Featured image and gallery: Gracie Hall
Hailing all the way from America, alt-pop artist tiLLie opens the night with a set of tunes that are female rage personified. With songs about difficult topics such as domestic violence and assault, tiLLie performs with all the anger us women feel towards the patriarchy in the 21st century.
With raw and honest lyrics about wanting the Kool Aid man to kill her abuser, paired with her furious energy, tiLLie defiantly makes her presence known, even asking the rude chatters at the back of the room to “shut the F up” (as she should). Being unapologetically herself translates on stage and creates a great first impression for those who have never seen her before.
LGBTQ+ icon Girli steps out on stage in a white blouse and a plaid skirt which is cheekily barely there in the rear. Exclaiming, “Happy pride month!” to her legion of queer fans, Girli immediately establishes the safe and open-minded space her concerts provide for people of all walks of life.
Energetically dancing through gay love songs, as well as songs about being single, self-esteem issues and F-ing up. Girli navigates the life of a queer woman on stage with her audience, many of whom relate to and sympathise with her lyrics.
Acoustic song ‘Made to Break’ tells a gut-wrenching story of self-battle over blaming yourself for a breakup. With half the crowd sobbing, Girli causes emotional whiplash and dives straight into her catalogue of fun gay pop music including ‘Hot Mess’, a firm crowd favourite, complete with its own funky choreography by Girli and her back up singer Layla. When Jojo Siwa said she wanted to create a genre called ‘Gay Pop’ someone should have told her about Girli.
Political and social awareness is a key part of Girli’s identity; publicly calling for people to vote on 4th July to end the Tory reign and for a Free Palestine, urging people to donate if they can. Title song ‘Matriarchy’ of her most recent album of the same name ends the show on an uplifting note as it speaks about a utopia for those who have felt othered – Girli even lists her support for people of all marginalised communities.
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Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield Despite the dreary weather forecast, it seems the explosive noise of the night before has blown away the expected torrential rain, as the sun fights through the clouds to shine over Leeds Festival on Friday. With the opening of the ‘other’ stages, the first double headliner, and a very special birthday,…
Featured image: Ruby Boland As the gates of Bramham Park finally opened for the 2026 edition, so too did the heavens, with heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast for the whole weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking this year’s instalment of Leeds Festival was a write-off. Neither the punters nor the artists would let this dreary…
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