Live at Leeds: In The Park reached out to the Liberty Belle team and offered us two tickets to head to the festival - how could we say no?
I had the absolute pleasure of attending. I went with my boyfriend and drove there. We met Charlotte, the other Liberty Belle member in attendance, in the VIP tent. She took the shuttle bus in from Leeds city centre, a nice touch the festival organised to make it more accessible.
I will say that as far as transport goes, it's best to travel in a group or at least with a mate. We saw people walking home through the woods in the dark, and it did look a bit dodgy. It's definitely a good idea to take advantage of the pick up/drop off point, as well as the shuttle bus.
When we arrived, we got our wristbands from the box office and went straight through - it didn't take long for us to get scanned in!
There are five stages, and although print outs of the line-up can be found dotted around, I really recommend downloading the app before attending.
We were referring to it all day and we were able to select the acts we really wanted to see and make our own schedule, which made it was easier to figure out where we needed to be at what time.
The first thing we noticed was how accessible the venue was. It is definitely wheelchair/pram friendly and as the day went on, we got to see what a family-friendly event it truly is.
The first thing we did, of course, was head to get a drink. There are about 3 or 4 bars scattered about in a sea of delicious food stalls. The festival is vegan and vegetarian-friendly, and they accept cash or card.
Like any festival, it's pretty pricey, with drinks varying from £6-30 (£27 for a bottle of wine). We revelled in excitement in the VIP area feeling extra fancy and getting way too excited over the clean toilets!
Charlotte and I then got our wristbands for the press tent and had a look around. We tried to set up a couple of interviews but unfortunately they fell through, though we did have the pleasure of watching bands like Sea Girls get interviewed just before they went on stage.
The first act we went to see was Lauran Hubbard. She was so funky and we really appreciated her normalising IBS at festivals. She had a very relatable vibe and it was clear to see her and the band were just having a laugh. They ended their set having a playful scrap and bundling on top of each other, making the set that little bit more fun to watch.
Alfie Templeman was next. His set was a bit more mellow but a lot of people flocked over to see him. The festival didn't fill up properly until mid afternoon, and I'm assuming lots of people there were either hungover from the day before or lived locally.
While there, we managed to have a chat with Ezra from L'objectif, who seemed like a really chill guy! He was telling us about how him and Alfie were signed to the same label and got on really well.
The next act we saw really blew us away. We had never heard of them before but mosied on down to the DIY Big Stop stage to see Confidence Man. After doing some research, I found out they're an Australian ’Indie Electro Pop’ band from Brisbane.
While watching them perform, all I could think was 'they're way too cool to be English'. They had three outfit changes in their half-hour set and started out in huge blazers with shoulder pads. The keyboard player and drummer wore the same outfits, dressed in all black with their hats covering their face.
The two singers performed like their lives depended on it, with high energy and fun choreography keeping the crowd going wild throughout. It was genuinely the most electric, interactive performance I think I have ever seen, and I am no stranger to a festival.
Anyway, I can't gush about Confidence Man throughout this entire review.
We saw The Vaccines, Easy Life, The Pigeon Detectives and Bombay Bicycle Club who all had fantastic sets as always.
What I really loved most about being at this festival was the amount of wholesome moments I saw throughout the day. In 2022 with all that’s wrong with the world and the conflicts going on, being at this festival gave me the day to think 'maybe humanity is pretty lush after all’.
There were groups of adults chasing each other around, playing tag, play-fighting and acting just like the kids who were brought along by their families. We saw couples walking around dancing with their newborns strapped to their chests, families dancing together and everyone just getting the chance to let loose.
It was such a safe atmosphere and a genuine delight to be there. My boyfriend and I kept seeing the same man throughout the day, known to us as 'superdad', who had a different child on his shoulders each time we saw him running around through the crowds.
That guy had some stamina and the kids were loving it. There was a standout moment during The Vaccines when they played 'Wetsuit' that really struck a chord with me. In that one moment, you could just hear everyone chanting. Adults, children, men, women and everyone in between - it just felt like real unity.
For me, I love a good concert, but what really makes a festival is experiencing the little moments shared between regular people.
Overall, this is a fantastic festival. I wholeheartedly recommend going if you can.
Edited by Hannah Youds