York Needs a One Day Music Festival

Held in November every year, Live at Leeds in the City is a multi-venue one day independent festival started back in 2007. With an eclectic mix of artists taking over 15 local venues, from headliners like Everything Everything, the K’s and Alfie Templeman to up-and-coming ones such as Master Peace, Stone and L’objectif, it aims to be "a new music showcase for new music fans." I had the opportunity to attend with a concert-loving friend and came away thinking that this format is the way forward over the conventional full weekend festivals that are usually hard to travel to, expensive and a little bit grim all around. Now in reflection of the day and seeing the success of events like the University of York Band Soc Battle of the Bands recently, I believe more and more that York could hold its own very successful version inspired by Leeds. I will be exploring my experience at Live at Leeds in the City and how York could create its own to compete with the bigger cities to put it on the map as a musical hub and not just all about Vikings and pubs (still love them though!)

To start, we must talk about the cities themselves. Leeds definitely feels more like a usual city than York, with its skyline horizon and sprawling centre that definitely lends itself to a bustling nightlife and music scene. In contrast, York has its famous cobbled streets, picturesque rivers and is enclosed by countryside. However, I believe York could definitely support a one day music festival, even if our city feels a little smaller than Leeds. York is used to having many tourists, both by road and train, and its constantly developing  infrastructure is improving access and traffic flow in the city. We could utilise the Park & Ride Bus services with reduced fees to make the festival accessible for all attendees. Additionally, many train routes come through York, opening the festival up to music lovers from all corners of the country. Yet, something to consider for our festival would be mobility access due to the historic nature of York, with uneven narrow streets unlike Leeds mostly new roads and layout in the centre. I don’t believe this should put the city off holding a festival as accessibility issues can be focused on to improve inclusion. Leeds is not perfect itself with accessibility. Some venues were big distances apart and sometimes there was not enough room for everyone who wanted to see an artist even if you did reach the venue, which is not great for people who cannot walk or stand for long periods. But these issues can be reduced each year by using attendee feedback, making music experiences more accessible to people. 

Up and coming artist Nectar Woode performing at Northern Guitars

Live at Leeds places a huge emphasis on using local, independent venues of all shapes and sizes, with 15 venues dotted all over the city showcasing the diverse talent on display. We went to small, intimate venues like the Northern Guitars Cafe Bar and Doghouse Bar & Bagel Shop, allowing a more personal connection between artists and the audience; to larger, big name venues like Luu Stylus and Leeds Beckett Student Union, allowing more fans to see their favourite artists. The spread of venues helped us explore Leeds throughout the day and see what music and social life it had. This model would fit perfectly with York. We have so many amazing independent venues and spaces to utilise and they would encourage visitors to go into many independent businesses and restaurants that live alongside the music venues. We have the Fulford Arms, York Barbican and even the university’s Central Hall for big attendance performers, but also small, intimate venues like FortyFive Vinyl Cafe, Kennedy’s Bar and The Basement, perfect for emerging talent. One day festivals could be how we help support these local venues, particularly those who solely host live music, by bringing people into them with a varied line-up of acts to attract as many visitors as possible during the current economic hardship many venues are experiencing. The Music Venues Trust in 2023 found that 125 UK venues stopped hosting live music due to financial instability, and over half of those ended up closing down completely. This can be down to many factors: ever increasing upkeep and bills, the public’s lack of disposable income to go out and general unease about safety and the way the world is going. Without these venues, grassroots acts will have less opportunities to break into an already difficult industry and we, as a city, could end up losing a vital part of the community that gives people work, joy and connection. If we could tackle this issue in a constructive and consistent manner with the festival, this concept should definitely be explored for the city. 

Watching the Royston Club in a packed Luu Stylus later in the day.

The most important thing a one day music festival could bring to York is obviously the music. Leeds hosted more than 150 bands and artists in just one day, from all different backgrounds, genres and popularity levels. We saw up-and-coming artists Nectar Woode and Daisy Veacock, both beautifully soulful guitarists and singers; high energy fast-paced bands Overpass and The Royston Club, and even the 2024 Mercury Prize winning band English Teacher. We saw seven acts in total, making it a busy but enjoyable day of music exploration and we left feeling like we got our money’s worth. It cost us significantly less than any weekend festivals and those festivals can be hard to navigate making you miss acts you want to see, with the added difficulties of poor weather and terrible sleeping conditions. Also, there was an emphasis on having talent from all over the country, particularly from the north, and many acts were even from Leeds or had gone to Leeds universities, which was great to see that they want to return to the place. For our festival, I believe that many acts will want to come to York, particularly those from the city and the wider Yorkshire area, which will help increase exposure of local talent and make York a place for music to come. I think that the University of York, York St John University and York’s many colleges could have their own stage at one of the local venues to exhibit their talented student bands and artists. If we are able to build a legacy of musical talent in York right from the start of artists' journeys, it will allow us to compete with larger cities all over the country as a music centre. 

York could definitely run its own one day music festival inspired by Live at Leeds in the City, with it already being used to high influxes of tourists, having good travel links and many independent venues and the advantage of a wide range of music talent in arms reach. While there are one day events held in York like the annual Pride, there is nothing like this yet. Learning from Leeds we could help the city of York become a hub for live music and independent venues, helping to preserve our vibrant creative scene in these trying times.