It’s all happening on 30th April this year. The festival that makes an early start to the festival season, is celebrating its 10th anniversary, in 2016, and this year’s Live at Leeds boasts an absolutely staggering lineup which more or less speaks for itself. It’s small wonder it’s been hailed as the country’s best cosmopolitan festival. Encapsulating everything that’s great about Leeds as a city for music, it continues to offer the kind of value for money that requires a double take.
Scanning the headliners and feature artists, who include Jess Glynne, Circa Waves, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mystery Jets, Band of Skulls, We Are Scientists, Ghostpoet, Rat Boy, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Blood Red Shoes, The Duke Spirit, Future of the Left, Los Campesinos! and Slow Club, there’s no shortage of big-name draws.
But Live at Leeds has always been about spotting emerging talent, and showcasing the acts likely to break the big festival circuit over the summer, or even the following year. It’s also unswerving in its support of local acts, who are the lifeblood of the thriving and ever-shifting Leeds scene.
Whisperin’ and Hollerin’ are also very much about giving exposure to new artists, and in that spirit, we’ve picked out eight acts who provide ample reason to get down early. Why eight? Because we couldn’t choose just five as originally intended.
Asylums – hailing from Southend-on-Sea, this spiky post-punk indie foursome are probably the only decent (and properly independent) band to have ever been featured on ‘Sunday Brunch’. They’ve got some belting tunes, and are rapidly developing a reputation as a killer live band, exploding with energy. Ones to watch, and no mistake.
Fizzy Blood – these local boys recently launched their single ‘Sweat and Sulphur’ and proved they’ve got some chops on the live front in the process. Guitar-driven and grungy but with an ear for melody, they’ve already scored slots as touring support with max Raptor and Dinosaur Pile-Up, which given as indication of their style and calibre.
Max Raptor – This Burton band grabbed the attention of W&H on their visit to York in 2013. Recorded, they’re good, but it’s in the live context they really come into their own.
Kleine Schweine hail from Leeds. They’re noisy. They’re punky. They don’t take themselves entirely seriously. We dig ‘em. What more do you need?
Slutface – We don’t know what they sound like but it’s a great name. And sometimes, that’s all you need. Actually, we did check ‘em out, and their choppy grungy indie rock is pretty damn cool.
AUTOBAHN – Another great example of the local Leeds talent, they were The Guardian’s new band of the week in August ’15. Harking back to the Leeds goth sound (and visuals) of the early to mid ‘80s, They were absolutely killer when we caught them at YO1 festival in 2014 and there’s no reason to believe they’ll be anything less than killer on their home turf.
Holy Esque – The Twilight Sad may have revolutionised the Scottish indie scene, and explosive shoegaze brimming with rage may not be everyone’s scene, but if you’re partial to combining chiming guitars, blasts of noise and emotional intensity, Holy Esque are a solid bet.
Pumarosa aren’t just on the list to dispel any ideas we’re all about guitar-toting blokes. The London five-piece have been described as ‘industrial spiritual’, with comparisons to PJ Harvey and Patti Smith alongside The Knife and Cocteau Twins.
