Festival Preview: Live At Leeds 2015

Almost every city in the UK offers some sort of multi-venue festival over the course of the summer, and though they vary in size scope, all are pretty different from their rural counterparts. Taking place over the first weekend in May, Live at Leeds consistently offers up one of the most well rounded and contemporary line-ups on the festival circuit, with as much emphasis on homegrown talent, as there is on those from further afield. As a result of such a forward thinking ethos, this year's line-up sees Leeds' staples such as Hookworms and Menace Beach sharing stages with the likes Russia's Pinkshinyultrablast.

With such diversity on offer, and in keeping with true festival tradition, there's not much chance of seeing everyone you want to see, but it's almost certain that everyone you do see will be well worth the time and the travel between venues. With bands such as Dutch Uncles and We Were Promised Jetbacks bringing with them a host of new material, not to mention the multiplicity of smaller acts vying for a chance to make an impression on the inevitable A&R gang, you can be sure that as well as the established acts, there's always going to be something fresh and exciting happening somewhere.

Not pandering solely to those of an indie persuasion, Slaves, Rolo Tomassi and Eagulls will be there if the indie-pop of the likes of The Orielles becomes a little syrupy to handle, providing audiences with the post-punk and math-rock in all it's psychotic (Slaves) and grizzly (Eagulls) glory.

Kicking off proceedings on the Friday night however, are Pulled Apart By Horses supported by local lads Allusondrugs and Dinosaur Pile-Up. For those lucky enough to be there for the opening night, expact riffs and carnage in the highest order, there's a reason Allusondrugs are a buzz band at the moment and you'll definitely find out here.

Now in its eighth year, Live At Leeds continually brings together a plethora of acts in one of the UK's most exciting cities, with this year being no exception. And whilst their emphasis might be equally split between local acts, UK-based and international, there's definitely more emphasis on providing a spotlight to those acts on the up, and give them a platform that's crucial in keeping the UK's grass-roots scene alive. Long may it continue to do so.

More information and tickets to Live At Leeds can be found here.