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Live at Leeds 2015 Preview

• 30th Apr 2015

This weekend sees the return of annual metropolitan festival Live at Leeds 2015, an event that’s now well and truly building its reputation as a crucial tastemaker with a stellar line-up.

Featuring the best in new musical talent and some of the hottest names around with a hugely diverse mix of genres, Live at Leeds is set to be a huge day with over two hundred bands and twenty stages.

Just in case you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the choice, here’s our pick of the weekend to narrow down those options for you:

GEORGE THE POET
VENUE: THE HIFI CLUB DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 21:45

23 year-old George Mpanga, who performs as George the Poet, has brought poetry to a new generation. He has changed the stereotyped image of the poet, showing that it can be relevant outside the classroom, it can be exciting, it can be moving, it can be funny,it can be visual, it can be a gig. Wit, alliteration, an infectious rhythm all permeate George’s poetry, but there is always a political consciousness, a questioning of the status quo, and a continual urging for the inner city young to reach beyond crime and escape from grinding poverty.

LUCY ROSE
VENUE: HOLY TRINITY CHURCH // COMMUNION STAGE DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 22:15

Lucy Rose has gradually become one of the most respected and influential musicians of the new generation of UK artists. In 2011 her trio of self-released singles – ‘Middle Of The Bed’, ‘Scar’ and ‘Redface’ – invented their own world of uniquely emotive post-acoustic pop. Relentlessly touring through 2012 and 2013 she connected with a hugely cross sectioned audience and manned the merchandise stall every night. As a friend and fan of the band she toured with Bombay Bicycle Club and sang on their records.

BRAWLERS
VENUE: THE KEY CLUB DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 14:00

Having formed over the Summer of 2013, Brawlers feature current and ex-members of bands as diverse as Dinosaur Pile-Up, Leftover Crack, Castrovalva and Martyr Defiled. With only a handful of gigs under their belt, including supports for No Age, The Icarus Line, Gnarwolves and more, the band’s reputation for raucous live shows has already gained them a loyal following and much media support.

MENACE BEACH
VENUE: LEEDS BECKETT // DR MARTENS STAGE DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 17:30

Hailing from Leeds, Menace Beach are lead by Ryan Needham (vocals, guitar) and Liza Violet (vocals / guitar / synths) joined by Matt Spalding (bass), Nestor Matthews (drums) and Matthew ‘MJ’ Johnson (guitar). Written over a summer of endless bleary-eyed bouts of insomnia, their acclaimed debut album, ‘Ratworld’ – produced by Hookworms’ MJ – is a giddy head swirling rush, full of fuzzy melody and heavy, supercharged pop.

ADY SULEIMAN
VENUE: HOLY TRINITY CHURCH // COMMUNION STAGE DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 15:00

Ady Suleiman is a 22 year old Nottingham based singer-songwriter with a soulful, R&B twist. He’s been making his mark on the UK live circuit for a while now and has recently been signed to the major record label, Sony, in anticipation for the release of his debut album.

C DUNCAN
VENUE: LEEDS COLLEGE OF MUSIC RECITAL HALL DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 20:00

Glasgow’s C Duncan, born 1989, is the son of two classical musicians. Surrounded by music throughout his childhood, Christopher initially took up piano and viola. His teens led him to school bands – learning to play guitar, bass and drums – but did little to quell his fascination with the composition and performance of classical music. He eventually enrolled in Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) to study music composition, where his pieces were performed by various ensembles across the UK.

FOREVER CULT
VENUE: THE KEY CLUB DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 12:00

A noisy West Yorkshire 3 piece, blending 90s Seattle grunge with mid 00s British indie. Formed in 2014, following the release of their debut EP, ‘Fuxx’ they performed on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading & Leeds festival, as well as support slots with King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Dz Deathrays and Eagulls.

SEAFRET
VENUE: HOLY TRINITY CHURCH // COMMUNION STAGE DATE: 2 MAY TIME: 20:00

Hailing from the North East town of Bridlington, the pair took their name from the summer fog which rolls in off the North Sea. Grounded in the North yet currently living in London, Seafret’s music has an odd sense of dis-location, the melancholy which can only come through being surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings.

ALLUSONDRUGS

VENUE: LEEDS UNIVERSITY UNION DATE: 1 MAY TIME: 19:00

Allusondrugs are a five-piece from Castleford, Yorkshire, formed in the summer of 2012. Their very individual take on a melding of psych-pop-grunge has caught the eyes and ears of the likes of Kerrang, Rock Sound and Radio One, as well as audiences across the UK.