Leeds Festival 2024 - DAY TWO

By Soph Ditchfield and Nic Howells.

Day 2 of Leeds fest went by with substantially less issue. Obvious statement out of the way, Leeds Festival 2024 continued to be an eclectic mix of highs and lows across the stages as we rolled into Saturdays lineup. Massive credit where it’s due to the organisers pulling so many cancelled acts from the Friday into the lineups for the remaining two days, with performances ranging from raw punk energy to polished pop anthems.

First on our menu for the Saturday was The Oozes over on the Festival Republic stage. These were a case of band forcing the crowd awake with their unapologetic and in-your-face style. Some bands who re on first thing can occasionally phone things in, but The Oozes are fully decked out in face paint, stage attire, but may be missing a pair or two of shoes. This was a rebellious set kicking off with ‘Blah Blah Blah’, ‘Ready’ and ‘Cuppa T’, but also veering into more provocative numbers like ‘Piggies in Blankets’, ‘Strap!’ And ‘Bitchboy’. As a way to kick off the morning, it was filled with sharp commentary and inclusivity. Recent years in Leeds history has been a tad lopsided in terms of being safe and mainstream. The Oozes were something refreshing, different, and in your face.

THE OOZES

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

Starting things off on the Main Stage was Dasha. The American country artist had a lot personally riding on the set going ahead, being sure to express gratitude they they could play, as it genuinely sounded a bit touch and go based on their comments. The crowd hadn’t much to do aside from watch Liam Gallagher or get bladdered on Friday, so things are a tad subdued, but Dasha’s peppy efforts on the Main Stage get some sore heads nodding and forced a smile or two. When songwriters can tell you why a certain song exists, that’s always massively endearing; and Dasha has a justification for each song in the set, even if some are as simple as ‘Way Too Drunk’. Does that one need explaining? The set was joyful in what had been a relatively stressful festival so far and by the time they bounced off stage after ‘Bye Bye Bye’ and ‘Austin’ the turnout had about doubled, here’s hoping for some new fans to make good on the trip from across the pond.

DASHA

Photos by Soph Ditchfield.

Keeping with the Main Stage, the first of two helpings of Neck Deep was on offer. Pop-punk is the easiest genre to communicate with what is a younger and more mainstream crowd this year so the fans are made up of some who have been around since day one and some who’ve just found the band. Even though its Neck Deep, this is quite the thoughtful set even when the songs leaned on the faster side like ‘Dumbstruck Dumbf**k’. The majority of the set is from this years album, with the exception of ‘Lowlife’ and the show closing tracks ‘STFU’ & ‘In Bloom’. Neck Deep deserve some commending, as the two set format seemed a bit gratuitous at first, but this felt a lot more than just the vanilla Neck Deep performance given how they didn’t need to rely on any older tracks for crutches. They also deserve a nod for actually bringing up the state of the world and how the events in the UK the last month haven’t been forgotten. Ben does well to put a positive spin on this and how the prevailing image from it should hopefully be the love that was eventually displayed to any affected parties. Neck Deep can’t really seem to miss lately, and both musical and human showings like this justify their place on the main stage. Here’s hoping they can keep this energy for their upcoming tour.

NECK DEEP - MAIN STAGE

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

Not initially on our schedule, the rescheduled-from-elsewhere Jorja Smith brought round a set that it’s hard to believe wasn’t already on the Main Stage, with them supposed to have been in one of the tents the day before. We’re told that when the Main Stage slot was confirmed, Jorja’s production was beefed up, as there’s no way this would’ve fit a smaller stage. One minor drawback is how the change in scenery may have affected her mix, as from further back there was so much bass drum that really drowned out other aspects sonically. This was only a small shame as Jorja’s voice was pristine through ‘Try Me’ and particularly ‘Little Things’ later in the set. If this move to the Main Stage was a test then Jorja definitely scored high. Expect some big things next time they're at Leeds after this set.

