Electric Nights: A Celebration of Queer Punk at Leeds' Iconic Venues

Through the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025, Leeds was graced by two of the most exciting LGBTQ+ acts in the world today. Sharing a punk attitude, proud queer identities and even a song on the latter’s album, Laura Jane Grace and Du Blonde came, saw and made their marks. 

Laura took the Key Club on, lying under the heart of Leeds’ centre, in November - bringing a literal sense to her already established underground punk vibe. Du Blonde instead went to the heart of Leeds’ musical identity at the legendary Brudenell Social Club in late January. 

The atmosphere queuing outside the Key Club was electric. Strangers traded stories of seeing Laura previously, young queer concertgoers discussed the power that Laura’s identity had on inspiring them, and compliments on battle jackets were traded back and forth. 

As always, the atmosphere in the Brudenell was one of excited anticipation with many attendees discussing how it was Du Blonde’s bold, drag-inspired look, that adorned posters across Leeds’ music shops, that had brought them in and the sold-out crowd eagerly awaited her performance. 

Both support acts were impeccably chosen. Pet Needs opened for Laura and their unbridled charisma, grounded punk excellence and anticipation for Laura that matched the crowd’s, warmed up an audience frozen from queuing around the block in the frigid November air to a fever pitch.

BigFatBig, Du Blonde’s labelmates on her Daemon T.V arthouse, similarly delivered a brilliant punk performance. Infectious, energetic and well-suited to Du Blonde’s blend of indie rock and punk, provided the crowd with a preview of what was to come as they returned with the headline as the backing band. 

The highest compliment of Laura’s performance is that, for most of the show, you couldn’t hear her over the crowd belting out every single word to every single song, be it from her solo career or her time with ‘Against Me!’. While she didn’t play the song itself, it’s clear her mastery of  ‘Punk Rock In Basements’ was on full display as no one left the show without ringing ears, a sore throat and a brow full of sweat.

While not as frenetic, Du Blonde put on an enigmatic yet personal gig, her striking look contrasting with personal interludes that matched perfectly with her open and raw lyrics. Similarly, her softer, breathier voice that sat on top of heavy riffs and drums further reinforced the contrasts that she is built upon. With a tender acoustic portion and Cortney Dixon’s excellent run on guitar, Du Blonde exemplified a performance that felt as meaningful as it did rebellious, as introspective as it was over the top, and magnificent.  

Words and photos by Natasha Dobson (@n_j_dphotography)

First photo: Du Blonde, Second photo: BigFatBig, Third photo: Laura Jane Grace.