Vant's guide to Live At Leeds 2019

The sun is out and beer gardens are calling – it can only mean summer is nearly here. If you’re like us, festival season is on your mind but forget about packing your tent or worrying about whether to take your wellies as Live At Leeds is kicking things off.

Live At Leeds is the go-to festival for new music, and shows off the North’s top talent. To save you the pre-festival struggle of deciding who to see, we’ve asked some of the acts on this year’s line-up to give us a round-up of their top acts on the bill.

First up is Vant’s Mattie Vant – find a playlist of all of his suggestions below…

Metronomy – ‘Love Letters’

I’ve loved Metronomy ever since I first heard Nights Out. Joseph Mount is a big hero of mine and a massively underrated producer, his work on the last Robyn record was sublime. Much like their sound, their stage show has also constantly evolved. There’s always a new element or point of focus that keeps it fresh.

Sam Fender – ‘Play God’

I was lucky enough to have Sam play a few shows with me on the last tour I did before going on hiatus. It’s been an absolute pleasure watching him explode over the last 18 months, what a thoroughly deserved whirlwind it’s been for him. His rise has been so rapid that I’m willing to bet that this will be your last chance to see him in a relatively small venue (if you can get in).

Easy Life – ‘Nightmares’

I’ve wanted to check out Easy Life for a while now. I really love the recordings (especially the horn sound on Nightmares – almost makes me cry when I hear it) and I’m intrigued to see how it translates in a live setting. They are a really great blend of stuff.

Confidence Man – ‘Boyfriend’

It was really fun listening through all the acts and discovering some new stuff, my favourite find was Confidence Man. To me they sound like a cross between New Young Pony Club, LCD Soundsystem and Talking Heads. If they are 10% as good as any of those bands live they will be the highlight of the festival!

beabadoobee – ‘Dance With Me’

I heard this on Annie’s Mac show one night when I was driving back from my studio. It reminded me of the Where The Wild Things Are soundtrack by Karen O. Bea has such a sweet, natural approach to songwriting and is harnessing emotions in a way you can only do when you’re a teenager. It’s a hard thing to capture and an even harder thing to do well. This will be a nice relief from the rest of the noise.

404 – ‘Fearful’

404, like ‘beabadoobee’, are signed to ‘Dirty Hit’ which is basically is a complete-100%-guaranteed-smash-stamp-of-approval that you are going to like them. They are probably the heaviest, dirtiest act Dirty Hit have picked up so far. A total eclectic mash of genres. A good source of mine told me they are crazy good live as well, so check ‘em out!

Dan D’Lion – ‘Give What You Take’

This one was another new find but also a strange coincidence. I really loved the sound of Dan, so checked out one of his videos and realised I’d actually collaborated with him (when he was using his real name) on a track a couple of years ago. Small world. Subsequently I listened to the rest of the EP and absolutely loved it. Can’t wait to see him do this live and find out if he remembers me!

FUR – ‘If You Know That I’m Lonely’

Finally, if you haven’t already seen the Wes Anderson inspired video for this track you should YouTube it immediately, you will be instantly endeared. FUR will probably hate me for saying this but I think they sound like Billie-Joe Armstrong fronting a 50s doo wop band and that, to me, is a great thing. This will undoubtedly be one of the most fun moments of the weekend. Grab your dance partner!