Why Leeds is one of the best UK cities for live music

Live at Leeds festival - one of the best events to discover the best and brightest on the UK new music scene - is almost upon us.

To celebrate that fact, The Independent caught up with some of Leeds' most prominent industry figures, from venue owners to writers, festival organisers and artist managers.

Here's what they had to say about their favourite city:

How important are live music venues to a city like Leeds?

Live music is a huge driving force in any big city. It’s essential to a thriving arts and culture scene while you also can’t ignore the huge economic boost it brings.

In Leeds, we are very fortunate to have the big-name international acts coming to the First Direct Arena, but for those wanting to enjoy a rawer experience there are venues such as the Belgrave and Brudenell putting on grassroots gigs from artists just starting out. It’s essential for cities to offer that variety.

What are some of your favourite bands/artists to come through in the last few years?

I’ve recently returned to living in the north after a couple of years away but, during that time, I’ve always kept on an eye on new emerging acts. I’d recommend trying to listen to Neon Dolls, The Strawberries and Young Amphibians to name just a few.

Of course, Pulled Apart By Horses are incredibly popular in Leeds and it’s great to see they will be playing Live at Leeds this year. There’s sure to be a massive queue to watch them – their fans are rather fanatical.

What’s the best thing about Live at Leeds?

There’s a wonderful escapism to out-of-town festivals but there’s also something quite special about seeing a buzzing city centre on one-off occasions like Live at Leeds.

It’s a real joy to see thousands of people darting across town, all with one aim, to discover new music.

Who are you going to check out on this year’s lineup?

Obviously, headline acts like The Vaccines and The Horrors are well-established exciting live indie artists and it will be great to see them. Although, an event like Live at Leeds, is about more than just those types of artists.

Looking down the bill, there’s a nice mix of styles and I’m looking forward to seeing Pale Waves, Grace Carter and Cat Una live for the first time.

While I worked in Bristol, I also saw Idles a lot when they first started out so it’ll be nice to see them again as they continue to progress up festival bills.

How important are live music venues to a city like Leeds?

I think they’re important anywhere but the venues in Leeds have defined my 15 years in the city. They’ve contributed to my social network by introducing me to friends and creative people I’d never had met otherwise, they’ve provided me with my formative and best experiences as a musician, and they’ve been the key lifeblood around an arts scene that has given me a career.

I also met my wife in a venue in Leeds so they are a thing that have completely defined my life and happiness. I imagine there are many other people who would say the same albeit in a slightly less intense way.

What are some of your favourite bands/artists to come through in the last few years? Any memories of those gigs you first saw them?

A band I’ve seen repeatedly in Leeds are !!! – probably the greatest party band of all time, I remember seeing them at The Cockpit (RIP) years ago and then recently at the Brudenell and it was still amazing years on. I love how the city attracts international acts like that but also really love seeing local artists come through.

Artists like Pulled Apart by Horses who emerged on the Leeds scene and played one of their first shows at an all-dayer at the Faversham in Leeds then went on to tour with a bunch of huge acts, play Glastonbury, and get Radio One Playlisted. It’s awesome to see them come back to Live at Leeds as one of the more seasoned performers.

Who are you going to check out on this year’s lineup?

I’ll be going along to all our label artist shows, so this includes a Bonkers Bradford psych-pop band called FLING, a new indie artist called Tallsaint who has an incredible voice, and a recent alt-rock band we signed called GRDNS we like to call ‘Bradford Desert Rock’, you’d have to go along to see why.

I’ll also be catching our management client Nick JD Hodgson who is doing his first festival post-Kaiser Chiefs. Outside of my self-promotional bubble I’m keen to catch Boy Azooga (recent track ‘Loner Boogie’ is amazing), Bad Sounds (like some kind of modern day Bristolian Beck vibe going on), Ten Tonnes (amazing songwriter), Idles (incredible live) and Krrum (brilliant electronic act from Leeds, also great beard wearer).

How important are live music venues to a city like Leeds?

I think that Leeds’ music scene thrives so much due to the versatility of venues the city has to offer. We have small rooms such as Oporto & Hyde Park Book Club that are really where grassroot artists come to hone their craft, moving to the mid range sized Brudenell Social Club / The Wardrobe then making their way onto Church / Leeds University / O2 Academy with a view to going to the arena. It’s been amazing to see past LAL artists such as The 1975, Alt-J, Royal Blood & Ed Sheeran all do it.

What are some of your favourite bands/artists to come through in the last few years?

IDLES came through Leeds nearly 2 years ago, prior to their brilliant debut record (Brutalism) supporting a local act at The Wardrobe. At this point they were relatively unknown. Now they’re selling out 600+ cap rooms and have just signed to Partisan Records, it’s real exciting.

I think watching Shame at Gold Sounds Festival in 2017 was one of the moments where I got excited for the future of the band. They then release the glorious ‘Songs Of Praise’ in 2018, and sold out their Brudenell show, 2 weeks later. It’s great to seem them going into 1000+ venues at the end of the year.

We also did a bunch of Live at Leeds One’s To Watch events in 2017 (which was a new addition) – we had Lewis Capaldi & Sea Girls play at them respectively and they’ve since returned or announced much bigger shows in the city.

What’s the best thing about Live at Leeds?

