A festival at anytime of the year is always welcomed if its in a muddy field or in the middle of a city - Live At Leeds have got you covered as they host another fantastic year of In The City in the heart of Leeds City Centre bringing over 150 artists from all over the world to the best venues Leeds has to offer in just one day. Its the perfect day out to support local venues, support your favourite artists and of course discover the next big thing in music. We went along for a jam packed day of live music and some typical Yorkshire rain to capture the magic of this special festival.

Wasting no time after arrival, it was straight to Belgrave Music Hall to catch the first and opening act of the day in that venue and a band who were featured in our ones to watch - living up to the hype, it’s Australia’s Betty Taylor. Straight off the bat with this one, the band being named after lead singer Sophie Patrick’s grandma who is, and I quote “a freaking rockstar” is one of the most wholesome reasons behind a band name and I’m all for it. To their set and they wasted absolutely no time in getting the party started with their spellbinding melodies and infectious charm. Labelling themselves as the bestie next door, I can see why I mean with this much slay, why wouldn’t you want them as your besties. Playing to a pretty packed room, they gave the people of Leeds a proper mood booster to ignore the fact the rain was pouring down right outside. Already setting the tone for the day with one of the sets of the day and certainly a set that has me leaving wanting more.

Next up was the short walk over to The Key Club to catch one of the most entertaining and gripping acts on the bill - living fully up to their name was London’s So Good. The female fronted power force brought the energy to a packed room producing one of the best sets of the day. The vibes from this slot were incredible and gave off serious Delilah Bon feels throughout the set, her mix of drill, hip-hop and punk goes hard and not only brings a lot of fun to the show, but also also highlights important topics like politics and gender that are sung loud and proud.

Her debut ep If I Had A kick started what has been a crushing career in music and she is only just getting started. The passion that injected to her live show is infectious and just makes you want to scream every single word back at her - with the addition of her backing singers/dancers bringing even more vibes, its certainly an experience that you just need to be a part of. With Christmas right around the corner, her latest single Give Me My Presents is the perfect song to sing around the tree.

Having caught up with Nxdia fresh off the stage, it’s only right that we highlight just how incredible the rising stars set was to witness - despite being first on at the Wardrobe, it didn’t prevent her fans from packing the room out and raising the atmosphere and then some. In the midst of her debut headline tour, it was nice to catch her in a festival environment to build her ever growing fanbase and I’m certain after this show there will be big numbers getting on the hype train. It was exactly the type of energy boost that you need at 12' o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. I wouldn’t get used to the small rooms because she will not be playing them for long. You can watch our little catch-up with Nxdia below.

One of the must see bands for me was French heroes Last Train, a band I was lucky enough to catch on the main stage at Hellfest Open Air Festival in France over the summer so to witness them in the small surroundings of The Key Club was quite something, thankfully Leeds was a little cooler than the 40 degree heat of Clisson. Despite the fact they only played 4 songs (yes FOUR) they still filled their 30 minute set with an explosion of blues rock, grunge and mental with a light dusting of a funky edge - their raw energy ripped right through the venue engulfing anyone that was there. A truly captivating set highlighting exactly why they are appearing on main stages across European festivals and selling big rooms on their headline tour across France. The ability to switch up their sound in songs is incredible to watch - from in your face head banging riffs to a soft blend of blues funk is honestly special and cannot be talked about enough, if anyone gets the chance to see these guys, take it.

*photo by Craig McInnes - @mistakeslikefractures__*

Keeping up with one of the ones to watch was Stoke based singer Lissy Taylor showing exactly why she is on so many radars right now. Its very easy to see why she has found herself on so many big tours in recent years including the likes of Circa Waves and her hero Miles Kane - her voice is something to behold and is so unique in many aspects that I just love to experience live. Her smoky, sultry tone blends beautifully in with instruments around her as she works the room to perfection. The set came with a mixture of her entire catalogue of incredible tracks including her recent single Jealous that has made its home in many videos across TikTok.

Singles She’s A Stunner and Feel For Me also made appearances as well as a nice surprise cover of Stereophonics classic Dakota that went down very well with fans in the room. Rounding off a pretty big 2025, Tylor now sets her sights on bigger stages and even more music next year and judging from how recent times has went, there is a bright future ahead for one of the most exciting names that the UK has to offer.

Across the day I had the chance to catch bits of bobs of sets and one of the highlights has to be one of the festivals big guns Panic Shack who really brought some seriously good energy to a big set in Stylus - the all female band brought a stunning mix of punk attitude with their energetic and ferocious sound with the added bonus of their choreographed dances that bring an overall slay feel to the room.

Elsewhere there we stand outs all over the city with the likes of Punchbag and Du Blonde putting on some killer sets to well filled rooms. Rising star Catty also brought one almighty party to Headrow House as she geared up to hit the road with icon Beth McCarthy. Despite not getting into the venue due to max capacity, I could hear 5 piece Slag rip through Santiagos from the outside in what sounded like the perfect show. Rounding off the highlights with Witch Post who are fresh off a huge UK tour and also The Clause who are making their own history selling out their biggest UK headline tour ahead of a mammoth hometown show in Birmingham Academy.

An incredible day of live music showing that Leeds is still one of the best places to be hosting amazing days like today. The city centre was booming all day despite the rain doing it’s best to damped the day - quite like any UK festival, a bit of wet never stands in the way of our festival goers. The team at Live At Leeds deserve endless credit for all the work they put into running such a solid day and produce of the best days of the year.

All eyes on 2026….

Live At Leeds In The City 2025: The Big Review

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Live At Leeds In The City 2025: The Big Review

Ones To Watch - Live At Leeds In The City

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