Sports Team:

Boasting ripping vocal lines and an infectious energy that seems to grumble its way out through the ground, rattling up through your very bones, and inducing you to groove along with their rambunctious pace, it is undeniable – Sports Team have arrived! Celebrating a hometown show for drummer Al Greenwood in style, the band brought all the rollicking joy to tracks like ‘Fishing’, with its supremely catchy chorus and the authoritative stage presence of frontman Alex Rice. Weaving spoken word in-amongst their carefree indie rock melodies was a testament to just how accomplished this band are as a collective group of musicians – as well as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the misdeeds of Ashton Kutcher, just to keep the balance going! For a band which has risen all at once into the scene of public consciousness, they seem as though they have been gracing these huge stages for years.

Inhaler:

Predictably bright, sparkling indie rock was delivered to the Main Stage East, courtesy of Dublin’s finest, Inhaler. Though their frontman comes from incredible musical heritage, you too… (see what I did there?) can experience their charming sound for yourself, a sound which is all their own. Though the clouds had begun to encroach over the top of the stage, the sound emanating from it was the perfect soundtrack to a balmy Saturday afternoon, a spark of energy despite perfectly typical Northern weather!

From start to finish, their sound was perfectly tight and well-rehearsed, stringing melodic guitar parts together with well-crafted drum fills. One of the sweetest moments came when the entire crowd sang Happy Birthday to drummer Ryan McMahon, which ended up being one of the biggest sing-alongs of the whole set! Parental notoriety aside, these guys have crafted a niche that is all their own, and as a result they pulled one of the biggest crowds early doors!

Chapter and Verse:

Alt rockers Chapter and Verse have a split allegiance when it comes to Reading and Leeds festival loyalties. While the band are based in London, and so are more affiliated with Reading, they also have Wakefield blood in amongst the quintet – and so, they were on a mission to prove that the crowds up North could trump those in their adopted home; a mission on which they definitely succeeded!

The band have an indulgent take on alternative rock, which is at times blended with something heavier. This is exemplified on tracks such as ‘Something In The Water’, where poppy synths bubble away in the background, breaking into rippling choruses. Mixing pre-engineered sounds with their live performance really broadens out their sound, making it so all-encompassing that the band’s presence felt much bigger than the stage that contained it. Add that to the pounding guitars which brought shades of metalcore flowing into the mix, and you’re left with a truly monolithic performance.

Demob Happy:

Leeds Festival feels like a homecoming for many, particularly after the disastrous events of the last two years. However, for Demob Happy frontman Matthew Marcantonio, it really is a return to his old stomping ground. Having first attended the festival at the age of sixteen, his band have now returned to play the Main Stage East, to a rapturous reception! Boasting funk-infused rock tunes packed full of radio-ready melodies, the undulating guitar lines that fuzz and buzz like wasps over the grinding bass lines make their sound unmistakable, and instantly enticing. The deep, deep, silky vocals of their frontman complement their brand of seductive rock and roll perfectly, bringing just the right amount of charming swagger to proceedings. ‘Less Is More’? Not in our books when it comes to getting enough of this supremely talented band!

Punkband:

To those who say punk rock is dead, I say only this – meet Punkband. Every lyric of their early morning set at the Lock Up stage was spat at the steadily growing audience with a determined venom, plosives punctuating each and every chorus line from start to finish. Despite their somewhat scrappy onstage demeanour, the band’s genial onstage banter carried the crowd along with them through each ebb and flow of their explosive set. With songs that tore down everything from movies to tax rebates, Punkband were fizzing with frenetic energy, the chaos barely contained and constantly on the edge of slipping over into bedlam. Angry, and looking for an outlet? Well you might well have found it, because one thing is for certain – their claim that ‘anarchy is alive!’  has never been more accurate!