I’ve been to my fair share of music festivals.
But Leeds 2025 involved something extra special: My 13 year-old daughter’s first festival.
She’s never even been to a concert before, so we’re starting big.
Its a three day affair, but we stick to day tickets for Saturday and no camping. Ease her into it.
The big draw at this year’s festival was Chappell Roan.As daughter is a big fan, we asked if she wanted to go. Of course she does.
She took it seriously:
- Thoroughly researched the line up.
- Made an itinerary of who we were going to see
- And picked out potential dining options from the list of food stalls.
Three Churro stands? Couldn’t possibly say no to that.
We’re lucky enough to have one of the country’s biggest festivals within easy reach.
A constant stream of shuttle buses run between the city centre and site. The bus was the first indication that the makeup of the crowd was a little different from usual. Overall, I reckon it was around 60 – 70% female.
Is it the Chappell Roan effect? The proliferation of t-shirts, outfits and pink cowboy hats suggest it is.
Both Mrs J and daughter have Chappell t-shirts – not matching I must add, daughter would never allow that.
Getting through security meant a 10 minute queue. No big deal. Its dry, warm and everyone is in a good mood. What does 10 minutes matter?
Plus there was the cute drug sniffer dog.
We had a slight delay as it sniffed something out. While the miscreant was escorted to a tent for a search the dog got its reward of playing with its ball for a minute. How could you be annoyed at the delay seeing its wagging tail?
Having made it in we headed straight to the main stage. It was still relatively quiet so we found a spot not far from the stage.
First up was Alessi Rose.
Alessi is a British singer / songwriter who has been building her profile over the last 2 years, supporting Tate McCrae, Noah Kahan and Dua Lipa – and an increasing presence on radio.
Despite being from the Midlands her singing voice betrayed hints of an American accent. Its not something I’ve picked out on record but was noticeable live. What do I know though, I’m not the target audience and daughter loved her performance regardless.
Next up: The Royston Club, an indie band from North Wales.
The traditional instrument of Leeds Festival is the guitar. In the past the line up was dominated by a indie and metal bands but the changing landscape means pop, rap, R&B are as likely to appear. The Royston Club keep tradition alive:
There’s nothing earth shattering about them but they pass the time in a pleasant enough manner.
They were followed by Bloc Party, acting as a big early afternoon draw for the more mature (over 30) festival goer.
They played the last time me and Mrs J were there in 2009. As we’ve seen them before and daughter isn’t interested we explore the site. Daughter purchases the must-have item of a pink cowboy hat to get on board with the Chappell vibe.
Alessi Rose is doing a meet and greet. So the ladies head there…
…while I go to the Festival Republic tent for Been Stellar, a New York guitar band.
The sound for the first song is awful: aural sludge that prevents differentiation of individual instruments. From where I’m stood, if I turn my head to the right in the direction of the main stage I can see Bloc Party on the big screen. A novel experience of listening to one band and watching another.
As I’m wondering whether to head over there instead, the sound improves with their next song.
Once corrected its loud, intense and engrossing. There’s a lot of influences showing: Strokes and Interpol evidence their NY roots – but there’s also Shoegaze and pre Britpop UK indie. They’ve picked well and used them to fine effect.
They’ve also attracted the oldest crowd members I see all day, a couple I’d put at around 80. They’re dressed as if for a day walking in the country.
Who knows? Maybe that’s how the day started when they came across the festival.
Fair play to them: music is for all.
Crossing the site to our meeting point, I stop off at the BBC Introducing stage and catch the last two songs from Phoebe Green.
She’s full of energy, bouncing around in keeping with the electro-pop / guitar crossover (touchstone: St. Vincent) of the two songs I get to hear. She’s a lot of fun in the brief glimpse I get.
Turns out Alessi Rose really did wow the crowd with her set: the massive queue for the meet and greet meant daughter didn’t get anywhere near the front before they called times up.
She’s not disheartened though, there’s plenty to take in and its time for Wallows back at the main stage.
Hailing from LA, they’re three albums into their career.
Despite never having appeared in the Hot 100 or the UK singles top 40 they have a sizeable following as evidenced by the crowd having grown massively.
They’re another guitar band though much more polished and edging towards pop than Been Stellar.
The singer does the festival thing of heading down from the stage to convene with the fans. In amongst hi-fives and selfies, he spots a teenage girl in the front row:
With a sign that says she’s seen them five times and knows the bridge to “OK,” the song they just happen to be playing at this moment.
He holds the mic out for her and she delivers it perfectly. Wallows might not be for me but they fit right in with the happy vibe, And that’s a feelgood festival moment, right there.
Heading into late afternoon there’s another treat for the (comparative) oldies:
The Kooks were big in 2008 with a 5x Platinum debut album.
One of those sales to Mrs J.
Their place on the bill is proof that even if your chart fortunes wane, give it 10 to 15 years for nostalgia to kick in – and the crowds will flock back to you.
They start with two of their biggest hits to get the crowd on board from the off. Of course they play some newer ones, the announcement that “this is from our last album” greeted with disapproval from someone nearby who lets us know:
“I’m not having that. Time for a piss.”
Hopefully he made it back for their closer, “Naive:”
Which gets the first really big singalong, phones out, hands in the air moment of the day. Doesn’t matter how old you are, everyone knows it. As evidenced by daughter saying its the only one she recognises.
From The Kooks there’s an hour wait to the moment most of us have been waiting for: Chappell Roan.
We initially planned to use the break to go see Rudimental but they’re at the other end of the site. If we leave now it’ll take 20 minutes to get through the crowds to reach them with the same return journey and we’ll end up a lot further back.
We stay put and watch Chappell’s set being built.