JORJA SMITH

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

With the main stage lineup we had, it was hard not to just camp there after Jorja’s set. Up next was the always excellent but somewhat wildcard for Leeds act, Spiritbox. Considering they just won a HMA for Best International Artist, the hype for these was ridiculous. To the fans who weren’t too familiar with the band beforehand, this was an assault, with heavy riffs and powerful vocals dominating the set. It was an even spread across pretty much anything this side of 2020 save for one song, starting in the newer material with ‘Cellar Door’ and playing most of last years Jaded EP back to back. Honest opinion is that Spiritbox are insanely good live, insanely under appreciated at R&L, some songs played out to an almost still crowd with exceptions for ‘Rotoscope’, ‘Circle With Me’ and ‘Holy Roller’ which all went one after the other. The crowd they drew was large, and as they finish off with ‘Hysteria’ they look like stars, but off the back of the HMA award these might’ve been better at a traditional rock or metal festival. 2025 should be massive for Spiritbox.

SPIRITBOX

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

Personally the biggest name making their way over from Friday had to be Ashnikko. Having caught this show on tour back in December, it’s incredibly well produced and choreographed. As they come on stage to ‘You Make Me Sick!’ And ‘STUPID’ there’s an unreal level of crowd involvement. Again the choreography and fluidity of Ashnikko being perfectly on beat with their backup dancers whilst also vocally flawless is an outstanding part of the show. The chaos has a couple of pauses here and there for a wardrobe fix and sips of a Stanley cup but Ashnikko themselves are so interactive with the crowd whether it’s simply asking the crowd “Are you ready to rage?”, talking about bellybutton demons, or asking who is having a ‘Slumber Party’ to an almighty response. Rebooked to a smaller stage, she more than made up for it with a performance that was as intense as it was now intimate. Tracks like ‘Chokehold Cherry Python’ and ‘Tantrum’ had the crowd going wild, while the cheerleader theme added a playful twist for the eponymous song. The atmosphere was electric, and god they did us a favour agreeing to the Festival Republic stage. As they wrap up the set, there’s zero space for getting into the tent, which honestly may have put one or two off of seeing the set, that is the only drawback of the set if anything. We can’t wait to see them again, and in a rightfully bigger tent next time.

ASHNIKKO

Photos by Soph Ditchfield.

Starting at the instant Ashnikko was wrapping up, Denzel Curry brought his intense energy and rapid-fire delivery to the stage. Were it not for the Chevron stages clearly curated bill, Denzel would’ve been an excellent name for the main stage this year. The crowd he draws is electric from the opening note of ‘Threatz’ leading into a quartet of tracks from King of the Mischevous South Vol. 2 with ‘HOT ONE’, ‘G’Z UP’, ‘SKED’ & ‘BLAG FLAG FREESTYLE’. Given their cancellation from the Korn show in London a few weeks ago, there was worry if they’d have recovered enough for R&L. This set is a reassuring and resounding yes, Denzel is a ridiculously energetic presence on stage, and warrants the heavy advertisement for this years album around the festival grounds. Obviously the crowd comes completely unglued during older tracks like ‘Ultimate’ and ‘CLOUT COBAIN’. His performance is a lesson on how to be an absolute commander of a crowd as well as maintain a connection with his audience. Denzel Curry was by far one of the most memorable acts of the festival.

DENZEL CURRY

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

Fans were dead split as to which set of Neck Deep was the key attraction of Saturday, but the turnout was substantially more devout when they appeared again on the Festival Republic stage. The 2nd set of the day did centre more on their older catalogue, kicking things off with ‘Serpents’. The stylist generally yo-yo-ed between a majority of the early set being off the Life’s Not Out to Get You album, and then deviating as they got later into their slot. The tent is absolutely rammed and the crowd jack hammered against the barrier with crowd surfers, with particular love for lesser played track ‘I Hope This Comes Back To Haunt You’ and ‘What Did You Expect?’ Which went back to back. The latter third is where it felt like Neck Deep really earned their salt though, with ‘She’s a God’, ‘Can’t Kick up The Roots’, the excellent ‘A Part of Me’ and finally ‘December’. Obviously a lot of hype had been built for December, given the presence of Mr Hopes and Blink-182 in Leeds. Ben does tease Mark coming out for a moment, but drops the ruse saying "He's not here, guys; he's over there”. We’ll get that feature live one day…

NECK DEEP - FESTIVAL REPUBLIC STAGE

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

After Neck Deep there was a catastrophe of a clash between the Chevron and the Introducing stages, with Skrillex playing a rescheduled sub headline slot, and South Arcade tearing things up on for BBC side. It made for a bit of a cacophony of noise, but Skrillex’s lack of major visual flare aside from the Chevron canopy meant people could hang back somewhat for me tracks like ‘Bangarang’, ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’ and ‘Make it in Dem’. Musically, this was a real experience, the canopy really saved this one, sections of the crowd were super into it, but by and large it was a bit ‘DJ Statue ft. The Light Show’. Second to Ashnikko, this was save of the day in terms of Leeds being able to rebook an act.

