Live At Leeds Festival 2022
at Temple Newsam in Leeds, UK
photos and words by Dylan Maggs

On June 4th June 2022, the well-known festival ‘Live at Leeds’ debuted their brand new co-festival, ‘Live at Leeds: In The Park’. Situated at Temple Newsam park, the festival had a star-studded line-up with headliners such as Bombay Bicycle Club, The Vaccines, Arlo Parks, Easy Life, and many more incredible bands.

Upon arriving at the festival space, entry was straightforward and extremely fast. Due to some confusion about where to pick up my accreditation (my own fault), I missed the festival's opening acts, which is a shame because I was looking forward to catching Lime Garden.

The first main act of the day on the MTV Main Stage was the incredible Lauran Hibberd as she put on an incredibly energetic display of her alt/indie hits which was well received by the audience.

Dylan John Thomas was an artist I had never been introduced to but was a pleasure to listen to with his beautifully sung songs. I almost missed the next band I wanted to see as I was gripped by his performance.

A straight sprint down the hill back to the MTV stage (which became a common occurrence) to watch the truly adored Alfie Templeman who got the majority of the crowd dancing around despite the cloudy weather with his catchy songs.

Dream Wife was the first band I caught at the DIY Big Top stage and most definitely my favourite band of the day, especially as I was walking past but was gripped by the incredible vocals and stage presence.. I just had to go inside. I was absolutely blown away.

Then it was onto Stone at the Hill Top stage, a band I had been aware of from being close to the Liverpool music scene but had never seen live before. You can tell the crowd loved them from the mosh pits at the front to the straight vibing at the back crowd. I can see big things happening for Stone.

Back to the main stage to catch insanely talented Holly Humberstone, whose singing voice gives me chills every time I see her perform. Between singing, playing guitar, and the keyboard - she delivered a beautiful performance that definitely belonged on the main stage. It was great to see Lauren Anderson of Carpark smashing it on drums too!.

Kynsy was another artist that absolutely blew my mind, which was a common theme on the DORK stage. It was hard trying not to dance whilst taking photos as her songs are incredibly catchy and so good! Another artist I can see big things from.

Confidence Man was most definitely the most fun band to watch, with their energetic electronic dance music which got everyone moving matched with choreography which spanned through

the entire set, energy was pumped all around the BIG top stage. they definitely gave the best performance of the day.

Here’s The Thing.. Sports Team are incredible (get it?) and there’s no doubt about it. The energetic performance from the frontman Alex makes you want to just jump and move around, especially when partnered with their strong display of musical talent, even if the frontman decides to be a little reckless by standing on the unstable stage speakers. Sports Team is a band that I recommend everyone to see at least once.

I managed to catch a song or two of Courting, a band I’ve wanted to watch for a while and they were incredibly good. You can tell they had a strong connection with the crowd and had a really good turnout despite playing at the same time as their friends in Sports Team. Can’t say no to a band that uses a cattle bell.

Honne were another band that I only managed to catch a few songs of, but they put on an amazing performance of beautiful songs that don’t fail to give you chills. If a relaxing band that you can dance to is what you’re looking for, Honne is definitely the band for you!

When it comes to the connection between the music and the fans, Sea Girls were on top of that list! Every time I looked back I saw another person on someone's shoulders - and it really shows you how loved they are. The music speaks for itself with its upbeat alt-indie sound.

The Snuts were a standout as a band I had never listened to before - with the sun making an appearance as they headed on stage, they played to a large crowd of fans who sang to almost every word.

The most beautiful performance goes to Arlo Parks, the British Indie-Pop artist who walked out onto a beautiful dream-like stage setting and performed an array of songs that hit that would scratch that itch on your brain. I’ve been a fan of Arlo for a while, so I knew which songs I wanted to hear, and I had to refrain from dancing around the photo pit whilst taking photos.

Indie/Rock icons The Vaccines were the next band to take over the Main Stage.. A band that needs no introduction. It felt like every came to watch band play (and rightly so) as the standing area was packed all the way back. An incredibly energetic performance from all band members (especially the frontman, Justin Young) as they showed exactly why they are an important piece of the indie scene.

Throughout the day I had seen countless amounts of people wearing merch from Kid Kapichi.. So it was only right I went to see what the fuss was about.. And wow.. What a band! The powerful performance left me in awe, with the mosh pit taking over most of the space. Though playing the same timeframe as The Vaccines, they had a great turnout.. To which we are now called Anti-Vaxxers (A joke about not seeing The Vaccines).

Easy Life was probably THE band people were most looking forward to judging by the number of people crowding inside the BIG top tent. Despite some technical difficulties and an instance of being too drunk to remember lyrics (typical Murray), the boys put on an incredibly engaging show which received endless applause. With a beautiful stage backdrop and a lighting design that changed as the set progressed, and of course an energetic display from the band such as the frontman crowd surfing to their adored song ‘OJPL’. A top band that will be headlining festivals in the future!

The Mysterines are a band that I truly adore and after a straight sprint from one side of the festival to the other, I got to catch a snippet of their performance on the DORK stage. Despite clashing with three big bands, the band from Liverpool had a really good turnout as they played a powerful performance to close the DORK stage.

Closing the Main Stage AND the entire festival was alt/indie legends Bombay Bicycle Club, showcasing a range of songs both old and new, there was something for everyone. Singing rang out throughout Temple Newsam Park as fans enjoyed the last band of the day. With people on shoulders and lots of dancing, Live at Leeds: In The Park came to an end resulting in an astounding success.

For a debutant version of this festival, I think it was executed perfectly. I can’t wait to attend next year! For now though, we look forward to Live at Leeds: In The City on the 15th of October with headliners Pale Waves.

A BIG thank you to Square One Magazine and the Live at Leeds team for allowing me to photograph my first festival, it’s definitely an experience to remember, and shout-out to the security team who did an incredible job all weekend.

LIVE AT LEEDS FESTIVAL 2022

LAURAN HIBBERD

DYLAN JOHN THOMAS

ALFIE TEMPLEMAN

DREAM WIFE

STONE

HOLLY HUMBERSTONE

KYNSY

CONFIDENCE MAN

SPORTS TEAM

COURTING

HONNE

SEA GIRLS

THE SNUTS

ARLO PARKS

THE VACCINES

KID KAPICHI

EASY LIFE

THE MYSTERINES

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB