The weather held and once again, Live at Leeds In The Park, held at Temple Newsam for the 4th time was a huge success.
The one-dayer promised big things in its latest edition, with 2 main stages in the shadow of the stately home, alongside the DIY Big Top and Dork Stages, with the legendary Cockpit name gracing the new music stage. For the first time, there was also a comedy tent and The Two Legs pub, home to a silent disco, DJ sets, musical bingo and the legend that is Shaun Williamson, with Barrioke.
One of the great things about this festival is the breadth of the line up. From new, up and coming acts, right through to indie royalty, this year’s lineup is no exception, headlined by Bloc Party and closing out the Main Stage – South, veteran Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers.
We started the day at the Cockpit Stage though, catching Luvcat, the brilliantly eclectic Liverpool-born singer songwriter. A jog down the hill to Corella, in the first visit to the Main Stage South, and we get to see a band that is really hitting its stride. There’s no shortage of indie-rock bands from Manchester of course, but the catchy guitar riffs suggest that these lads – favourably compared to the likes of The Snuts and Circa Waves – offer a refreshing take on this well trodden path.
One of the standout performances of the day was from Reading rockers The Amazons. They showcased songs from their latest album 21st Century Fiction, reminding us how hard they can go after the more pop-oriented previous album. They’re becoming a highly polished outfit, adding female vocals to deliver greater depth to Matt Thomson’s already brilliant delivery.
The Main Stage delivered consistently good sets throughout the day. London-based Sports Team gave a strong, if somewhat subdued performance by their high standards. 2 years ago, they blasted the crowd at this very stage. In the middle of a run of shows though, there were times when singer Alex Rice took a seat at the front of the stage while the crowd did a bit of the heavy lifting for him.
One clash on the line up occurred in more ways than one. Inside the DIY Big Top, the roof just about stayed on as Fat Dog lit the blue touchpaper and their incendiary brand of rock ignited a pit that sustained from start to finish. No-one really brings the energy like they do and their rise continues as they delight fans for yet another festival season. Going up against them on the main stage though was resurgent 2000s pop star Natasha Bedingfield, who gathered 10,000 people, all ostensibly waiting for one song. Still, there are more songs in her arsenal, and re-arranged with nods to Billie Eilish and The Cranberries Zombie, there’s enough to keep the different generations happy until the inevitable closer scored probably the biggest singalong of the day.
Continuing the main stage magic, hard life made their welcome return, their first show after 18 months away, and they couldn’t have looked more pleased to be back. Kicking off with their comeback single, tears, they didn’t shy away from the legal wranglings that brought them to this point. And the crowd were clearly on their side, drawing lead singer Murray Matravers off the stage on several occasions to spend time in the embrace of the band’s devoted fans.
There was some great stuff on the Dork Stage while the established acts were drawing crowds to the main stage. Emerging as one of the acts to watch, transatlantic pop-trio Sunday (1994) gave a performance of dreamy, nostalgic texture that deserved a bigger crowd that the one that gathered in the tent.
Pulling a bigger crowd though was Chloe Slater. For fans of Wolf Alice or maybe Sam Fender, the 21 year old Manchester-based singer proved why she’s a force to be reckoned with, not only musically, but also with her stage presence. Turning a cartwheel she jokes “Who do I think I am, Benson Boone?!” before cracking on with some solid guitar riffs to underpin her strong lyrical connection with the crowd. Taking on the establishment with her socially conscious words, she’s a powerful performer, particularly so when she’s adding her guitar sound to the mix.
Picking up the baton on the main stage meanwhile, was wholesome ball of energy, Sigrid. Bouncing on to the stage, the Norwegian star didn’t stop smiling and the crowd returned this in kind as she belted out hits Don’t Kill My Vibe and Strangers.
Local boys Yard Act, gave a typically energetic and idiosyncratic performance on home turf. Having grown up around Leeds, it must feel very familiar. No doubt they school-tripped here on occasion as they went through their education, but they’re very happy to be back doing what they do best, giving us the full gamut of their attributes with songs new and old. Danceable choices like You’re Gonna Need A Little Music, driven by a lively percussive beat and synths were well received, while the full-throated response to 100% Endurance shows that the tracks from 2022s The Overload still have their power.
There is, understandably, a steady stream of people heading down the hill to the Main Stage South to get a vantage point for Welsh legends Manic Street Preachers. James Dean Bradfield still has the power in his voice while Nicky Wire offers the dynamism in a highly visible white suit. Despite peppering hits through the set – A Design For Life, You Stole the Sun From My Heart, If You Tolerate This… – it felt a little flat around the crowd, and about halfway through, there were plenty of spectators ebbing away from the Welshmen, drawn either by the promise of Bloc Party or, as many seemed to be, to The Two Legs for a bit of Barrioke.
Forget Disneyland, by some distance, that tent was the happiest place on earth, as “Barry from Eastenders” compered the raucous singing of Busted’s Year 3000 or Oasis’ Don’t Look Back in Anger. Packed to its absolute seams, this was way more fun that I’d imagined it could be as the crowd shouted, sang, batted giant balloons and climbed on shoulders to experience one of the festival highlights.
Reluctantly, we dragged ourselves away from the joy in The Two Legs to join around 20,000 others to experience Silent Alarm, 20 years after Bloc Party unleashed their seminal album on the world. Kele Okereke looked content as he opened things up with So Here We Are and immediately engaged the crowd and there were further highlights in the shape of Helicopter and Ratchet. Bloc Party showed that they’re an enduring power, a super-tight band with electric riffs and the charisma and cool confidence of Okereke. For the fans who had gathered specifically to see the band’s only UK performance so far this year, it was a tour-de-force that brought their masterpiece to life.
A bigger proposition this year, the second main stage elevates this festival to a different tier. The main stages were scheduled so there were no clashes on those two platforms, and that allowed punters to get the most value from their ticket with the well-established acts. But, true to the ethos of its Autumnal counterpart (LAL In The City), there’s a heartbeat of new music which makes this one of the North’s essential one-dayers.
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