Its a gothic fairytale castle which, once she’s underway, will be accompanied by an animated backdrop of flying dragons and dancing demons and goblins. The theatrics are enhanced by her road crew being dressed in grey monk like cowls with hoods up at all times.
Chappell’s entrance takes design to another level, dressed in an outfit best described as ‘WTF’.
There’s a lot going on.
She plays just about everything she’s released. Whether its songs from the album that have had time for fans to inhabit or recent singles “The Giver” and “The Subway,” they’re all received joyfully.
Even the one curveball. I’m pretty sure I’m in a minority recognising she’s covering “Barracuda” but it goes down well. Its up there for me with the best of 70s rock, and the all female band do Heart proud – and Chappell nails it.
The tone of the songs varies: we’re on an exuberant high, then a tender low – but regardless of the song’s mood she carries the audience along.
“Coffee” is performed sat down, a torch song that she delivers to a small goblin cradled in her arm. It elicits laughs and initial reactions round us of “What the **** is that?” You’d think it would get in the way of the tone of the song but it works. Kookiness and intimacy packaged together.
“Hot To Go” is pure pop fun. In case anyone present has been living under a rock, Chappell demonstrates the dance moves (for anyone reading that who has been living under a rock, think a “YMCA” /” Macarena” hybrid). A three minute workout ensues as everyone dances like no one is watching.
I’m a 49 year old straight male. I’m not the target audience, but its a big performance from a thrilling singer.
She might only be one album in, but she’s fully formed, inspiring devotion and able to hold an audience in thrall.
She ends with “Pink Pony Club” which is met with delirious abandon and a crowd in full voice.
We’re all happy and fulfilled, daughter especially so. She’s spent 90 minutes singing along and has maxed out her phone storage with photos and videos.
It does feel an anti-climax to stick around for nominal headliner, Irish singer songwriter Hozier.
He didn’t fill us with excitement, so we went to find those Churros and returned to take up position a lot further back. After the giddy highs he’s a more downbeat proposition but he keeps the crowd onside even if for most,
Hozier is defined by two songs, “Take Me To Church” and “Too Sweet.” In the end I recognise more than I expected, and his large band created a powerful blend of earthy soul and blues.
Apart from the two song acoustic interlude when he moves down to a small stage set into the crowd.
It might have worked as an intimate moment for those close up but for us far away at the back it was lost amongst the general chatter and noise of the festival.
We watch most of his set before leaving half an hour before the end. We’d seen the main event and as fine as Hozier was, making a quick exit before everyone else was a smart move.
Its a different experience taking a 13 year old to a festival.
Old enough that she knows her own mind and has the excitement of burgeoning fandom.
While also being young enough that we need to be aware of what’s going on around us.
We didn’t see any bad behaviour, no obvious drunkenness, just the occasional whiff of weed being smoked. The biggest area of jeopardy was making our way through heavy crowds with people heading in different directions and checking we were all still together.
The one area daughter expressed concern about beforehand was the toilets, but these were a far cry from previous festivals I’ve attended.
I’ve seen things I can’t unsee. Smelled things I can’t unsmell.
These were surprisingly sanitary with a plentiful supply of toilet roll at all times of the day.
The day closed with another of those little festival moments.
Approaching the exit, a steward with a mic directed people to the appropriate exit delivering his own comic asides on the people passing as well as reckoning he would be appearing on the main stage next year with his folk rock duo.
What is a man without dreams?
The festival might have been over but everyone headed back to the buses with a smile.
Whether its Leeds or another festival:
I think we’ll be back for more.
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This was a great piece, JJ. Atta dad. It sounds like your daughter, your wife and you had a blast.
Fun! That’s a great first concert. Your daughter set a high bar for herself. Being able, thirty years from now, to answer the question, “What was your first concert?” with “Chappell Roan” will make her friends envious. Good work, Dad!
My photos didnt do it justice from a distance but this was the outfit Chappell came out wearing. Very understated.
Great. Now I have to find another outfit to wear to the TNOCS ball.
Maybe you should go with a theme related to one of your past articles- perhaps the slice of pizza that was thrown at the Red Sox game? We are a very niche crowd, so it would play well.
Hmmm…
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxfRvcrq20IxdnKDGR9sZ2k06mK8nTVuuazw&s
disturbing and fantastic at the same time
Very nice that you and spouse took your passion for live music and festivals and passed it down to your daughter. She’ll have that wonderful memory for life and she had it with her parents, which is not always the case and quite awesome to see.
I myself have never attended a festival and likely never will, so it was cool to see it through your eyes, especially as a parent. I was interested to read about the acts you encountered there and your reaction. . My daughter listed Wallows as her favorite band in 8th grade in the yearbook a couple of years ago, the only one in her class to do so. She still listens. Just today, I happened to notice earlier today the painting in her room that she did on a small canvas. It simply says “wallows”. Chappell Roan is not on her playlists, but she doesn’t dislike her.
Your response to Hozier was interesting to me. “Take Me to Church” is one of the most riveting songs I have heard on the radio in recent memory, but the little else I’ve heard from him lacks the same pull. The potential for a pop takeover was there, but it appears his musical vision lacks focus. I may be wrong.
Hozier is a strange one. Seeing he was headlining my first thought was that he didn’t seem an inspiring choice. I wasn’t sure he was a big enough name. Particularly when following on from Chappell.
Its an odd discography with two huge hits 10 years apart and seemingly not much in-between. Looking deeper he’s got a string of platinum singles, a beneficiary of the streaming age where songs don’t have to perform well on the charts to become big.
I know Take Me To Church and Too Sweet very well, they’re inescapable. I’ve never sought Hozier out so couldn’t speak to how representative they are of him but it did seem from seeing him live that they’re the outliers in his career. Focussed or not he’s doing ok for himself.
You had me at 3 churro stands. Great story as always. Thanks for sharing this.