FESTIVAL GUIDE: Live At Leeds

Name: Live At Leeds

Where: 17 different venues across Leeds city centre

When: Saturday 29th April

Headliners: Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Slaves, White Lies, Wild Beasts, Nothing But Thieves

Also Appearing: DMA’s, Gabrielle Aplin, Jagwar Ma, Teleman, Temples, The Pigeon Detectives, Honeyblood, The Big Moon and many more. Check out the full line-up here.

Brief History: The festival began 11 years ago in 2007 for Leeds’ 800th birthday. Over the years, they’ve booked the global superstars of today before their heyday such as Ed Sheeran, Mumford & Sons and Sam Smith. Live At Leeds won ‘Best Metropolitan Festival’ at the UK Festival Awards in 2014.

How To Get There: The majority of the venues are in Leeds City Centre and in walking distance of each other. The only venue out of the centre is Brudenell Social Club, which is around a 30-minute walk away, but if that doesn’t take your fancy then a taxi or the 56 bus is your answer!

Gigslutz Top Tip: Plan, plan, plan. Like any festival there’s loads of bands you want to see but only so many hours in the day, so get yourself ready now by checking out their schedule. If you manage to have a spare half an hour then make sure you scout out the smaller bands, who knows they could be the next big thing?

Memorable Moments: Putting huge acts in small venues is a specialty of Live At Leeds. For those lucky enough to have caught The Cribs in 2014 bouncing around the Town Hall before they play the arena later this year, or Corinne Bailey Rae at Hifi, we’re still jealous. Live At Leeds is the festival to see bands in a way you’ve never seen them before.

What We Said Last Year: From a packed out early start for Trash at Oporto, to White’s funk-pop with a bit of punk thrown in at Nation of Shopkeepers, last year’s festival was a day of highs. Check out the full review here.

Did You Know: Live At Leeds isn’t just the Saturday music event. As well as the annual Unconference featuring music moguls giving us their tips and the Extra Time football tournament, this year will see an additional two shows. The ‘Welcome’ gig will be hosted by Future Islands at Leeds University Union. Maximo Park will bring everything to a close at the finale, alongside Little Comets, Spector, High Tyde and The Indigo Project.

How To Get Tickets: Wristbands are still available from Live At Leeds’ website, and cost just £32.50 + fees for entry to all participating venues.

The Playlist: