Live at Kirkstall Abbey: Meet the Leeds business behind the outdoor shows taking over ruins this summer

The Leeds landmark will host Madness, Embrace, the Pigeon Detectives and national comedy stars in a weekend of live performances.

And the business behind it is a real Leeds success story. Independent event promoters Futuresound founded legendary venue the Cockpit in 1994, going on to set up Live At Leeds and Slam Dunk festivals and promote hundreds of shows across Leeds and the UK every year, from Oporto to the First Direct Arena.

One of the company’s directors, Andy Smith, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We promoted the Kaiser Chiefs at Kirkstall Abbey 13 years ago and those shows were amazing - I’ve got a picture on my wall of Ricky up in the ruins.

“We operate in a lot of historic places around the country - we’ve done shows at York Museum Gardens, Ludlow Castle, Warwick Castle - and we established the Piece Hall series in Halifax many years ago.

“The Abbey has been on my radar for ages, you’ve got the ruins on one side and the river on the other, and it lends itself to what we want to try and achieve.

“It’s a great location, in the heart of some amazing areas where many people live. The response so far has been amazing.”

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Futuresound has just announced the line-up for the outdoor comedy show on Sunday July 28, hosted by Jason Cook. Headliners Katherine Ryan and Ross Noble will be joined by local star Maisie Adam, as well as Reginald D. Hunter, Clinton Baptiste, Mike Wozniak, Ivo Graham, Jeff Innocent and Stephen Bailey.

The series will kick off with Madness live at the Abbey on Friday July 26, joined by Leeds’ own indie heroes The Pigeon Detectives, a long-awaited return from Liverpudlians The Zuton and an opening set from Carlisle quintet Hardwicke Circus.

The following day, Embrace will celebrate 20 years of their seminal album ‘Out Of Nothing’ with a headline performance in the ruins, along with special guests Ocean Colour Scene, Ash, Sleeper and Cud.

“It’s a really exciting line-up,” Andy added. “My favourite part of the job is executing the shows. When you go and watch thousands of people having the best time of their lives, watching the band they love, that’s definitely the best part.”

Andy worked behind the bar at the Cockpit before getting a job as a Futuresound promoter around 15 years ago, working his way up to company director.

He said: “Every day is completely different, we do such a wide variety of things - around 500-600 indoor shows every year, everywhere from Oporto to the Arena. We have a record label, a management company, a vinyl pressing plant and we do festivals. It’s exciting to get to do so many things.”

Their shows may have expanded beyond West Yorkshire, but Futuresound is still Leeds through and through. Andy said the city’s independent music scene is stronger than ever as it bounces back from the pandemic.

“Leeds is a boiling pot of independent businesses and I think that’s what’s most appealing about the city,” he added.

“You have several great promoters here who all do different types of events - it’s quite unusual. It’s a real mix of creativity and people doing different things, from Nathan at the Brudenell and Superfriendz, to ourselves, we all get on with each other and I think it’s important that those relationships are strong.

“It helps new artists to come through and in turn it helps these events to happen. Once upon a time, bands like Embrace and the Pigeon Detectives needed somewhere to start their careers.”