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IAAS Music were very happy to be covering Saturday of Roundhay Festival in Leeds, headlined by Lewis Capaldi. Walking into the Roundhay site, we were unsure of what lay on the other side of the fences. The inaugural weekend of Roundhay, I was eager to see how the festival presented.
At first, I must confess, it leant closer to smaller day events like Hyde Park in London. The first artist we heard on the main stage, Jacob Alon, even thanked Lewis Capaldi for having them!
However, a walk around the site revealed quickly that Roundhay was more than an event like Live At Hyde Park. With bars offering short queues, food stalls with plenty of variety, and beers for £6.20 (granted, 330ml not a pint!), there was plenty here to allow you to have a great time before Mr Capaldi even took to the stage.
JACOB ALON
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Our first act we caught at Roundhay Festival was Jacob Alon, who’s bio describes them as a Fife-born artist who is one of the fiercest and beguiling of voices in contemporary folk music. I will be honest, the stage seemed massive with Jacob stood in the middle. I, of course, am aware that they are smaller than a massive main stage… However there was something apologetic about their presence. Phenomenal musicianship, with impressive songwriting and a unique performance style, I hope Jacob Alon can grow into these settings and start playing with the confidence their music deserves!
BER
Wandering around the site we discovered the East stage, tucked behind amusement rides and food vendors. On the stage, a likeable singer songwriter who has honed their craft across multiple different countries were building their own audience away from Main Stage. Winning the crowd over with their local knowledge gained during studying locally in Leeds, Ber was incredibly endearing.
Due to still exploring the site, we only captured a couple of songs, but she offered a promise of their being more to the festival than the headliner, and foreshadowed the East Stage’s offerings for the rest of the day, which for the most part rivalled (and beat!) the main stage line up. I will be excited to see Ber perform again!
JESSIE MURPH
I must confess, Jessie Murph is outside of my wheelhouse. Gaining fame on the back of successful tiktok campaigns, I already felt she may not be my cup of tea. Opening with a popular cover, she had convinced a crowd to listen, and she covered the stage with high confidence, however this sometimes felt somewhat undeserved, singing other people’s songs. Enough people enjoyed her set, and I possibly am presenting as “old man shouts out clouds” meme, but it did confuse me to have a main stage artist who played two (possibly three?) covers during a 45 minute set.
NIEVE ELLA
This may be a controversial opinion– but Nieve Ella’s Indie/Rock set on the East Stage was the highlight of the entire day. Headliner Lewis Capaldi was incredible, and was clearly the reason 30,000+ people gathered in Roundhay park for the event. But the majority in attendance missed a truly incredible performance happening on the B stage. Performing with the confidence of aforementioned Jessie Murph, but with the evident musicianship of somebody that has worked tirelessly on their craft, Nieve Ella’s set had myself and Ben (the IAAS members in attendance) reacting like we had struck gold. Our clear professional focus of getting as much coverage as possible and not self-indulging disappeared. We stayed for the entire set. Spoilers for this week’s post coverage: we will be covering Nieve Ella’s set in full in the coming days. There was a contrast in the opening acts from B stage to main. The main stage offered TikTok and YouTube-turned musicians. B stage had true passion and musicianship. As an Indie-focused journalism platform, we found our home, and in the Albrighton-raised Indie-Rocker Nieve Ella we found a new favourite band.
LEWIS CAPALDI
What can we say about Lewis Capaldi… Speaking to the entire crowd like a lifelong friend, Mr Capaldi was totally captivating. He was as funny as he was emotionally immersive, and with a crowd hooked on every word, and every other festival-goer stood with tears in their eyes throughout, he managed to create a truly beautiful human experience at Roundhay Festival.
Openly discussing his battles with mental health leading to his impromptu break from the music industry, I honestly felt so proud watching his set. He was clearly in a great mental space, and was enjoying every moment. From little jokes to the crowd, to losing his mind at the echo when sat behind the piano, it was a rare performance where the in-between song moments were some of the highlights instead of the typical awkward musician mumbles. At one point, Lewis Capaldi “performed” a guitar solo. He defined it as “shredding” - but it was clearly an inside joke with his band shared with the crowd. It was, very intentionally, terrible. Holding single notes for bars at a time, hunched over like Hendrix, it was honestly hilarious.
We took plenty of crowd shots - and with the individuals in question giving consent, we witnessed their moments of emotional overwhelm and captured them crying at the particular Capaldi Song. “I’m glad I’m working so I’m just focusing on pictures and not crying my eyes out” I stated to a lady I had taken pictures of a few minutes ago. A couple songs later, Mr Capaldi performed “Survive”, his ode to his mental health difficulties, and with my camera hanging from my neck the lady laughed. “Good job you’re just taking pictures” she laughed. I was caught in the moment, and if you asked her, she’d probably tell you I was bawling my eyes out. (I cannot confirm or deny if this was the case!).
ROUNDHAY ROUNDUP
So, what do we think about Roundhay Festival?
Well, we had an excellent time. It was a beautiful event, with people from all walks of life, united in– primarily– their excitement to see Lewis Capaldi. For a first time event, there was nothing that would stop people returning. Occasionally, food queues were long. It’s a festival. Get over it!
But in all seriousness, I was very impressed. There’s still some work to be done on finding a defined identity. Some of the acts that ‘graced’ the stage were unusual picks - seemingly chosen from their viral success instead of their contributions to a festival line up. But there were moments, namely Nieve Ella’s set on the B stage, that showed real promise. The staff at the event were incredibly friendly, helping introduce the hint of its brand as a weekend event - and honestly the key moments that can bring negativity (like kick out time and shuttle bus queues!) were managed almost perfectly.
I hope next year we see further steps in creating an event that people look forward to every year. There’s a necessity, in my opinion, to truly find a proper identity in the music you put on beyond the headliner, but for an inaugural event, Roundhay Festival staked its claim as a go-to stop on the UK festival scene.
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