For me personally, seeing the city taken over by music lovers for one day of the year always gets me. It’s so cool seeing an ocean of Live at Leeds wristbands at each venue going mental to their favourite bands. I really dig watching the smaller bands on our schedule, playing their debut shows in Leeds and coming away with a new bunch of people really loving their music. It’s so exciting to see the next big acts of 2018 / 2019 coming through Leeds & the festival circuit.

How important are Live Music Venues to a city like Leeds?

Music is a big part of a lot of people’s lives so it’s cool that in Leeds you can see such a diverse range of music, from big bands at the Academy and Arena, to upcoming bands at venues like Brudenell Social Club and Belgrave. When massive artists play in Leeds, like when Drake played last year, the buzz draws people to the city and creates such a good atmosphere.

Who are you going to check out on this year’s Live at Leeds lineup?

We’ll be checking out Peace this year, they’ve got a new album coming out soon so it would be good to hear some of the new songs. I think we’ll mainly be going to see bands we haven’t heard of before, it’s a good chance to find some new music from new bands.

How important are live music venues to a city like Leeds?

I’ve been a freelance photographer since 2010 and i’ve covered all venues from the smaller like Wharf Chambers to the First Direct Arena and hidden gems like The Hyde Park Book Club. I think we’re really lucky in Leeds to have such a variety of venues for all kinds of music.

I see a lot of the same people at the gigs i cover so i think it creates a great community spirit of music fans. I love the fact that music legends Johnny Marr and Martha Reeves will come into town and want to play at smaller venues like The Brudenell for the fans when they know they could sell out larger venues.

What are some of your favourite bands/artists to come through in the last few years?

I’ve been lucky enough to see hundreds of bands since i started photographing them. The happiest moment for me was when i finally got to photograph my favourite band Depeche Mode on their Sounds Of The Universe tour in 2013. I’ve been a lifelong fan since i was a teenager seeing them at St Georges Hall in Bradford.

I’m also very lucky that i get to meet and interview some of my favourite bands when they are in town so 2011 comes a close second with White Lies as I’ve been a fan since they began and that was the first year i’d got to photograph them as well as see them live.

open image in gallery

What’s the best thing about Live at Leeds?

I think the vibe on the day is palpable, it’s like a kind of electricity running through the town. There is so much crammed into one day, it can be a like a military operation getting to see as much as you can. I’ve been on the official photography team since 2012 so I’ve seen emergence of so many bands and artists over the years that have gone on to bigger and bigger things.

From Royal Blood and Years & Years causing chaos at their respective venues in 2014 to Slaves headlining and tearing up The Brudenell in 2015 after being a support act for Blood Red Shoes just the year before. The biggest moment however has to belong to The 1975. I first saw them in 2012 supporting Little Comets at the now sadly closed Cockpit.

The following year they played the same venue for Live At Leeds in the afternoon. The queue to try and get into the venue went half way around the town centre, i’ve never seen anything like it. Luckily being on the official photo team the lovely tour manager let me in the back door to shoot them from the side of the stage rather than in amongst the 500 lucky people who had actually managed to get in.

How important are live music venues to a city like Leeds?

Live music in an undervalued cultural commodity for the UK. In an environment where entertainment is on demand and instantaneous, like Netflix and Spotify, live music provides an invaluable experience and the importance would be immeasurable to our city, both economically and in the vibrant nature and atmosphere that it creates and adds to our cultural landscape.

Without music venues, then the vessel of creativity and interaction is missing, so essentially… they are a key part of what makes the city an attractive place.

What are some of your favourite bands/artists to come through in the last few years?

The Moonlandingz last year at the Brudenell was absolutely wild, caught them at the right time as they began to get attention. Slaves a few years ago was utter madness, with queues, sweat, crowdsurfing and more madness…

Wild Beasts played their last Leeds show at Live At Leeds last year, so that was a nod to the festival, and would be special in the memory of many. Obviously first saw them many years ago here at the Brudenell and had them quite a few times, a special band to blossom from our city’s music scene.

What’s the best thing about Live at Leeds?

Its difficult to point at a single aspect. Diversity of line-up, overall experience, price, value, quality of venues. Without sounding pretentious, to quote Aristotle, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.

How important are live music venues to a city like Leeds?

Live music venues feel very important to Leeds. A lot of people were sad to see The Cockpit close a few years back but it’s been great to see a bunch of new places pop up since. There’s a healthy number of venues in the city to give a platform to a wide range of new and developing acts, and to keep audiences coming back into the city for shows.

What are some of your favourite bands/artists to come through in the last few years? Any memories of those gigs where you first saw them play live?

When I lived in Leeds I loved watching bands like Hookworms, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Pulled Apart By Horses, Cowtown, Black Moth and The Reacharounds (the original sound of Heavy Roll). Plus there’s newer acts doing really well like Team Picture, The Howl and The Hum, and Drahla.

What’s the best thing about Live at Leeds?

They have a healthy mix of some really great touring acts with some brand new local artists. This year you could go from the debut performance from the hotly tipped Tall Saint all the way to the 90s anthems of Ash, with all sorts in between.

Who are you going to check out on this year’s lineup?

So much to choose from: Caro of course, plus Idles, Alaskalaska, Her’s, Pom Poko, Snicklefritz, Suzi Wu and loads more. It’s gonna be a busy day.

Live at Leeds festival takes place on 5 May 2015 - don't forget to check out The Independent's stage at Stylus where you can catch Circa Waves, Blaenavon, Superorganism, Louis Berry, Sam Fender, The Night Cafe and The Indigo Project.