Top 10 Acts to See at Live At Leeds 2018
Leeds’ freshest music festival Live At Leeds returns this coming weekend, featuring a killer line-up of UK and international acts.
The crazy, one-day festival is spread across the city, with 22 different stages hosting the abundance of talented artists. With overlapping sets and distance between venues as an obstacle, we’ve selected our top 10 acts to catch.
10. whenyoung
Coming in at number ten are indie newcomers whenyoung. The band, fresh off of a string of dates supporting Declan McKenna, show real promise with newer releases Pretty Pure and The Collector. Aoife Power’s dreamy vocals are sure to delight fans at this year’s fest.
9. BLOXX
For number nine we continued with another band fronted by a powerhouse female vocalist. West-Londoners BLOXX have already been singled out by Radio 1 and boast an impressive 1.5 million plays of their 2017 single You on Spotify. Live At Leeds marks a step in their ladder of musical ascension.
8. White Room
Psych rockers White Room come in at number eight mainly because of their phenomenal double EP Eight, released in December 2017. The group has also just come off of their debut headlining tour and has delighted sold out crowds across the UK with their groovy tunes.
7. Hockey Dad
Hockey Dad is one of the bands travelling from far away in order to play at Live At Leeds. The Australian duo, consisting of Billy Fleming and Zach Stephenson, has known each other since childhood. Their catchy, laid-back indie tunes contain influences from garage and punk music, and their new album Blend Inn shows refinement that comes from such a long-term partnership.
6. Vundabar
Boston-based Vundabar crashed into 2018 with their new record Smell Smoke, with singles premiering on Stereogum and NPR. The band is looking to spread their amazing garage jams to the UK and this festival appearance is wedged into the middle of their busy UK and European tour.
5. ALASKALASKA
Halfway down to our number one pick for Live At Leeds sits South London newcomers ALASKALASKA. The 6-piece effortlessly blends jazz, disco, funk and R&B influences into a completely new experience. The songs off of their debut EP Familiar Ways excite us in their potential to hit hard at this festival.
4. The Xcerts
Frontman Murray Macleod describes The Xcerts’ new album Hold On To Your Heart as being “about finding a pinhole of light in the dark and turning it into the sun.” The new record is full of enthusiastic lyrics and energetic melodies that would get any festival crowd dancing.
3. Superorganism
Superorganism brings the international aspect of this festival to the forefront. Consisting of members from Lancashire, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, the band’s eclectic mix of backgrounds and ages brings a specific uniqueness to their sound, and we cannot wait to see what visuals they use to accompany this festival set.
2. Peace
The release of Peace’s new album is nearly upon us and we couldn’t be more excited. If their new singles You Don’t Walk Away From Love and From Under Liquid Glass are any indication of what their new record will bring, great things should be expected from this band. And we’ll be celebrating with them on Saturday.
1. The Magic Gang
With such a stacked line-up for this year’s Live At Leeds, it was nearly impossible to narrow down this list of top ten. However, with The Magic Gang’s immense live shows and absolute arsenal of bangers, we didn’t feel bad about making them our number one artist to see on Saturday. Their funky, easy-listening tunes are absolutely joyful and make the group a can’t-miss at this year’s Live At Leeds.