🗞️ The Ticket Stub – Music in Leeds this June 2024

Our guest music writer this month, who is giving us the lowdown on Music in Leeds this June, 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 across Leeds in June.

Fievel Is Glauque at Headrow House (4th June)

Compelling and confounding, this New York-via Brussels two-piece play a kaleidoscopic blend of jazz and spacey lounge for fans of Stereolab, Broadcast and the like. Since hearing ‘Hit Me Now’ on a Spotify Discover Weekly playlist many moons ago, I presumed it was an old C86-band or something off an obscure compilation.

Reader, I was wrong.

EXEK at headrow house (7th June)

Traveling all the way from Australia to sample the TK Maxx on the Headrow, EXEK really are one of my favourite bands. The two dogs on the cover of their 2022 album Advertise Here caught my attention. There was the fact it came out on Castle Face Records – the label co-founded by Thee Oh Sees’ John Dwyer. 

Similarly to Fievel Is Glauque, EXEK pull in a lot of different directions. Their use of effects gives their music a thick dubby fog, complimented by shades of early Brian Eno. This one’ll be unmissable.

Girls Aloud at First Direct Arena (15th and 16th June)

According to their press release, June marks 21 years since Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine, Nicola and Sarah were voted the winners of Popstars: The Rivals and formed Girls Aloud. 

Playing to about 30,000-odd people in the space of 24 hours, this’ll be hits, hits, hits. They’ve confirmed there won’t be any new material. ‘Sound of the Underground’, ‘Love Machine’, ‘I’ll Stand by You’. All killer, no filler. This new show sees them play tribute to Sarah.

Fat White Family and John Francis Flynn at Project House (18th June)

If that’s not enough to tickle your fancy, the Fat White Family are returning to Project House this month. Hot off the heels of their 2024 album Forgiveness is Yours and best selling biography Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Family and The Miracle of Failure, the band will be bringing chirpy ditties like ‘Bomb Disneyland’, ‘Polygamy Is Only for the Chief’ and ‘Tinfoil Deathstar’ to LS12. Expect the best live band of the last 10 years alongside varying levels of nudity.

 They’ll be joined by Irish folk-singer John Francis Flynn, whose 2023 album Look Over the Wall, See the Sky is a bleak and beautiful mixture traditional and contemporary folk.

Lewsberg and Perry Pontiac at Wharf Chambers (22nd June)

Fans of Velvet Underground, Bill Callahan or Yo La Tengo, rejoice! Rotterdam’s Lewsberg are making the trip to Wharf Chambers this month. 2022’s single ‘Six Hills’ was a spiky slice of zeitgeisty post-punk released on Speedy Wunderground, whilst their 2023 album Out and About dips into more tender and melodic waters, akin to Life Without Buildings.

They’ll also be joined by Perry Pontiac, the solo moniker of the writer you read before you! What more could you possibly want…

Thackray Lates: That Feels Good at Thackray Museum (27th June)

What makes us feel good? From the mind-bending world of psychedelics to the cognitive effects of music, Thackray Museum of Medicine’s next after-dark event will explore what it is that makes our brains tick and why.

This isn’t a gig in the conventional sense, but it’s not quite like anything you’ll see in Leeds this year. They’ll be joined by leading experts in neuroscience and neuropsychology, alongside live music from Hang Linton (EMI North, Come Play With Me) as well as screenprinting, zine-making, food and drink.

Thackray Lates is a new series of adult-only evening events taking place across 2024. Join us as we explore unusual topics and untold stories with the help of special guests, hands-on experiences, medical experiments, performances and more.