Independent UK promoter Futuresound has hailed a record event season at Temple Newsam in Leeds, Yorkshire.

Around 75,000 fans attended the organiser’s biggest-ever iterations of festivals Slam Dunk and Live at Leeds In The Park, and a one-off hometown concert by Kaiser Chiefs.

Slam Dunk, the one-day pop-punk, emo, metal and ska-themed festival, celebrated its 19th year, having grown from a single city-centre stage in Leeds to two full festival sites across one weekend with Slam Dunk North at Temple Newsam and Slam Dunk South at Hatfield Park in Hertfordshire.

The former took place on 25 May, attracting 30,000 fans for performances from the likes of  A Day To Remember, Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, New Found Glory, Neck Deep, Hot Milk and Split Chain.

The fourth edition of Live At Leeds In The Park, meanwhile, drew 18,000 fans to a newly expanded site that included two main stages.

Bloc Party, Manic Street Preachers, Yard Act and Natasha Beddingfield were among the acts to perform at the one-day family-friendly festival on 24 May.

“We’re an independent Leeds business and the city and its surroundings have always been at the heart of everything we do”

Futuresound closed out May with a one-off hometown concert with Kaiser Chiefs to celebrate 20 years of their seminal debut album Employment.

Promoted in conjunction with SJM concerts, the band played the album in its entirety with an all-star supporting lineup of Razorlight, The Cribs, We Are Scientists, The Coral, HotWax and Ellur.

“We couldn’t be more proud to have welcomed 75,000 people to Temple Newsam over the past few weeks; showcasing the very best music, comedy, food, outdoor space and atmosphere that Leeds has to offer,” says Andy Smith, head of live, Futuresound Group.

“We’re an independent Leeds business and the city and its surroundings have always been at the heart of everything we do,” he adds. “We’re hugely grateful to Temple Newsam and Leeds City Council for their trust and support as well as our promotion, production, artist liaison, bar, security and catering teams for everything they do to make events like this happen.

“We want these shows to be a statement that independent operators will always have a crucial part to play in creating incredible live music experiences and moments in the regions they work in, live in and know best. This was a truly special event season at Temple Newsam and we can’t wait to build on this success.”

Futuresound also promotes outdoor events including Live at Kirkstall Abbey, Live at York Museum Gardens and Live at Ludlow Castle, as well as hundreds of gigs annually in Leeds and the Yorkshire region.

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UK promoter Live at Leeds has announced the first wave of acts for its new one-day festival, Live At Leeds: In The Park.

Bombay Bicycle Club, Nothing But Thieves, Arlo Parks, Easy Life and Sea Girls are among the acts that have today (10 November) been confirmed for the indie/alternative outdoor festival.

The festival is set to launch on 4 June 2022 at Temple Newsam in Yorkshire – home to a number of major UK festivals including Slam Dunk and Newsam Park.

Organisers say that the event will be an “in the park” version of Live at Leeds In the City – one of the country’s largest multi-venue, inner-city festivals.

Since launching in 2007, the flagship festival has showcased bands across multiple venues in Leeds city centre on the May bank holiday weekend. This year’s event was pushed back to October due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Organisers say that the event will be an “in the park” version of Live at Leeds In the City

The event will again take place in the autumn of next year, on Saturday 15 October 2022.

“We’re incredibly excited to release the first-ever Live at Leeds In the Park lineup,” says Live At Leeds: In The Park, festival promoter Joe Hubbard.

“After the most difficult couple of years it felt amazing to deliver Live at Leeds In the City this year, and following it up with this brand new event for 2022 makes the future feel really positive. Hopefully, everyone loves this lineup as much as we do, and our loyal Live at Leeds crowd enjoy having two festivals to look forward to in 2022!”

Tickets for Live At Leeds: In The Park go on general sale from 10 am this Friday (12 November), with general admission tickets starting from £55. For more information, visit Live at Leeds.

See the full lineup below:

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