Featured image and gallery: Gracie Hall
New Jersey-born Adam Melchor opens the evening with a charming acoustic set. ‘Peach’ is a
cute song about knowing you’re with someone who isn’t meant for you, but enjoying your
moments anyway. His clear and powerful voice captures everyone’s attention, perfectly
setting up the rest of the night.
Laufey glides onto stage in a dazzling pink dress to the delighted screams of her devotees.
With a glittering array of lights as her backdrop, she moves into a fan favourite, ‘Falling
Behind’, which lays out her journey as she moved from her home country Iceland to LA as a
teenager. “Everybody’s falling in love and I’m falling behind,” resonates. Showcasing her
many talents, Classically trained, Laufey performs ‘Beautiful Stranger’ with her cello, tipping
her hat to Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
Laufey takes a moment to encourage the crowd to make whatever music feels right to
them. As an artist of a less conventional genre for her age, she felt pressured into not
pursuing this style of music. However, her persistence is paying off, as only the week before
she won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal. Laufey’s voice is the highlight of her
music. It’s velvety and smooth and commands the complete attention of the entire room.
During ‘Best Friend’ she brings her twin sister, Junia, on stage, who accompanies her with a
violin. A touching tribute to their relationship, it tells a story of two best friends who love
each other dearly yet, still manage to drive each other insane. ‘Lovesick’ is another
standout, where Laufey’s vocals are more powerful than her usual soft spoken style. It
solidifies her versatility, and perhaps hints at her future direction.
She closes the night with Junia joining in on ‘From the Start’, followed by a two-song encore
of ‘Letter to my 13-Year-Old Self’ and a cover of Mitzi Green’s ‘My Funny Valentine’. It
finishes off this magical Valentine’s night, which the audience will remember for many
Valentine’s to come.
Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield After the considerably grey weather of the weekend, Sunday morning started with a spell of glorious sunshine to wake the people of Leeds Festival, a spot of cheer going into the dreaded final day of the weekend. But, of course, it wouldn’t be a proper festival weekend without the flash downpours,…
Featured image: Henry Redcliffe Not to be outshined by the artists performing today, the rain makes its inevitable return to the skies of Yorkshire over Leeds Festival. With the downpours hardly taking a break, Saturday is the day for the indie-heads and brats, as two of the most anticipated acts of the weekend take the…
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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