LEEDS FESTIVAL

Despite all my friends attending Reading Festival during our teenage years, when I decided to volunteer with Oxfam I was drawn to Leeds Festival – probably due to the Foo Fighters playing on my birthday but I have never looked back since.

Compared to previous years, I was sceptical about the line-up but it has definitely been my best one yet, mainly due to sticking around the smaller stages.

Here are some of my highlights from the weekend:

Frank Turner – Friday, Festival Republic Stage

I was lucky enough to be working on the disabled platform of the FR stage when this wonderful man headlined meaning I didn’t miss a single second of the set.

Even with the lack of Sleeping Souls, Frank Turner still managed to have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand using just his guitar and voice. He tore through a selection of songs from his entire discography, although concentrating on those from his new record ‘Positive Songs for Negative People’ which can be a risk with such a recent release but I’m sure he would have been pleasantly surprised to hear a fair number of voices singing the songs back.

Mumford & Sons – Saturday, Main Stage

I’ve been a big fan of these guys from the beginning but have never had the chance for some reason or another to see them live. So came my time on Saturday night and after all these years of waiting they did not disappoint.

There had been lengthy discussion in the group about our opinions on how much of their album they would play and how the audience would react to this – turns out quite a lot and very well. As well as screaming along to their old beauties, the whole set made me appreciate their new sound even more than before. I think they’ve definitely taken a step in the right direction without losing their musical integrity or passion in the process and it certainly comes across in their live performance.

Without a shadow of doubt, they were one of the best performances across the weekend.

Catfish & the Bottlemen – Sunday, NME/Radio 1 Stage

Last year I stumbled across these guys playing in the Festival Republic tent while I was seeking shelter from the rain so I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the sheer number of people pile into a significantly bigger tent to watch this year.

They’ve gone from strength to strength with a top 10 album and numerous appearances at festivals over the summer so it was no surprise they drew such a crowd at Leeds. By the end of the first number you could feel the sweat dripping from every pore as the masses lost their minds to belter after belter. An exceptional set was played as per usual; I can’t wait to see where they will have moved up to next year.

The Wombats – Sunday, Festival Republic Stage

Another old favourite of mine who I’ve never quite managed to catch live. I personally think they deserved to be on a bigger stage but either way they certainly ended my festival on a high. Every song was a crowd-pleaser with people climbing the tent supports just to catch a glimpse of the band and scream the words back at them. Due to the unbearable humidity and lack of personal space we removed ourselves from the tent near the end of the set but not before I had a chance to sing my heart out to my absolute favourite ‘1996’.

Other standout moments for me were catching Elle King singing her cover of ‘My Neck, My Back’ – far superior to the original if I may say so; living out my teenage emo phase dream by finally seeing Panic! At the Disco; watching one of my favourite bands All Time Low playing one of my favourite songs from their new album, ‘Missing You’ and of course seeing my favourite Scottish rockers (sorry Biffy) Twin Atlantic for the sixth time and once again having the absolute time of my life.