Review: Live at Leeds: In the City

After attending Live at Leeds: In the Park, I was excited to receive the opportunity to see it's ‘In the City’ counterpart, and I’ve only just recovered from the excitement.

Before the event, my plus-one and I took a bit of time to figure out how to travel to the festival and the different venues. Unlike In the Park, 'Live at Leeds: In the City' takes place all over the city across multiple venues, including Belgrave Music Hall, Headrow House and the O2 Academy.

Downloading the Live at Leeds app allowed us to select the acts we wanted to see and create a personalised schedule. The app was handy for pre-planning the day while on the train. It also let us know when the venues were nearing capacity to help avoid disappointment at the door.

Some venues were located a bit of a walk away from each other, so accessibility needs were a worry. However, I noticed disabled seating areas in a few venues on the setlist. For future events, I would recommend contacting organisers with any accessibility concerns.

The acts we saw were great!

There was a multitude of budding performers to go and see, as well as some more established artists like Pale Waves and Sundara Karma.

Sundara Karma, as always, were as cool as they come. They have impeccable fashion taste, and the atmosphere of their concerts is very unified. I would recommend buying tickets to see these guys if they are playing near you.

Ellie Dizon was the highlight for me. I did not know who she was before the event but playing to a small audience in the Leeds Beckett Student union, her set was light-hearted and fun.

Crawlers was another favourite of mine. They are absolute powerhouse performers. The control they have over their audience is second to none. It's so hard to believe it has only been a year since they went viral with come over again.

Pale Waves were the main headliners of the event taking charge of the O2 Academy, but by the amount of merch I saw, it seemed as though Lovejoy was the festival's fan favourite. A sea of students at Leeds Beckett union swarmed to see them and seemed delighted after the act.

Boy Bleach Buggs also amassed a big audience.

'Live at Leeds: In the City' is not your traditional park festival vibe. Taking place around Leeds city centre, you are free to explore wherever between acts.

The party in Leeds continued until about 4 am, and it was refreshing to see so many of the smaller acts get so much support.

While I preferred the park, it was a good day out, and I can see the appeal of this type of festival for anyone who lives in Leeds and likes the look of the line-up.

Edited by Jemma Snowdon