Leeds Festival 2025: My main takeaways as stellar weekend sees Chappell Roan and Travis Scott make headlines
A week on from Leeds Festival 2025 and the dust has finally settled - and been removed from my clothing.
Despite being unfamiliar with more of this year’s line-up than any other before it, the annual Bramham Park bank holiday bash still delivered plenty of stand out moments.
It was my third consecutive year covering the festival for the Yorkshire Evening Post and 15 years on from my first visit while at school, and it’s fair to say that plenty has changed during that time.
But while the feel of the festival and familiarity with the line-up has changed, the event’s penchant for seeing off the summer in style remains intact.
Below are my main takeaways from a memorable weekend at Leeds Festival. And with it being my first time tackling it fully sober, I’d like to think that adds some degree of reliability!
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The weather makes a huge difference
Quite an obvious one but it became apparent just how much the winds of Storm Lilian affected the enjoyment of the festival last year after the steady mix of sunshine, drizzle and light wind this time around.
Tents were blown asunder, stages were closed and morale took an inevitable hit after the brutal winds of 2024, but it only felt like things improved as the weekend went on this time, with the travelling from stage to stage and morning routines being perfectly doable.
Covers are in
There was a noticeable abundance of covers delivered across the weekend, with some brilliant homages being belted out.
Starting with a version of Bob Marley’s ‘Could You Be Love’ by former Little Mix member Leigh Anne, I later heard two separate versions of Link Wray’s Rumble (the rousing instrumental from Pulp Fiction) and two covers of the beguiling Irish group The Cranberries within the space of 30 or so minutes - with Royel Otis taking on ‘Linger’ before Pale Waves did a version of ‘Zombie’.
Royel Otis also shook the crowd into motion with a cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ and Bring Me The Horizon featured a beefed up take on ‘Wonderwall’ as they closed the event. Where this cover-heavy weekend came from - be it audience listening tendencies or just an effort to engage the crowds more - I’m not sure, but it definitely hit the spot.
I am getting older. And that’s okay.
Previous jaunts to Leeds Festival, particularly post-Covid, made me feel of a distinctly no-longer-young age as I saw those just finishing their GCSEs and A-Levels fill Bramham Park.
This year was no different, with young crowds clambering to capture videos across the weekend, but it was a lot less jarring, which indicates I may have come round to the natural order of things.
Palestine
The overriding spectre of politics and world news couldn’t escape Leeds Festival and felt especially noticeable after the disruption that faced Victorious Festival on the south coast.
Fortunately there was no plugs pulled or fall outs as artists used their platform to shine on a light on matters, with one of the most effecting moments from the weekend coming during Irish artist Hozier’s headline set on the Saturday when he delivered an eloquent and impassioned speech about collective rights and called for “peace, safety and security for everybody in the Middle East”. Elsewhere there was Palestinian flags displayed and calls for an end to the conflict from the likes of Lambrini Girls, Soft Play, Enter Shikari and The Linda Lindas.
Health
A far cry from the unabashed hedonism I recall of earlier years at the festival, the 2025 edition saw the health-conscious festival trend strike as yoga mornings drew huge crowds and mental health charity Sport in Mind’s football matches and daily runs received hundreds of participants.
The kids are alright
My year’s unfamiliarity with the line-up meant I had plenty of time to try and get a pulse check on what was coming through, and I’m relieved to say that virtually nothing made me think ‘what the hell was that?’.
Be it the sumptuous vocals of Nell Mescal, the impassioned racket of Been Stellar, the combative artistry of Ecca Vandal or all manner of other things on the BBC Introducing or Festival Republic stages, this year definitely gave me good reason to be optimistic.
Chappell Roan is sublime
Take the intimate relatability of Taylor Swift, the explicit catchiness of Sabrina Carpenter and the staunch artistic merit of Charli XCX and you have Chappell Roan, perhaps the most complete pop star of our times.
Her Saturday evening set was the most hotly anticipated of the weekend and delivered on every level, with the vast crowd lapping up the end-to-end set of song writing brilliance and everything else that came with it - including the immersive stage set up, incredible musicianship and effortless crowd interaction.
The future is unclear
It was hard not to be somewhat concerned after a noticeable drop off in crowd sizes - particularly on the Friday - as well as a decrease in the number of stages and the aforementioned lightness of the line-up.
It’s no secret that the UK music industry is in a significantly challenging state at the moment, with the closure of local grassroots venues widespread, and it seems only natural that these wider issues would affect the likes of Leeds Festival too.
This year definitely had its stand out moments though, with Chappell Roan’s set being an obvious one, and organiser Melvin Benn has already said that two headliners are confirmed for next year. So with Glastonbury having a fallow year, it will be fascinating to see where Leeds Festival sits after next year’s event.