These are some of the best live shows coming to Leeds that have been hand-picked to help fill your concert calendar for 2025.
This year has been an absolute corker for live performances in the city, and luckily for us the year ahead is looking just as jam-packed.
We've rounded up a list of some of the best gigs in Leeds that you've got to get tickets for during 2025, we apologise in advance for the damage this may cause your bank account.
Sugababes, First Direct Arena
Credit: Publicity Picture
Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán better known as UK girl group Sugababes will be coming to Leeds on Friday 25 October and it's going to be a nostalgic night to remember.
They have accumulated a total six number one singles in the span of five years including ‘Push The Button’ and its infamous line which “I’ve been dropping so many hints and you’re just not getting it”.
These leading ladies have been a UK music staple with ‘Freak Like Me’ and ‘Round Round’ , if you’re going to this you’ll soon be up on your feet busting your best moves.
It’s ‘No Lie’, two of the 2000’s biggest names in music are linking up to put on a tour jam-packed with nothing but hits.
The Jamaican born dancehall act has seen chart success with ‘Temperature’, ‘Got 2 Luv U’ and ‘Get Busy’, Paul has been steadily soundtracking people’s lives since his debut.
Ashanti has her own roster such as ‘Rock Wit U’, ‘Foolish’ and ‘Baby’, the latter single by the New York R&B artist even got an Aitch remix in 2022.
You can get ready to grab your tickets for Sean Paul and Ashanti’s Leeds date HERE.
Mika, Millennium Square
Image: Press image
The Beirut-born, London-raised pop star will headline Millennium Square as part of the Sounds Of The City series.
Mika has released six studio albums to date, the latest being 2023’s ‘Que ta tête fleurisse toujours’.
Mika will take to the stage on Thursday 3 July, with special guests soon to be announced.
You can grab your tickets here via the Millennium Square website.
The Pogues, First Direct Arena
Image: Supplied
The Pogues have announced their first UK tour since the death of former frontman, Shane MacGowan, with Leeds one of just half a dozen cities chosen.
Kicking off the tour right here in Leeds, The Pogues will play at the O2 Academy on Thursday 1 May 2025.
It's going to be an emotional one that's for sure.
Two of the world’s greatest pop-punk bands, Busted and McFly, will be heading to Leeds as part of their unmissable head-to-head tour.
The two groups, which are collectively behind some of the biggest pop-rock hits of the last two decades, will be visiting some of the biggest venues around the UK.
Grab your tickets here for their Leeds gig on 27 September 2025.
Kaiser Chiefs, Temple Newsam
Image: Cal McIntyre
Yorkshire indie rock icons Kaiser Chiefs are set to play their biggest Leeds gig to date at a very special venue.
Next year marks 20 years since the release of their debut album ‘Employment’ and to celebrate, frontman Ricky Wilson and the rest of the group are coming to Temple Newsam.
The huge 20 year celebration is taking place on Saturday 31 May 2025 and sees Kaiser Chiefs and six special guests ready to raise the roof of the historical building next summer.
This one isn't to be missed, and tickets are available here.
Gracie Abrams, First Direct Arena
Image: Press image
Since making her debut in 2019, Gracie Abrams has made a name for herself as one of the most exciting singer-songwriters of her generation.
The rising star has announced the European leg of her headline tour, The Secret of Us Tour, and will play 18 dates kicking off in Madrid in February.
She will be stopping off in Leeds and performing at the First Direct Arena on Tuesday 4 March 2025.
An exciting new venue is set to open its doors this year, marking a significant moment for the city’s nightlife scene.
Introducing Mint XL, the latest venture from the team behind the Mint brand that represents the next evolution of a name that has been central to Leeds’ music culture since the 90’s.
Built on over three decades of experience in the industry, the team’s track record spans from intimate club spaces to major outdoor festivals.
Mint XL will build on this knowledge to bring a venue designed to operate on another level, bigger and better than ever before.
Image: Supplied
With a capacity of over 2000 across multiple rooms, Mint XL has been purpose-built to host a wide range of events. Think large-scale electronic music lineups and extended DJ sets to live performances, brand activations, and private hires.
At the heart of the venue is a focus on sound and experience. A newly-installed Funktion-One Vero system will power the main rooms, supported by high-spec production throughout.
Mint XL will also operate a strict no-phones policy during club events, keeping the focus on the music and the moment.
Images: Supplied
“Mint XL is the next chapter for the brand,” says Owner Shane Graham. “From Mint Club through to Mint Festival, we’ve spent nearly two decades building something special in Leeds, and this is a natural progression of that journey. It allows us to take everything we’ve produced over the years and deliver it at a much bigger club setting.”
Director Mikey McMahon adds: “Mint XL is a big step forward for us. It allows us to programme multi-bill lineups at a much bigger scale across multiple rooms, while also expanding beyond electronic music into live bands, private hires, and brand-led events. At its core, we’ve designed it as a fully versatile space that can adapt to different audiences and experiences under one roof.”
Bring Me The Horizon announce huge Manchester gig for Count Your Blessings anniversary
Danny Jones
Bring Me The Horizon have sent British rock fans into bedlam by booking a special anniversary gig celebrating 20 years since their debut album, Count Your Blessings, and we’re lucky enough that it’s coming to Manchester.
And that’s not the only massive announcement they’ve dropped along with it.
It seems hard to believe it’s been two whole decades since the Northern favourites first burst onto the scene with their first LP, and the Yorkshire heavyweights have come a long way since, both sonically and career-wise in general.
Teaming up with Outbreak ahead of their 2026 festival, they teased the show with a series of posters dotted around Manchester city centre last week.
Yes, the band are set to perform their maiden studio outing, along with a few bonus tracks, in its entirety for the first time EVER.
.@OutbreakFest Presents: Count Your Blessings | Repented
played in full, for the first time ever [manchester 10th july 2026] + other bangers.
It remains unclear whether they’ll be playing it in the original order, nor do we know how many big hits from other albums they’ll be throwing into the set.
All we know is that it’s going to be absolute chaos in those pits.
Presented by Outbreak, the landmark show will be held at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre, a.k.a. the BEC Arena, where the hardcore, punk and all things alternative festival is hosted every year.
Even the poster alone is making us feel nostalgic for our ‘mosher’ phase (as if it ever ended); get your fringes, skinny jeans and checkerboard Vans at the ready.
One of the biggest names to have ever come out of Sheffield – an impressive feat in itself given its rich musical heritage – they’ve done wonders for heavier genres domestically.
Whether you dub them emo, metal, deathcore/anything and everything in between, you can’t deny they’re one of the biggest UK exports this scene has ever, well, seen.
Better still, the all-day event will also feature performances by Static Dress, Rolo Tomassi, Dying Wish, Heriot, Car Underwater and Still In Love.
Last but not least, in arguably even more exciting news, the band have also revealed that they are releasing a full re-recorded version of Count Your Blessings to mark the milestone, dubbing it the ‘Repented‘ version. Not to exaggerate, but we’re absolutely screaming over here…
Fans get their hands on early access by pre-ordering the remastered album from a special old-school, very Myspace-esque landing page; as for general admission, tickets go on sale at 10am this Friday, 17 April – you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
Clementine Hall -
30th December 2024 
