Honestly, LEEDS FESTIVAL is going to surpass the gorgeousness of this year’s Glastonbury. Of course Billie Eilish and The Killers may be on everybody’s lips but there are some oustanding artists that you should also make a point of seeing.
For example, Imagine Dragons. With 40 million albums and 50 million songs sold globally, as well as 60 billion combined streams, Imagine Dragons were the best-selling rock band of the 2010s, even as they were busy reinventing the genre. Billboard’s Top 3 rock songs of the decade belonged to the band and “Radioactive” topped Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart, and won a GRAMMY for Best Rock Performance,
The two-time BRIT Award winner Becky Hill who has amassed over 7 billion streams to date and a growing catalogue of classic chart hits, has entered an exciting new chapter in her career with ‘Side Effects’, her first new release of 2023. Becky’s summer schedule calls at the biggest events of the UK summer festival schedule.
Hot Milk have blossomed over the course of three self-produced EPs, this constant stream of releases has meant that Hot Milk were never away from the spotlight – or the stages they call home. Their rise kept accelerating, taking them to stadium support slots with Foo Fighters, the main stages of some of the best festivals globally, an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel in the US to tours with bands like Pale Waves and their own headline sold-out shows to over 50 million streams of the EPs alone.
With Mercury and Brits nominations, and appearances in global brand campaigns, Loyle Carner has undoubtedly had a meteoric rise to the top, culminating with his second album Not Waving, But Drowning charting at number 3 in the UK albums chart in 2019. There’s a central question that Loyle Carner keeps coming back to: “I’m young, black, successful and have a platform – but where do I go next?”
For Sam Fender it’s been a huge 2023 so far for the North Shields hero, picking up a slew of BRIT awards for his second album, the critically acclaimed number 1 album, Seventeen Going Under.
Sam will triumphantly cap another incredible twelve months on the main stage at Leeds
Mimi Webb projects a voice as magnetic, massive, and magical as her personality. As “the girl next door” with a hell of vocal range, she’s quick to laugh, will let you know precisely what’s on her mind, and isn’t afraid to be heard. Originally hailing from the UK town of Canterbury, the pop singer and songwriter turns up the volume on every emotion with skyscraping runs and open-heart honesty.
The relatively unknown The Last Dinner Party, have become one of the most exciting new London bands, and are only about to debut their first single. They are a complete breath of fresh air. A band who mean every word they sing and every note they play, but really, they just want to have a lot of fun. And they want you to join them.
Holly Humberstone has become renowned for painting a picture of a place so viscerally, being rooted in the walls and also people that makes a city liveable, where you can “get drunk with your mates and just forget about work”. From her family home in “Haunted House” to feeling lost and isolated in her London shared flat with The Walls Are Way To Thin, Paint My Bedroom Black is Holly’s fragmented and dark love letter to friends and lovers, a hideaway from the world when her fans need one.
And take time to become familiar with those just starting out. For example Inhaler have now racked up over 140 million combined streams globally and their debut was a certified Brit Breakthrough that sold over 120,000 across the world. Caity Baser, hailed as a one to watch by many including Rolling Stone. And, finally, Baby Queen who arrived in the pop sphere and quickly carved her name deep into its fabric with her crooked sceptre, a voice for the underdog generation.
It is going to be a fine festival come rain or shine. Stay safe and have a fabulous time.
