Leeds Lowdown: What’s on in September 2026

September is always a month of two halves in Leeds. The kids go back to school, a new intake of freshers descends on the city, and, if we’re lucky, the summer lingers on. Either way, the calendar keeps moving. Leeds International Beer Festival returns to Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds Digital Festival takes over the city for its tenth year, and Heritage Open Days hold extra weight this year, given it’s also Leeds’ 400th birthday. Here’s our pick of what’s on.

Festivals

Back for its 14th year, Leeds International Beer Festival takes over Kirkstall Abbey from Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 September. Expect UK and international breweries pouring across the church, cloister and chapter house, alongside street food, DJs and live music, with a Sunday family session for anyone bringing the kids along. It’s a great way to round off the summer and step into September.

Dog lovers have two reasons to head out this month. DogFest returns to Harewood House on 12 and 13 September with dog shows, breed meet-ups, advice from trainers, a big dog walk and special guest James Martin. Closer to town, Aire Park hosts its first ever Paws in the Park on 12 September, a smaller, free day of activities for dogs and their owners. Combine the two for the pawfect weekend…

Now in its tenth year, Leeds Digital Festival runs across venues throughout the city from 21 September to 2 October, with over 200 events covering everything from AI to game design. Worth an early diary note: the standalone Digital Careers Fair (usually towards the end of Digi Fest) is part of a new flagship event, Careers in Leeds, which brings together digital, creative and SEN sectors under one roof at first direct bank arena on Tuesday 3 November, from midday to 6 pm, with a dedicated digital zone alongside the rest.

Creatives should also keep 12 and 13 September free for Leeds Open Studios, when artists across the city throw open their workspaces for a weekend of browsing, buying and nosying at works in progress. If you can’t make those dates, Art in Arcadia takes over the city’s shopping arcades from 11 to 20 September with local art on display among the shopfronts, a nice one to fold into a Heritage Open Days route through the centre.

For something outdoors, Ocean Film Festival World Tour rolls into Carriageworks on 24 September, with a selection of the world’s best ocean and adventure short films, ideal for anyone not quite ready to say goodbye to summer.

Bookending the month, Manchester’s much-loved specialty coffee celebration, Slurpfest, comes to the city for the first time on 26 September. Sponsored by North Star Coffee Roasters, Oatly and Indie Coffee Guide, Slurpfest delivers a city-wide caffeine hit, bringing together independent cafés, coffee professionals, roasters and coffee lovers for a day of tasting, workshops, events and experiences. One to keep an eye on as more details get announced….

Heritage and 400 years of Leeds

This year’s Heritage Open Days programme, running from 11 to 20 September, carries extra significance, marking 400 years since Leeds was granted its Royal Charter. Expect the usual mix of normally closed doors and free entry to venues that usually charge, with this year’s programme built around the city’s history and how it got here. Download the guide to start planning your route.

If you fancy marking the milestone with your legs dangling over a cliff edge, The Great Yorkshire Abseil takes on Ilkley Moor on 12 September in aid of Leeds Mind, for anyone after a more literal way to drop into autumn.

Theatre

Leeds Grand Theatre opens the month with Heathers The Musical (High School Musical’s darker, dirtier cousin, according to the Sunday Express) from 1 to 5 September, before Operation Mincemeat arrives from 7 to 12 September, bringing its Olivier-winning true story of wartime deception and dark comedy to Leeds.

Carriageworks Theatre has a busy September run with Legally Blonde The Musical from 9 to 12 September, and family shows The Selfish Giant on 13 September, and Fun Kids Science Quest – Live! on 27 September.

Leeds Playhouse, meanwhile, is running two heavyweight productions back to back: August Wilson’s Fences, from 11 to 26 September, and Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, from 22 to 26 September, so there’s a fortnight where you could see both without leaving the building twice.

City Varieties closes out the month with a Shakespeare classic given the pub-crawl treatment: Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet lands on 29 September, promising one very merry cast member per performance.

Comedy

City Varieties is doing some heavy lifting on the comedy front this month. Alfie Moore: Apocalypse Now plays 12 September, Jack Rooke’s Good Grief on 16 September, Tez Ilyas: Tez Things I Hate About You on 17 September, and MC Grammar: The Mic Drop Tour brings hip hop-powered family entertainment on 20 September.

Leeds Grand Theatre isn’t far behind, with Phil Wang: Uh Oh on 13 September, John Cleese and the Holy Grail on 22 September (an evening of stories, clips and Q&A rather than the film itself, so don’t expect a screening), Maisie Adam: Whatsherface on 24 September, and Sir Lenny Henry: Still at Large closing out the run on 27 September.

Live music

First direct bank arena has two big nights this month, featuring two very different acts with no introduction needed. Arkansas rockers Evanescence (with special guests Poppy and K. Flay) play on 8 September, while local lass Jane McDonald is Living the Dream on 26 September.

Brudenell Social Club is worth clearing your diary for. Post punk band Altered Images play on 8 September, but the real fun starts a few days earlier: Nic Cage Against The Machine, a Rage Against the Machine tribute with a typically zany Cage-shaped theme, lands on 4 September, and two nights later, the American actor Michael Shannon fronts Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy and Friends play R.E.M.’s Life’s Rich Pageant on 6 September, a note-for-note run through the album from the man better known for Man of Steel and Nocturnal Animals.

Over at O2 Academy, catch Holy Holy featuring Woody Woodmansey, Tony Visconti and Glenn Gregory on 4 September, billed as the final tour for a band built around Bowie’s Spiders from Mars drummer and his longtime producer. Elsewhere, City Varieties hosts Women in Rock: 10 Year Anniversary Tour on 3 September, celebrating a decade of the all-female rock showcase.

The Old Woollen at Sunnybank Mills has a strong month too. An Evening with Cecelia Ahern sees the novelist in conversation on 16 September, and Badly Drawn Boy: Live & in Conversation closes the run on 18 September.

Elsewhere, Dance Music Archive brings a night of rave history and vinyl to Howard Assembly Rooms on 19 September.

Freshers Week

New to Leeds this September? Leeds Freshers Week 2026 is your guide to the best of Leeds student life, from campus parties to society socials. Get connected via WhatsApp groups, Insta accounts and university Linktrees. Welcome to the city!