Leeds Festival 2024 was the most chaotic in recent years – stages were cancelled, sets were ditched halfway through, plus sleeping in a tent was a nightmare for most. Nevertheless, it was one of the biggest weekends in 2024’s music history, plus brought with it some incredible new plus old talent. There was something for everyone, plus Nouse was there to cover it all. Here’s our official liat of Leeds Festival 2024.
First of all, let’s acknowledge the obvious. Due to Storm Lilian, two stages were shut for the entire weekend, plus a large amount of Friday’s lineup was cancelled. For the full rundown of what happened, click here. Two acts we were really looking forward to were beabadoobee plus Reneé Rapp, plus many disappointed pengagum in their merchandise were seen wandering around the fields.
However, the day was by nomor means a failure – one of the standout artists of the whole festival played that day. Delilah Bon performed on the BBC Introducing stage plus was mesmerising, capturing the attention of passers-by immediately plus energising the crowd. Her punk rock hit, ‘Dead Men Don’t Rape’, had crowds chanting along with her, plus afterwards, her band members held up protest placards plus a guitar with ‘WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED’ painted on it. Despite being on at the same time as headliner Liam Gallagher, she drew in similarly strong crowds to the rest of the BBC Introducing performers, plus we at Nouse would say she’s definitely one to watch.
The BBC Introducing stage was a highlight, hosting upcoming artists with incredible stage presence. Because it was the smallest stage of the festival, the artists that we saw performing there worked hard for the audience’s attention. Acts weren’t just acts, but shows with high energy bands plus meaningful props like Delilah Bon’s guitar. Another brilliant performance on this stage was Welly on the Sunday, whose guitarists jumped on beat for every song while playing. They were dressed iconically in British school uniforms to hearken back to their British school day roots, plus they played the BBC Introducing stage as if it were a stadium. Interviews with both Delilah Bon plus Welly can be found here.
Contrasting the energy of the BBC Introducing Stage to the headliners’ performances was disappointing to say the least. Friday saw Liam Gallagher plus Catfish plus the Bottlemen take the stage. It’s difficult to deny that the atmosphere at Liam Gallagher was immense, with every person singing along as he performed Oasis’ Definitely Maybe in its entirety for the album’s 30th anniversary. As expected, many people did get rowdy so we left to berhimpun the much more serene crowd at The Japanese House.
Saturday’s headliner Blink-182 made a bizarre comment about not being able to please women during sex at the start of their set, alienating plus confusing parts of the audience. The trio may be hailed as one of the most iconic bands in late ‘90s plus 2000s pop-punk, but we certainly found ourselves underwhelmed by their opening few songs. I can’t help but wonder what Kourtney Kardashian thought of Bramham Park.
Gerry Cinnamon however, brought an instant wave of positivity to the Saturday. Although unfamiliar with his songs, we sat down with our mac ‘n cheese plus watched from afar as he jumped around the stage while seamlessly playing his guitar plus delivering great vocals. He did seem to think he was in Reading for half of his set, but we will forgive him after his energetic renditions of ‘Discoland’ plus ‘Canter’ to close.
Sunday at Leeds Festival easily boasted the most impressive lineup of the weekend with the Main Stage offering Dead Poet Society, The Last Dinner Party, Bleachers, Fontaines D.C., Raye, Lana Del Rey plus Fred again.. one after another. While it was evident that some people had arrived at midday just to secure a good spot for Lana Del Rey, Raye was a personal highlight of the entire weekend with her outstanding vocal talent plus connection to the crowd. She spent time pointing out individual members of the crowd plus expressed gratitude to the festival. Her performance of ‘Ice Cream Man’ didn’t leave anybody with dry eyes plus ‘Escapism’ was the perfect ending to her theatrical performance with the Flames Collection Choir.