Guide to Survive: Leeds Festival 2024

Leeds festival got off to a great start on Friday morning with 70 mph winds and severe storm warnings. With many stellar acts being cancelled, morale was low & hopes were certainly not high. Legend has it the BBC Radio 1 Stage is still floating above the golden Yorkshire moors. But yet, somehow, the sun did shine and the show did go on. The beguiling draw of Catfish and The Bottlemen’s well-awaited return to festivals had the 2017 indie kids beginning to crawl out of their flapping tents, don their bucket hats and drink 8-12 cans of warm beer. Soon enough, the whole arena was full, pasty skin gradually turning pink under the surprising August sunshine, and Leeds Festival managed to turn it around. 

That being said, the worst and possibly shortest set in the festival’s history was performed by 21 Savage, who turned up late and only spent 12 minutes on the stage – to the utter despair of every Nike dri-fit wearing 12 year old. However, Pendulum made for a great watch & really outshone the main stage, as did Corella, an early easy-indie set to start the day. Finally, with flags waving, scarves aloft and Van Mccan took to the stage with his new troupe of nameless band mates. Mccan’s beaming smile and undeniably fantastic energy made for an excellent comeback, with singalong indie anthems and great songs. Ignoring the strange instrumental section mid-set where he viciously licked his guitar and rubbed it up against a speaker for an awkwardly long time. The crowd was nevertheless enraptured. 

The front pit waxed and waned in the wait for Gallagher. This year’s much improved system of a central main stage decreased wait times between artists and made for a better flow of people in and out of the pits. As the sun set, and Liam Gallagher strode out onto stage to the instantly recognisable riff of ‘Rock N Roll Star’, the crowd was ravenous and arms were reaching, straining out to his silhouette up above. A decorative reenactment of Oasis’ debut album cover adorned the stage, and creative lyrical videos and collages throughout the show made the performance feel very slick and headliner-worthy. His infamous attitude punctuated the set, as he quipped about the earlier storm and taunted the crowd with threats to play ‘Wonderwall’. Thankfully he didn’t, and instead led a final cover of The Beatles’ iconic track ‘I Am The Walrus’. 

As day turned to night, the campsites filled and noise of speakers, chattering and cans opening filled the air. As thousands of young campers filled up the Picadilly Party and LS23 stages well into the early hours of the (thankfully calmer) morning. 

Saturday had the glint of a much more packed day, kicking off with Ellur early doors for a wholesome set, Kneecap’s powerful performance and Big Special’s punk rock revelation. The K’s led the main stage with a crowd of arms held aloft. Lambrini Girls and Neck Deep clashed, but both bands brought seemingly endless reserves of energy. Before Jorja Smith graced the sunny Saturday afternoon with gorgeous vocals and all round lovely vibes. Chasing into the evening was a slightly lackluster set from Two Door Cinema Club, which was just about rescued by a much needed rendition of ‘What You Know’ as the sun set. Confidence Man however, did not have the same issue of a bland set, bringing high energy and non-stop boogie. Meanwhile Skrillex led the way on their replacement set which sounded amazing. 

Gerry Cinnamon had the whole field up in arms in his uplifting set, having the crowd swinging, dancing and singing altogether in a set that felt truly special. His songs are perfectly built for a giddy Saturday evening crowd, and the reams of Scots dotted through the crowd made sure each song was received with roars of appreciation. The absolute standout highlight for me was The Prodigy, on the new Chevron stage – which had rows of lights hanging above the crowd and utterly transformed the whole experience of the set. An absolute slammer of a performance was given by Maxim on vocals, with touching commemorative nods to late lead singer Keith Flint. Playing banger after banger to a frenzied crowd that felt possessed, The Prodigy’s set was completely incomparable to anything I’ve ever seen before. 

Sunday was off to a flying start with the smashing Dead Pony, along with a quaking set from Sun King. Welly had entertainment and talent all rolled into one with their sardonic horrible-histories-esque tracks, and excellent crowd involvement. The Last Dinner Party took the main stage by storm earlier than scheduled, causing a marathon sprint for fans to get down to the front for their set, which was nothing short of angelic. Not long after, Bleachers perfectly matched Sunday’s festival needs with an uplifting pop singalong set, at a stark contrast for the building crowd of post-punk Fontaines DC fans that began to swarm the main stage. This was at odds with the hundreds of Lana Del Rey fans camping out, bedecked in bows and American flags. The Irish outfit needed no introduction as they stomped onto stage, green and pink hair standing out against the grey skies, with a set that can only be described as intensely brilliant. Chatten has truly come into himself as a frontman, and has a magnetism that is inexplicable, and it was so refreshing to see Carlos O’Connell and Deego have more of a central role in the performance. As they closed their set with crowd favourites Favourite and I Love You; fans began to sprint over to the BBC Introducing Stage to catch the rearranged set for up-and-coming Wunderhorse. Pulling no less than 7000 people to the smallest stage in the festival, Wunderhorse brought a firecracker of a short performance, with fans clambering on shoulders and belting every word. 

Kid Kapichi rocked through their set on the Festival Republic Stage, and Barry Can’t Swim had an absolutely inspired performance, with an exciting and groovy set, before passing the Chevron onto house giant Sonny Fodera. Over on the main stage, Raye was nothing short of captivating. Pop-perfect vocals and a really slick performance made her such a standout of the day, and a perfect transition into Lana Del Rey. As sunset loomed, and glistening balconies, turrets and fairytale trees were built onto the stage, the Queen of Americana made Leeds Festival into her own arena, completely enrapturing the field. Her beautiful vocals and striking performance made for an excellent Sunday headliner, playing fan favourites and pulling on heartstrings from across her whole discography. Soon after, we headed to catch Viagra Boys, a complete change of pace as the Swedish punk rockers had more crowd surfers in the Festival Republic tent than across the whole festival weekend combined – one of which being their own saxophonist. Headbanging, shoes flying, inflatable beach balls soaring made it a truly unforgettable set. The final headliner arrived in the form of Fred Again, suspended above the crowd on a cherry-picker, with his usual set up of decks and a small camera, before launching into a colossal live performance which involved him switching over onto the stage, fireworks and showstopper lighting sequences. Over on the Chevron, indie cult classic The Wombats played what felt like a greatest hits set for those less techno-minded and had a singing, dancing party to end the weekend. Overmono finally rounded off with a phenomenal set on the LS23 stage, as the weekend’s troopers made their way down the ankle-breaker hill to the woodlands well into the early hours of Monday morning. 

Written and Edited by Millie Cain.