My review of leeds. I went first in 2017 and this was me returning really looking forward to it with a best mate. I had a great weekend and did catch that cough which has been previously discussed but I've thankfully tested negative. First of all it's fantastic to be back at music festivals without restrictions it was such a good weekend. In regards to trouble etc I definitely seen alot more people drugged up this year than when I went previously perhaps cause it's a big blowout or because the lineup attracted a worse crowd. It genuinely felt at points that I was the only person who was only drinking that weekend. I think the amount of drugs at the festival this year kinda fucked the togetherness thing of it all last time I went people send friendlier and I made more friends at the campsite but people were alot more standoffish until the friday I found. I think the two main stage thing didnt work well at leeds as it was just too spread out and there was a lot of overlap which kinda killed the magic of the run on Sunday of Slowthai>The Kid Laroi> The Wombats > Two Door> Disclosure> Post Malone. Most people were just sitting around both main stages and it made walking around the arena a really bottleneck especially at MSW. I've been to european festivals which have ran a two main stage setup and they are run much better for example Lollapalooza Paris have both main stages on the same field but spread out apart and kind of face other Diagonally which offers room to go to the other stage to get another spot whilst also being able to hear the current act very well. I can't comment on moshing as I was at the back for most sets this weekend but it did feel like less people were there for the music this weekend and more for a blowout but that's just my IMO from what I remember at Leeds 2017 there was alot of togetherness with the crowd, alot of singalongs together , looking out for each other (picking up fallen people in pits) and in general good manners when walking past people but my friend who's on the shorter side of 5ft was being barged into constantly throughout the weekend without even an apology. I will say most people I spoke to throughout the weekend were lovely but on wednesday night when we were just having a wander round the campsite village my friend was wearing a scotland top were being followed by a knobhead singing scotland get battered everywhere they go for close to 20 minutes. It just felt like the guy was wanting us to bite and get into a fight and kinda made us feel unwelcome on the first night. Although every english person I spoke to the rest of the weekend was generally nice. Acts wise best acts I seen were: Disclosure, Don Broco, The Wombats, Post Malone, Jack Harlow, Aitch and Slowthai.
Biggest surprises: Jake Buggs secret set was surprisingly really good and really packed out the FR tent even got a bigger crowd than Don Broco which says something. Becky Hill was brilliant early in the day and played alot of hits and really got the crowd going. Only knew a couple of her songs but really enjoyed it. Could definitely see her headlining Radio 1 stage next year if it's back cause she got a massive crowd. Could be a potential female headliner in a few years time. Yonaka were incredible at the introducing stage they really are a terrific live band and the singer is great for bringing energy will definitely need to catch them on tour. Gerry Cinnamon was also really good and that's an act I would actively say I don't enjoy but he honestly put on a great show and really got the crowd going so fairplay to him would definitely see him again in the future.
Biggest Dissapointments: AJ Tracey an act I was really looking forward to this weekend felt his set was really flat and didnt help that he basically was saving all his biggest hits for his last four songs and led to his set being really dull until the end. Stormzy I seen about 5 songs of and just felt bored I've listened to alot of his stuff and he's a terrific performer but just the felt atmosphere was poor for him at leeds and most people were only there to see vossi bop and Shut up. The atmosphere at the main stages were pretty poor over the weekend except for LG and Post IMO. I felt because of the overlap of the stages it meant many people were leaving acts early to get a good spot for the next act so a lot of good songs didn't get the crowd reaction they probably deserved.
Wishlist for next year: Move back to the previous set up so theres generally more space at the arena. Also allows for toilet breaks etc during the breaks which were sorely missed as I couldn't enjoy a few acts properly due to needing a pee. This would also mean the radio 1 stage is back which is my favourite stage. I'd like to see more female acts on the lineup especially the main stage doesn't matter where they are placed but just to get them more exposure because every female based act I seen this week was phenomenal (Wolf Alice, Becky Hill, Dana Dentata, Nova Twins, Yonaka). Acts I'd like next year would be Foals, BMTH, Chemical Brothers, Willow Smith, Cardi B/Megan Thee Stallion, More US hip hop acts/ rock acts.
