Yours to Keep – Why You Should Check Out This Local Indie Music Festival
Leeds music scene attracts thousands of students each year; why aren’t more of us branching out to see what more can be seen and heard just a short train journey away?
For just £20, a festival full of artists ranging from young new talents Gravy to the cult-followed refined experimentalism of The Orielles, the few extra quid and 45 minutes to get to Huddersfield felt entirely worth it to me.
Yours to Keep Festival debuted last year with headliners Teleman performing alongside indie newcomers Panic Shack, establishing the festival’s focus on indie and rock – with punk at its centre. This year, Yours to Keep’s sophomore success left me wondering why weren’t more of Leeds’ students in the crowd?
Doors open at 4pm – the perfect time to make the 10 minute walk from Huddersfield station to Parish to grab a pint and wander into one of the venues to see who is playing.
Wristband collection at Parish (a very informal, friendly process) was simple, as was getting a drink, and we headed, pints in hand, over to the Northern Quarter. A five minute fast-walk away (through Huddersfield in November – wrap up warm!) is the venue that completes Yours to Keep. Northern Quarter has the same sense of live music history that Parish does, though this smaller bar feels like more of a hidden gem rather than a locals’ favourite. The classic and characterful highlight of this space was that the sound technician was hidden in a small mezzanine level accessed by a wooden ladder propped against the wall. When we arrived, the place was starting to fill as people stood to bob their heads for Gravy. Local teens make up this newcomer indie-rock quartet. Through orthodontic braces the lead singer pulls off an impressive and consistent vocal performance reminiscent of early Declan McKenna. Sonically, they seem to strive for the Arctic Monkeys debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006), however, landing more often closer to the crowd-pleasing energy of Sam Fender or Two Door Cinema Club. Elements of their subversion of this genre are successfully worked into the gaps between songs – guitar riffs and maximum reverb making their music run almost entirely without pause. Their set seemed to be enjoyed by everyone in this intimate bar and you can catch these ‘ones to watch’ at Live at Leeds this summer or on Spotify.
The festival pulls in an impressive range of genres and ages, including a particularly heavyweight set from Polevaulter in the Northern Quarter. My personal highlight would have to be when Polevaulter’s lead singer (Jim Hopper’s doppelgänger I must add) interrupted their unsmiling, avant-garde techno performance to ask the sound technician ‘would you mind turning this mic up a wee bit, cheers’. The warmth of the chilly North cut through what might have risked being a show of pretention down in London.
After the intensity of Polevaulter, we headed back to Parish. Similar in decor to Brudenell with a slight lean to more rock/metal aesthetic, this space has a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. At 300 capacity with a slightly raised viewing level and small bar, Parish’s similarities to Brudenell continued. The place feels timeless, and you can tell it has been hosting gigs for years. One of the first things we saw here was the end of Friedberg’s energetic all-female pop punk performance. For fans of Warpaint, LCD Soundsystem and cowbells, their newest album ‘Hardcore Workout Queen’ is well worth a listen and their performance did not disappoint. The festival aims to mix practiced professional musicians with local new talents which provides the freedom to wander in and out of the venues, discovering new sounds without that well-known festival pressure of two acts you love having clashing stage times. If you want that feeling of coming across an amazing act totally new to you, like Friedberg was for me, then Yours to Keep is the place. After catching Friedberg, we headed for the outdoor area. A surprising highlight, the outdoor area is more retro and colourful, a space complete with picnic benches, heaters and murals.
Heading downstairs into the Parish basement you can find The Parish Dive. The smallest venue – though complete with a pool table and full bar – the Dive was surprisingly well set out for watching smaller acts perform such as the wacky stage antics of The Will Yates Experience. Like many Hyde Park housing basements, this venue space completes its indie aesthetic with low ceilings and a subterranean moody ambience.
After a meander through all the component parts of Yours to Keep, the atmosphere began to buzz as the evening went on and it came closer to the headliners. First though, we had time to grab a bite – a burger from Parish pub, well worth the wait – before heading back upstairs as Pale Blue Eyes took to the main stage. Though the charm of newer bands is part of Yours to Keep identity, the confidence of Pale Blue Eyes combined with the stronger quality sound and lighting of the main stage brought the festival into a different energy for the final part of the evening. The three-piece from Devon created a fun atmosphere, the now-full crowd drawn into their spiralling instrumental outros not dissimilar to The Stone Roses. Lead singer Matthew Board echoed the warm atmosphere of the festival when he spoke briefly on the importance of festivals like this in towns like these and reminisced on seeing his favourite bands in venues like Parish growing up. After Pale Blue Eyes there was time for a brief break to head back to the bar or outside area before headliners The Orielles.
The Orielles, for me, are one of the most exciting bands to have come out of the indie-rock resurgence in the past 20 years. Their debut album combines classic feelgood indie with unique, absurd and mundane lyrics, whilst their 2022 record ‘Tableau’ edges their post-disco punk into more experimental territory. Watching them live is an essential part of the listening experience as they expand, distort and carry forward this boundless audio exploration. A highlight was their stylistic merging of ‘Tableau’ into an earlier track, ‘Henry’s Pocket’. Made to match the tones of tracks like ‘Airtight’ or ‘Drawn and Defined’, this moment contributed to a cohesive and exciting headline set. Lead guitarist Henry’s enthusiastic, verging on gloriously manic dance was fully embraced by the crowd at Huddersfield, who moved to the disco undertones of the songs. I just wish that their set had been longer.
Yours to Keep is the perfect music-filled evening away from Leeds, a chance to visit neighbouring Huddersfield and to experience some new pubs and local venues. Having the opportunity to have a friendly chat with The Orielles afterward encapsulates the down-to-earth, music-focussed community at Parish and exemplifies how this up-and-coming festival itself is enjoyed by locals, tourists and the performing artists alike. Thanks Huddersfield!
How To Go Next Year:
Follow @yourstokeep on Instagram and keep an eye out for announcements!
Instead just head to Parish Huddersfield’s website and look on their What’s On page. The venue itself has a great atmosphere, great sound quality and is worth a trip…plus £3 beers and £1 shots after 8pm every Wednesday
Words by Francesca Lynes.
