2022 
