Leeds Festival 2024 - DAY ONE

By Nic Howells & Soph Ditchfield.

Friday of Leeds Festival 2024 seemed like the day doomed from the start. Some very severe weather rolled in overnight that meant some fans woke early Friday moringa having to cling on to their tents, and some genuinely watching them fly away. THis meant that people driving in were advised to stay in their vehicles, and the arena was left closed while various stalls and stages made very necessary repairs. Unfortunately, before the arena even opened, fans were informed via the app of the closure of the Radio 1 and AUX stages for the weekend, as well as Festival Republic & Chevron being in limbo for the earlier period of the day. This unfortunately meant some rescheduling got Ashnikko, Skrillex, Wunderhorse, and The Wombats, as well as the outright cancellation of a few others. Speaking of…

The first set of the day when fans were let into the arena was expected to be US sensation Renee Rapp at 3:10pm. Those who were unfortunately without signal will have still seen the set pencilled in, and will have also missed the story from Renee at 3:09pm saying they would not be performing. So in the minutes leading up to this, fans expected Renee, could see Pendulums drum set on stage, and the stage crew of one Bru-C working overtime to get this show on the road. It was a lot…

Finally, Bru-C officially opened the festival on the Main Stage after the shock cancellation. The silver lining of this was that Bru-C was himself feared to have been cut from the lineup, and seemed to be a much loved artist by the crowd. The set got off to a rocky start, with their DJ having a couple of issues with the microphone, and Bru-C himself taking a little while to take to the stage. The crowd seemed somewhat burnt out by the events of the day thus far, but Bru-C brought whatever he could to try and get this crowd on side. One dicey choice in trying to do this was acting as though the stage was being shut back down. Fans were excited when the ruse was revealed, and Bru-C ran through proceedings without issue beyond that. It was an eventful start for all the right and wrong reasons, and Bru-C will have his own place in R&L history for it. We for one, were very happy to have caught him.

BRU-C

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

Once things were underway, the day played mostly without issue. Pendulum followed with an electrifying performance that brought the energy back up, though some in the crowd did the legends a bit of a disservice by not really knowing who they were/only reacting when on the screens. That aside, their sound was incredible, and the lighting rig visuals behind them added a lot despite them being on in the daylight. One takeaway from the set that has absolutely made the rounds on social media ahead of time is Pendulum announcing playing ‘Tarantula’ for the last time. This is an interesting choice, to say the least, and didn’t exactly draw the most knowing or devastated response from the crowd for what is a legendary UK act. This was a stark contrast considering they had a decent response to their other hits, though that may also be  a testament to the flexibility of Pendulum's act given how they made a rave out of Download last year.

PENDULUM

Photos by Soph Ditchfield.

Moving away from the main stage, Only The Poets put on a solid performance, though it was perhaps a bit ill placed being on the introducing stage given this band sold out various dates on their October headline tour. One staple of most OTP shows is their hardcore fans at the front, who as always were fully engaged. Again, this may be the booking of the Introducing stage, but the energy didn’t translate to the rest of the crowd. Part of this may be how well the mix carries going away from the stage with it being in very close proximity to three other stages as well as the carnival attractions. This was unfortunate, as the band have been on the rise for a while, and Friday's atmosphere had somewhat of a curse on what was  a substantial slot for them at R&L. For those knowing what to expect from an OTP show, this was up to their usual standard, and it felt like fans of Leeds on this occasion didn’t quite appreciate them. Higher up the bill next time, perhaps opening the Festival Republic stage, would do great for these guys.

ONLY THE POETS

Photos by Soph Ditchfield.

Staying on the Introducing Stage. Venus Grrrls were the shot of energy that Friday's buffeted mood needed. The main part that went into that was the fact that the Grrrls themselves were a bit more raucous. Where veterans like Pendulum are very casual on stage and OTP are in the moment, Venus are untethered. It helped a lot with the audience's involvement in the set, as fans on Friday badly needed a reason for a bounce. What's better is that these actually felt like a “festival band”, whereas the other acts of the day felt like instalments (still good quality) of their show put on a festival stage. Their performance was energetic and infectious, making them one of the highlights of the festival. Venus Grrrls delivered one of the standout performances of the day

VENUS GRRRLS

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

This one will be kept short. 21 Savage’s set was marred by significant delays, with the rapper coming on stage 45 minutes late. During the wait, his hype played to an increasingly frustrated crowd all the way through to playing Katy Perry (?). You never want negative energy at such a big name event, but fans eventually booed when 21 Savage finally appeared. His performance barely lasted ten minutes and mostly consisted of songs 21 features on. At other festivals he played nearly 3 times as many songs, but at Leeds he wrapped up with ‘redrum’ and abruptly left the stage, leaving fans in shock at the poor showing. Not much place for this.

Catfish and The Bottlemen made their long-awaited return in the penultimate set of the day on the mainstage. Again, due to it being one of few stages open, their crowd was even more dense, which really helped the perception of these as a future top-slot band. Playing to the busiest crowd of the day would have also been a bit of a confusing ride for some, as their set was a nostalgic journey for many. The key aspect of the set was just how much everyone was singing along at the top of their lungs. The atmosphere was electric, with flares being set off throughout the set, creating a vibrant sea of colour despite the monochrome visuals on the screen behind them. Mercifully Catfish avoided any tech issues that would hit their Reading set later that weekend and tracks like ‘Kathleen’ and ‘Pacifier’ sounded completely pristine. This was for many the emotional peak of the day, and ironically, considering Catfish were making their return with the dates this summer, had them playing like it was their last. They couldn’t really put a foot wrong with this set, and they have an absolute chorus as they finish up the set with ‘Cocoon’ as Van McCann is brought to tears. Is it too bold to suggest these could come straight back and headline next year with this reception?

Considering the chain of events that followed in the days after this set, Leeds almost feels forgotten in Gallagher lore. At time of writing, Oasis is back. So a set of Liam going solo on the Definitely Maybe album loses its lustre a little. The anniversary of the album is the crutch of the set really. With the especially young crowd this year they don’t really bite on ‘Shaker Maker’ the way they would any other popular Oasis song. As a fan of Gallagher’s work, the dedicating songs to tents blowing away and people failing exams is pretty classic patter, and Liam does have the aura of a headliner, the specialised set maybe doesn’t, for Leeds at least. His Apollo and Co-op Live dates in Manchester earned rave reviews, and it feels like people just weren’t there as much for the full album which was a shame. There’s an especially big pop for the tease of ‘Wonderwall’ when finishing up ‘(It’s Good) To Be Free’ which is both happy because it shows people do know the act, but damning that they only know the hits. Don’t let any of these comments fool you about Liam Gallagher’s ability. It’s just amazing how a crowd can make or break a set, and how much the view of a set can change in a few days (and one of the biggest reunions in indie history).

Liam Gallagher’s headlining performance under a microscope will always be a welcome presence. The hype surrounding his full rendition of Definitely Maybe justified his inclusion at the top, and he did exactly what it said on the tin. The set finishing on a cover of The Beatles’ ‘I Am the Walrus’ is a step even further away from the festival's demographic, which is a perfectly Gallagher move. Like him or lump him he just headlined Leeds & Reading, and he did it his way.

DELILAH BON

Photos by Soph Ditchfield.