With indoor venues suffering a pandemic hangover 2022 is a vital year for live music with the summer festivals playing an integral role both financially and culturally. Here are four of the best for Yorkshire music lovers!
Leeds Festival has announced six huge headliners for 2022 as the dual main stage layout returns meaning more massive names and no clashes. Arctic Monkeys, Dave, Rage Against The Machine, Halsey, Megan Thee Stallion and Bring Me The Horizon will be joined by the most exciting talent in rock, indie, alternative, hip-hop and dance including Wolf Alice, Glass Animals, Enter Shikari, Joy Crookes, Little Simz, Run The Jewels, Fever 333, Pale Waves with even more yet to be announced. The three-day festival takes place on 26-28 August 2022, returning to Leeds’ legendary Bramham Park. Since first telling the world “don’t believe the hype”,Arctic Monkeys captured the musical zeitgeist and changed the course of guitar music forever. From a self-released EP to becoming one of the biggest bands of the new millennium, no one captures the adrenaline-fuelled ups and downs of nights out, heartbreak, and lust like the Sheffield quartet. Ironic and iconic in equal measure, Arctic Monkeys’ meteoric albums and performances only get sharper and smarter. Playing in the UK for the first time since 2018’s ‘Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino’ tour, they are set for a hero’s welcome as they make their triumphant return to headline the main stage in 2022.
Tramlines, Sheffield’s biggest city-based music festival has announced the lineup for the 2022 event at Hillsborough Park in Sheffield from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th July. Headlining are Sam Fender (Friday), Kasabian (Saturday), and Madness (Sunday), plus many more act including The Wombats, The Vaccines, James, Declan McKenna, Sigrid, Becky Hill, Reverend and The Makers, Little Man Tate, Shed Seven, Self Esteem, The Coral, Sports Team, Inhaler, The Snuts, Jade Bird, Sam Ryder, Yard Act, Lottery Winners, Coach Party, Kynsy, Do Nothing, Working Men’s Club, Just Mustard, Swim School, Pixey, Everly Pregnant Brothers and more. Other lineup highlights include James who will be bringing the most festival-ready tracks from their 39-year long career; the frenetic five piece The Vaccines who’ll be dropping classics such as ‘Norgaard’ and ‘If You Wanna’; Americana/alt-rocker Jade Bird; and the Mercury Prize-nominated Sports Team. Ever with its finger on the pulse of breaking talent, the Tramlines 2022 lineup shines a light on some of the most exciting new acts around. These include the gritty indie-folk artist Orla Gartland who dropped her debut album ‘Women on the Internet’ this August; the melodic, indie-pop rising star Pixey who has just released her second EP on the influential Chess Club label.
Since launching in 2007, Live At Leeds festival has showcased bands across multiple venues in Leeds city centre on the May bank holiday weekend. This year’s event was pushed back to October due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022 a new “in the park” version of Live At Leeds, which will be held at Temple Newsam on Saturday June 4, 2022. Bombay Bicycle club, Nothing But Thieves, Arlo Parks, Easy Life, SEA GIRLS, HONNE, Confidence Man, ADMT, Courting, Finn Askew, L’objectif, Molly Payton, porij & The Royston Club are amongst the first bands to be announced. Those who miss rushing from venue to venue in the city shouldn’t worry. Live At Leeds’ traditional “in the city” edition will now take place on Saturday October 15, 2022.
It’s been a long time coming, but arguably the nation’s most beloved festival Kendal Calling has announced its grand return to the fields in July 2022 – bringing together an unmistakable blend of huge headline moments, incredible new talent, unrivalled entertainment for all ages and much more to Lowther Deer Park once again! Regularly acclaimed as one of the best festivals in the UK, Kendal Calling has become a true emblem of the complete festival experience. Of heading to the front and meeting friends new and old, all whilst catching some of your favourite bands tear apart blistering set after blistering set. With their ready-made anthems and euphoric live shows Stereophonics were the first band to call to soundtrack Kendal Calling’s 15th birthday celebrations, even if it’s slightly delayed.
Following the overwhelming response to 2019’s ‘The 1980 Tour’, Midge Ure & Band Electronica are delighted to return to the road in 2022 with the ‘Voice & Visions’ tour, celebrating 40 years since the release of Ultravox’s Rage In Eden and Quartet albums.
At the start of 1981, Ultravox were laying their claim to be one of the defining acts of the 80s following the global success of hit ‘Vienna’. The ‘Voice & Visions’ tour will begin at York’s historic Grand Opera House on 22nd February, visiting an astounding 26 cities across the UK before culminating at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 2nd April. Transporting fans back to the decade of electronics, experimentation, synthesizers and great songwriting, the albums highlights will be showcased alongside landmark hits from Ure’s incredible back catalogue.
Midge told us; ‘I can’t begin to tell you how great it feels to be back out touring after the uncertainty of the past two years and it is especially exciting to delve back in time and revitalise two standout albums from my career, Rage in Eden and Quartet. This is the logical and emotional follow up to the 1980 tour’ Tickets will go on sale 10am, Friday 22nd January
Benjamin Francis Leftwich has unveiled his 2022 tour of the UK and Ireland. Included is a date at The Citadel on 25th February. Benjamin’s new album ‘To Carry A Whale’ is the first by Leftwich written and recorded entirely sober, a state he has maintained since spending 28 days in rehab in January 2018. This helps give context to the album’s title – ‘To Carry A Whale’:
“It’s an observation on what it’s like to be a sober alcoholic addict a couple of years in,” says Leftwich. “A whale is heavy to carry. It’s gonna hurt you to carry it. But it’s also beautiful, and it’s a miracle to be able to carry all that at all.”
Soul II Soul have announced rescheduled dates due to the global Covid-19 restrictions for their forthcoming ‘Club Classics’ tour. They hit the York, Barbican on 25th February
The double Grammy Award winning and five-time Brit Award nominated British band tour the UK as they pay tribute to their legendary debut album Club Classics Vol. One. It follows from the phenomenal success of their tour of the album in 2018 with sold out shows across the country.
During the course of their stellar career the band have sold over 10 million albums worldwide and main man Jazzie B was awarded an OBE for services to music in 2008, as well as winning an Ivor Novello Award for Inspiration, as “the man who gave British black music a soul of its own”.
With huge hits including ‘Keep On Movin’ (which sold over a million copies in the US alone) and the UK number one single ‘Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)’, Soul II Soul progressed from being one of the leaders of the 1980s warehouse scene to pioneering British black music around the world, and securing commercial success for themselves and the huge amount of artists they have influenced.
Alternative-rock duo The Blue Stones, known for their blistering live shows announce their highly anticipated UK & European 2022 Tour, their first journey over the Atlantic since 2019s sold out run. They will be shaking the foundations of The Fulford Arms on March 15th “It’s been far too long since we’ve seen the stage,” frontman Tarek Jafar told us, “We plan on hitting these European shows with every last drop of pent up energy we’ve had this year.” Their songs resonate with a powerful emotional intensity both sonically and lyrically, with Jafar penning his most personal lyrics to date. Centred around self-confidence, accepting your strengths and weaknesses, touching upon heartbreak and bad habits.
