Leeds Festival Review

Overall Rating

Atmosphere
Lineup

Cost
Cost
Cost
Site
Weather

We usually go to the Leeds Festival every year, for at least a day or 2, if not the whole weekend. It is by far my favourite music festival because the lineup is second to none - even on days when the main stage is full of garbage there's always something interesting to discover on the smaller stages, and loads of cult indie acts always play, and often it's the only time they come up from London if they're from foreign shores. I've also found that in comparison to other festivals, it's not too big (Glastonbury was ridiculously overwhelming after 24 hours, much less after 4 days) and the atmosphere is pretty friendly. Granted, we have not had to resort to camping (I *HATE* camping) so did not experience the rioting and burning toilets.

To be honest the only downsides have been the weather - which the organisers have no control over; the cost - the tickets cost too much and the beer costs too much and the food is disgusting and costs too much; and the site at Temple Newsam which wasn't big enough causing sound to spill over from the dance tent into the NME tent during quieter acts and from the carnival rides into both of the smaller stages - not good. But, one would hope this will have been solved with the removal of the festival to Bramham Park.

In any case, it's highly recommended as festivals go. It's not as full of anti-social fools disrupting your enjoyment of the music as Glastonbury and it's not so much a Festival-Lite as V.