Leeds Festival 2025: The Interviews
Leeds fest 2025 was great. I feel this comes as no surprise. This whole section could be how excellent the music was, how amazing Chappell Roan’s set was and how weird Limp Bizkit’s AI generated memes were. But you can find those in any review, it’s boring, it’s repetitive and most importantly, it’s not very Leeds. So instead of all that, we spoke to some of the amazing performers from the weekend and asked:
What experiences have you had of the Leeds Music Scene, where have you played, and what was it like playing at those venues?
Yeah, so I always love playing in Leeds. My favourite venues... Mint Warehouse, Beaver Works and the Warehouse. They're probably my top three. All really good underground venues.
So last year I played Cirque du Soleil at Beaver Works. That was a great gig. I actually played an extra hour there as well because they didn't want to stop the music because there was... probably 300 people there in a room that's intimate and the energy was just 10 out of 10, it was great.
Yeah, we have. We've played Hyde Park Book Club. We played with You Me at Six at the O2 Academy, which was amazing. And we've played the Key Club twice. We do feel like we always have a really warm welcome in the North. Yeah, it's our home away from home.
Yeah, [the Leeds crowd] is always rowdy, which is great. I think you just always feed off the energy of the crowd and we're always kind of confident when we come to the north, there always going to have great energy and we just feed off it and we play better when people are screaming and jumping more, do you know what I mean? So it's like, yeah, it's like a nice, sufficient handshake in the north.
I have been to Leeds before, actually. I think I've been twice. And the first time, I don't remember what I did. I think I was really young the first time. And the second time, I also think it was when I was younger, we went to a party here, like a family party. and now I guess, it’s my third time in Leeds and I'm performing. So I haven't actually spent that much time in Leeds in the actual city, but it's exciting to be here as a grown adult. Yeah, I'm just looking forward to today, the performances, my performance, do my first big festival. So actually, this is my first performance in Leeds. First big festival. So it's the first of many things, like me being here right now.
We've had an especially good time in Leeds. When we first played with Lottery Winners, Johnny, we used to have a sign that said 'Pet Needs' on it that we would hold up to everyone who were there and during a guitar solo. Johnny got a spray paint can out, sprayed on an L over “Needs” so we made the sign 'Pet Leeds' for around here. So it's always quite fun to go back here at everyone like always chants 'Pet Needs' 'Leeds' and stuff. So Yorkshire is just a cool area to play, like everyone likes cheering 'Yorkshire', so if you ever need anything to say in between songs, just get a Yorkshire shout going and yeah, it goes quite far.
I have been to Leeds before. We've played here before, we played at Brudenell, which was so sick. I love that venue so much because it's like you are literally just stepping in a working men's club from the 80s, which is really lovely. You can sense here that there's something special. There's a lot that's going. It's not necessarily somewhere that is just the usual circuit well obviously there are still circuit bands but like it's not like London or Manchester basically which is a plus.
Generation Feral
It was just incredible. Like, I love the North. My mum's from the North, like, I've got a Manchester mum. And so coming up to the North just feels like there's community and people are still friendly. And I love, I just love a Yorkshire crowd. I feel like people really let loose at gigs here.
Everyone's feral and no one cares. I don't know if I'm allowed to swear, but no one gives a shit and I I love that, and that's what I think music should be about. Music has never been about who's got the nicest trousers... you know what I mean? Who, like, is the best dressed. It's been about the music. Yeah, exactly. So I love the Leeds crowd. When I, came up here, I was intimidated though, because I remember playing in boom, it's like metal venue, isn't it? And I was thinking, I'm pretty sure no one in boom has ever played with a ukulele. I was like, I think this is probably the first time they've had a ukulele here.
I think I get the impression, don't quote me on this, but I feel like it's a hardcore and metal venue primarily. And then we were there and I was like, oh, here's me and my little gay guitar. Do you know what I mean? It was quite comedy, though. I had a great time.
Yes, I've been three times. I came, got my GCSE results here when I was 16. My mum and dad rang me and told me my GCSE results, and then I came here after that, watched Eminem, and then I came here after that as well, and then yeah, so I kind of came straight out of school. It was really good.
Do you know what, I've only done a few, I've done Hyde Park Book Club. which was in February, which was a great gig. Then kind of within a similar area I've played Huddersfield, I did the John Smith Stadium with the Stereophonics earlier in the year.
Thinking about it, I played Hyde Park Book Club a couple of years ago as well. Really good actually. Yeah, I think it's always a great crowd, always great people. Leeds Festival as well, it's just people like genuinely feel up for it, no matter where you go.
I've been to Live at Leeds [In The City], so obviously been to most of the venues because of that. I think it's a great city. It seems so full of culture in a way that I think a lot of northern cities are.
We just did a headline at -well in April- we did a headline at Oporto. Loved it there. Loved it. It's such a nice venue. God, where else have we played Key Club? I think we supported Swim Deep at the Wardrobe. Brudenell as well.
At these types of venues, Oh, they're just great. I think... The venues themselves obviously need to be kept going because they're all great. I love Brudenell so much. I feel like Brudenell's my favourite because it has pie. It has pie minister. You can't get better.
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