Roundhay Festival has a lineup, and a plan

Something is happening in Roundhay Park this summer, and it is bigger than a weekend of music. Standing in Headrow House at the festival’s recent press event, Jim King (main image), CEO of AEG Presents UK, spoke less like a man announcing a one off and more like someone laying foundations. The pitch was clear enough. Roundhay is not a pop up. It is the start of something AEG wants to build in Leeds, in a park that has hosted Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and Ed Sheeran, and now fancies its chances at being a fixture rather than a footnote.

It helps that the people involved have skin in the game. Also at Headrow House was Kerr Mercer, who we caught up with about lending his support to his pal Lewis Capaldi. Capaldi headlines on Saturday 4 July, and the sense from Mercer was less industry obligation and more turning up for a mate who happens to be playing one of the biggest shows of the weekend.

And what a weekend it is shaping up to be. American Express presents Roundhay Festival debuts across the first weekend of July 2026, spanning three nights and three very different moods.

The lineup

Friday 3 July belongs to Pitbull, joined by Jason Derulo, Tinie Tempah and Lil Jon. Saturday 4 July is Lewis Capaldi, with Conan Gray and Jacob Alon in support. Then Sunday 5 July changes register entirely.

All Things Orchestral

The closing night is the one that most clearly signals AEG’s intentions. All Things Orchestral brings the Hallé Orchestra, the UK’s longest established professional symphony orchestra, across the Pennines from Manchester to Roundhay Park for the first time. Conducted by Stephen Bell and hosted by Myleene Klass MBE, the evening promises a journey through cinematic classics and beyond.

The headliner is Alfie Boe OBE, one of the country’s best loved tenors, a man who reportedly discovered his voice singing arias while training as a car mechanic and went on to take a Tony for La Bohème and define the role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables. He performs as a very special guest alongside the Hallé.

What is notable is the pricing. With orchestras across the country struggling and classical attendances in decline, All Things Orchestral leans into accessibility, with tickets from £14.95 on first release and family rates from £9.95. The point, as the organisers frame it, is to put orchestral music in front of people who might never otherwise buy a ticket for it.

And then the lights stay on

Just when you think Sunday is winding down, it does the opposite. Straight after the orchestra, DJ Yoda takes the same stage with his 90s Mixtape Live show, and it is included with every All Things Orchestral ticket.

For anyone who came of age in that decade, this is the after party you did not know you wanted. Yoda’s set is an audiovisual scrapbook of the 90s, splicing Britney Spears, Blur and Notorious B.I.G. with Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump and Seinfeld, all cut and remixed live on stage. He has done it at Glastonbury, Coachella and SXSW, and collaborated with everyone from Dr Dre to brass bands and neuroscientists. At Roundhay, the full festival production, screens and lighting get thrown at it.

The longer game

Roundhay Festival is run by AEG Presents, the team behind BST Hyde Park and All Points East, festivals that between them contribute over £45 million to local economies each year. The midweek programme promises free arts, culture and wellbeing activity built around local talent, and there are sustainability commitments around energy, waste and local partnerships. Roundhay Park, at over 700 acres, is one of the largest city parks in Europe, which gives them room to grow into.

Whether this becomes the annual fixture Jim King clearly wants it to be will be decided by the people of Leeds across that first weekend in July. On paper, they have given us plenty of reasons to turn up.

Tickets are on sale now at roundhayfestival.com.