With one half of Leeds Festival already behind us, we still had two more music-packed days to look forward to. Here’s our rundown of what happened on Saturday of the festival.
By Graeme Smith
Photos by John Hayhurst (@snapagig)
Saturday Afternoon
With two days of festivalling already under our belts, it only felt right that Saturday afternoon started out as a chill one. So, while Frank Carter was throwing himself around in the audience at the Main Stage East, we started our day with the dreamy sad rock of Honeyglaze. With Nico-esque vocals and Leonard Cohen style poetic storytelling, they were just what we were craving – an early highlight.
Piri and Tommy kept things casual with their laidback approach to drum and bass on the BBC Dance Stage. Then, when The Scratch took to the stage at the Festival Republic tent, I thought we might get something gently acoustic. I was wrong. Their rousing, eccentric set of Irish folk punk not only filled the tent, it got everyone moving. The party was well and truly back on.
An eclectic remainder of the afternoon saw Sisi deliver dance and soul to the BBC Introducing stage, Witch Fever bring some manic hard rock to the Festival Republic stage (perfect for those the lamenting the lack of Rage Against The Machine), and finally a secret set from Bradford-born DJ Nia Archives back on Introducing.
Saturday Evening
It’s Saturday night where things at Leeds start to feel a little… incohesive. A lot of the punters have been there a couple of days (this intrepid reporter included) while a fresh batch of day trippers are thrown into the mix. So, I suppose that’s a long way of saying there won’t be a strong narrative going through the next part of the review.
The evening started on the Main Stage West with emo pop rockers All Time Low, then swerved into something a little edgier with Sick Joy on the Festival Republic Stage. With barely a pause for breath, it was time to catch some melodic rock from local act Dolores Forever on the BBC Introducing stage before a quick march over to the Main Stage East for modern day Shakespeare Little Simz.
As the sun set, Priestgate took to the BBC Introducing stage with a dramatic performance of frantic, Joy Division-esque alternative rock. Then, Canadian duo Cleopatrick brought some raw punk energy to the Festival Republic stage.
Yet, it all just proved a warm up for the true highlight of the day: Megan Thee Stallion on the Main Stage West. A buzzing crowd had been gathered before the stage for some time before she came on, and the hype in the air was palpable. She didn’t disappoint, sparing no attitude during a bossing set with sick flows and plenty of shaking of her (literal) money maker.
With one more day still to go, there’s still going to be plenty of highlights to come on Sunday. Keep and eye out for our final part of this review coming soon.