SKRILLEX

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

Meanwhile, Oxford’s South Arcade battered the BBC Introducing stage with so much energy. The closure of other stages as well made this a real opportunity to seize, playing to a larger crowd some of which had carried their energy over from Neck Deep as they romped through ‘Nepo Baby’ and ‘How 2 Get Away With Murder’. They bagged a lot of face time with the crowd, playing up to the front row at every opportunity, as well as having fans throughout the stage with water guns. The added visual of jets of water flying across your view of a young new band makes for a great substitute from fireworks or smoke without ruining any photos. Take note Rammstein. As they wrapped up with ‘Sound of An Empty Room’ and ‘Stone Cold Summer’, South Arcade feels like an act that accomplished a lot with this set. The best part about them being one of the last acts on is that the only way for them to go from here is a bigger stage.

PRODIGY

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

THE AMITY AFFLICTION

Photos by Soph Ditchfield

Blink-182’s return to the Leeds Fest Main Stage was spectacular, and so so hammy. The trio kicked off with ‘Feeling This’ off the self titled album and it was the perfect hit of nostalgia to get the ball rolling. There’s some tracks in this set that performed exponentially better than others, the first of which was ‘The Rock Show’. The stage setup is again a case of less is more for Leeds headliners this year, as the Californians are encased in a set of lights with stage hands popping out to provide guitar changes, or in one instance untangle Tom from his own in ears. A real surprise was the inclusion of extra track ‘Man Overboard’ as well as ‘Aliens Exist’ in the early going. It hopped around their catalogue nicely to start off with, but there’s some tracks that were obviously waiting in the wings for an incredible response. Newer tracks like ‘Dance with Me’ and ‘Edging’ do slot into the set incredibly well though, and the latest album being the most drawn from in the setlist showed that new Blink has some legs to it. Tom DeLonge is very very hectic at times, smashing (pun intended) Your Mom jokes but also just spending one part complaining of a snotty nose and telling Mark Hoppus about mucus. Mark simply replied with “I don’t care. I literally don’t care”. The set rumbles through almost all of Blink’s albums, including their Greatest Hits record with tracks ‘Stay Together for The Kids’, ‘Not Now’ & ‘Can’t Go Back’ all mingling well in the set until tracks like ‘I Miss You’ come out to monstrous sing a longs. For ‘I Miss You’ in particular Tom barely sings the chorus, and Mark is mostly drowned out, and has a bit of a faraway stare for any of his vocal parts, you can’t unsee it once you notice it…

Though the legends are incredibly chill on stage, and aside from some amazing hot flashes from Travis Barker on drums, not much is happening in some stretches, it’s impossible to look away (and it’s helped by the stage at Leeds not being in direct sight of the Prodigy’s insane light show). Quick covers of ‘When Your Heart Stops Beating’ & ‘There Is’ have some reputation as staples for Blink and so also go down a treat. Though coming down the home stretch on the setlist is just back to back Anthems (Part 3), again, pun intended, as they also played that. The real peak of the set is when the band hits ‘Always’, ‘What’s My Age Again?’ And ‘First Date’ all being grand slams in the show, with massive singalong’s throughout.  

The trio are clearly getting to the end of things and Mark Hoppus just takes the moment in, there’s something in his smile that is just so genuine. Fans seem to think the set is going out on a high as they roll into ‘All The Small Things’ as it’s so loud from the crowd, but a few do start to slip off and away. Blink stick around for a couple more though with the sole track from Dude Ranch, ‘Dammit’. This had a few people talking as they dropped a quick bit of Taylor Swifts ‘We are Never Getting Back Together’ in the outro. Is this beef? Is it a nod to T Swizzle doing Wembley? Are Blink splitting up again. Honestly they were just having a laugh it seems.

The final call for Blink is a new entry, with ‘One More Time’ from the latest album. Blinks legacy didn't need adding to, there was some intrigue when they got announced as festival headliners as to how they’d be after they just ran through UK arena dates last year, they seriously pulled this off. It was a performance that celebrated Blink-182, showed there even more to come and fans lapped both sides of it up.

BLINK-182

Photos by Soph Ditchfield