Leeds moves on with a more current/modern feel

Leeds festival has had a lot of negative publicity recently with people claiming it was ‘the weakest line up ever’. However, it is easy to forget that the demographic that it is aiming at is the teenager celebrating or trying to forget their GCSE results. When you look at it that way the line-up is very current. This year it is less Indie and more rap take over.

Friday greeted the likes of Slaves (manic punk singalong), The Vaccines and the Courteeners. The main headline act is the mighty Kings of Leon. They last headlined in 2009 and main sing along song is still the anthem is Sex on Fire.

Saturday is an eclectic mix of Indie and rap. We have Wolf Alice on the Radio one stage who’s lead singer Ellie Rowsell puts in an energetic performance. The Kooks, Travis Scott and Fall Out Boy grace the main stage. The stand out performance comes from Post Malone who drew one of the biggest crowds in the festivals history. The crowd clearly appreciates seeing the rapper/singer as if the star chooses to tour the tickets will be highly sought after.

You can forget Sunday being a day of rest. It is a day of mostly pop with a rap flavour thrown in. Dua Lipa provides some light pop relief with polished dance routines and this goes down really well. N.E.R.D take to the main stage but as some of their material is nineties based they are not as well received as could have been by the young crowd. Panic! At The Disco stage a triumphant return with lead singer Brendon Urie giving an enthusiastic performance which goes down really well.  Kendrick Lamar is given the task of closing the rather soggy festival. He has his own live band some funky dance moves. The engagement with the crowd is minimum and the punters diminishes slightly as the set goes on. All in all he is well received.

2018 was another successful year for the festival, with the festival moving on to a more current/modern feel.