🎶 The Ticket Stub – Music in Leeds March

Our guest music writer this month and giving us the lowdown on Music in Leeds this March is George Orton, the multi-faceted musician playing in bands such as Bug Teeth, Gladboy, Volk Soup and more. Read on for some of the top musical gig picks taking place across Leeds in March.

Ultramagnetic MC’s – Brudenell Social Club (1st March)

From the Bronx to Burley, Ultramagnetic MC’s and their illusive leader Kool Keith land at Brudenell Social Club. Their sci-fi tinged block party hit ‘Ego Tripping’ is an 80’s hip hop staple, both ahead of its time and so of its time.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Walt Disco – First Direct Arena (5th March)

It’s not easy for a band with albums called things like Bauhaus Staircase or Architecture and Morality to be a hit on the arena circuit, but OMD’s art-pop credentials are bolstered by massive choruses and lead-singer Andy McCluskey’s dad dancing. OMD’s sleek, audiovisual synthpop liveshow also features support by young Scottish glam goths Walt Disco.

Bands like OMD, early-Human League and Leeds’s own Soft Cell have become a regular listen on my walk into work every morning. Something about that electronic sound makes for a fitting companion to the oblique concrete that conjoins Leeds University and LGI.

mage tears, shaene and Lots of Hands – Hyde Park Book Club (3rd March)

mage tears is probably the most famous Leeds musician you haven’t heard of. A musician, artist and filmmaker, self-producing lo-fi, outsider folk a la Daniel Johnston or Salvia Palth, she’s racked up over 30 million Spotify streams, played a packed-out North American tour and just released some vinyl which has sold out in the US, UK and EU. All this without playing more than a handful of live shows.

On 3rd March, she’ll be playing her first ever headline at Hyde Park Book Club with a stacked local line-up, namely the hotly-tipped shaene (FFO: Elliot Smith, Mazzy Star, Title Fight) and bedroom pop collective Lots of Hands (FFO: Alex G, Teen Suicide, Deerhunter). Expect tears.

DJ Shadow – Project House (20th March)

Tucked away on an Armley industrial estate, Leeds’s newest venue Project House was inspired by Copenhagen’s meatpacking district and other cities where industrial areas are reimagined as cultural sites. There couldn’t be a more fitting location for plunderphonic royalty DJ Shadow. Following recent(ish) collaborations with Nas, Ghostface Killah, Run the Jewels and King Gizzard, he’s back with a new solo record and setting out on his first tour since 2017.

Sound Bath with Opera North harpist Celine Saout – Howard Assembly Room (24th March)

Okay, this isn’t necessarily a gig, but who could name a finer place to cleanse their chakras on a Sunday evening? Howard Assembly Room is a theatre-turned X-rated cinema-turned concert venue that has become one of my favourite spaces in Leeds. So, if harps and altered states of consciousness are your bag then look no further. It’s also a few doors from Wax Bar if you need a stiff drink afterwards.

Ellie Bleach – Oporto (27th March)

London’s Ellie Bleach is embarking on a tour to fund her appearance at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Her witty and erudite songs about fancy dress parties and failing marriages flitter between storytelling Americana and campy baroque pop – a perfect justification for why she deserves to be stateside very soon.

Van Houten – Brudenell Social Club (29th March)

Van Houten are a band that have matured in a short period of time. Starting out in floaty, woozy, slacker territory, the band have developed a rich, moody and enveloping sonic palette, bringing together all the best bits of Yuck, Duster and Ulrika Spacek. Now, with a new album inbound, produced by Alex Greaves (Working Men’s Club, Bloc Party, Pulled Apart by Horses), the band are playing their biggest headline to date at Brudenell Social Club.

It feels like they’re coming of age!

The Cleaners from Venus – Belgrave Music Hall (30th March)

Cleaners from Venus are the project of Essex boy Martin Newell. Self-producing a bunch of albums on cassette in the 80’s, available by mail order, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn he hated the music industry and revelled in obscurity before amassing a devout cult following. Writing jangly, whimsical pop music, there is an alternate reality somewhere where this band was as big as The Smiths or The Cure.