August bank holiday means only one thing – Leeds Festival AKA my favourite weekend of the entire year.
Although I wasn’t as enthusiastic about this year’s line-up, it didn’t stop me heading down to Braham Park early on Thursday morning to set up camp all ready for a messy weekend ahead.
When I arrived, I headed straight to Green camp (which has turned into its own tradition), and by 2pm the tent was erected, the airbed was up and the drinking had started – what was now going to be my home for the next 4 days was finally starting to feel bearable.
We sat drinking and playing card games with our new tent neighbours until the early evening before going to explore around the various DJ sets dotted around the campsites. These first few hours had already set the bar high for the rest of the weekend – and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Friday morning was a relaxing one, I started my day off with a cider and lazed around until 5pm. Eventually I made the trek the to the arena where I sat on the bank and watched Blossoms whilst eating some surprisingly tasty chicken noodles. After a short while Liam Gallagher performed. He swanned onto the main stage wearing a zipped-up parka jacket and took complete control of the crowd. I’m not overly familiar with Liam’s own music but he ended with Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ – judging by the crowd’s reaction, I imagine that this was the highlight for many people.
Muse were headlining on Friday night but I made the unpopular decision to go and see Halsey and Marshmello instead. I had wanted to see Halsey for a while now and she exceeded my expectations in the NME Tent – her performance was electric and she really knows how to put on a show. I had only recently started listening to Marshmello so it was a last-minute decision to watch his set. I felt like the bass in the Radio One Dance Tent wasn’t as good as it could’ve been and that had affected the overall performance but I still enjoyed it. We had left 15 minutes early to catch the end of Neck Deep’s set at the Lock Up Tent, luckily for us we managed to catch ‘A Part Of Me’, ‘Can’t Kick Up the Roots’ and ‘Where Do We Go When We Go’. It wasn’t my first time seeing Neck Deep and they have remained one of my all-time favourite bands.
Saturday morning started very like Friday morning, kicking off the day with a cider and a game of cards. I made my way to the arena at about 2pmwhere I sat and watched Rat Boy and Circa Waves. Some of my favourite times at Leeds are sat on the grass having a drink and watching all types of people getting on with the day in their own ways. At 5pm I made my way to the NME Tent to watch Anne Marie, Lethal Bizzle and Subfocus consecutively. The energy at this stage is constantly at a high – which is why it is one of my favourite tents. By the end of Subfocus I was shattered, but the evening was still young and there was a lot of fun to be had. We made our way to get food before catching half of Bastille’s set at the main stage, followed by Kasabian. We made our way closer to the front to watch Kasabian and the atmosphere was one to remember. One thing is for certain – no one should underestimate their performance. After Kasabian ended, I grabbed myself some chilli nachos and a beer before I started to head back to the tent, it didn’t take long for me to get distracted by the DJ sets and I ended up dancing into the early morning.
We kicked off the final day with our new-found tradition of cider and a card game before we started to make way to the arena, the weather had stayed fair all weekend but Sunday was especially hot. We got to the area at 1pm and we were just in time to watch Moose Blood. I have watched Moose Blood perform all around the country but it’s a band that I never get bored of watching. Although they were on stage early in the day, they still had a decent crowd.
After Moose Blood we watched The Pretty Reckless whilst sat on the grass again. After The Pretty Reckless finished playing, we went over to the Dance Tent to watch Lany. I have been listening to Lany’s debut album on repeat since it was released in June 2017 and their set was really laid back and chilled.
It was time for the final two performances of Leeds Festival 2017 – Major Lazer and Eminem. Major Lazer hit the stage at 7.30pm and didn’t stop putting on a show until they were over – A mix of new and old remixes kept the energy within the crowd high and the atmosphere was lively. It was a great set up for Eminem who was coming to the stage at 9.30pm.
As it got closer to Eminem’s set, the crowd was getting noticeably crammed in – thousands upon thousands of people flooded around the Main Stage ready to see the King of Hip Hop perform. Half way through the set we decided to move further back, but this was a challenge, Eminem was by far the most popular set all festival. There was people who couldn’t even see the stage because they were so far away that were still standing and singing along. Although Sunday evening is always a bit sad as it means that the festival is coming to its end, it was certainly a great finale.
Overall, Leeds 2017 exceeded my expectations and my personal highlights were Halsey, Neck Deep, Major Lazer and Eminem. Leeds 2018 can’t come quick enough.
