This weekend, a new flagship festival, American Express presents Roundhay Festival, brought a star-studded line-up to West Yorkshire crowds, with headline sets from Miami rapper Pitbull and Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, as well as an afternoon of All Things Orchestral.
The festival at Roundhay Park in Leeds was produced by AEG Presents, the team behind American Express presents BST Hyde Park, and delivered with the support of Leeds City Council.
The festival builds on Roundhay’s rich musical history, which includes shows from The Rolling Stones (1982), Genesis and Madonna (1987), Michael Jackson (1988), and U2 (1997). The park’s natural amphitheater bowl shape feels tailor-made for concerts – and global superstars felt right at home within Roundhay’s luscious grounds.
AEG worked with the local community to ensure production costs went into the local economy, helping local businesses, and festivalgoers were fed by an array of street food vendors from Leeds and the region.
From Friday’s sea of bald caps in celebration of Pitbull, to a relaxing Sunday of cinematic symphonies, Roundhay Festival’s inaugural year offered something special each day.
FRIDAY 3 JULY — PITBULL
Pitbull brought a huge party, with thousands arriving in the customary Pitbull uniform (a bald cap, black tie and white button-up shirt). When the Grammy-winning rapper took to the stage, ‘Don’t Stop The Party’ transformed the entire park grounds into an all-out fiesta.
Throughout the set, the global superstar was grinning from behind his black sunglasses, bouncing around with latex-clad backup dancers as he performed cuts like ‘Hotel Room Service’, ‘Gasolina’ and ‘I Know You Want Me’. The rapper even brought out Lil Jon, singing three tracks together before thanking his long-time comrade: “This man believed in me, gave me an opportunity and showed me love 25 years ago… thank you, Lil Jon!”
The set included songs with lyrics in both English and Spanish, but the rapper expressed his gratitude for “the most important, universal language of all – music!”
Roundhay had never seen anything like this, from the bald-capped kids at the barrier to the giggling groups barn-dancing during ‘Timber’ and knocking back ‘Fireball’ whisky.
“I wanna say thank you to all the baldies – I see you!” Pitbull grinned. “When you put on those bald caps, you know you’re about to have the TIME. OF. YOUR. LIVES!”
The rest of the day was equally bombastic, with Jason Derulo delivering his typical cocktail of charm and sex appeal. From ‘Sexy For Me’ to ‘Wiggle’, the American singer pulled out all the stops, dancing his heart out along with his backup dancers, whether belting along to ‘Whatcha Say’ or lifting his tank top to belly roll during ‘Swalla’.
The UK’s own Tinie Tempah knocked out an ‘Earthquake’ of a set. From ‘Pass Out’s’ cheeky lyric alteration (“I’ve been to Leeds but I’ve never been to Scunthorpe”), to ‘Written In The Stars’, it was a total crowd sing-along. The charming London lad even debuted a new song, Rude, hinting at more Tinie to come soon.
Opening on a montage in honour of Lil Jon’s late son, Nathan Smith (DJ Young Slade), the King of Crunk’s set started off on a sombre note. But Lil Jon wanted his performance to be a celebration – and it absolutely was. From ‘Turn Down For What’ to ‘Get Low’, his signature “Yeah!”s carried the crowd through his riotously fun blend of hip hop and EDM. “I’ve never been to Leeds before…but I heard you party fucking hard… so let’s party!” he said.
Over on the East Stage, Jazzie Martian treated crowds to his own brand of hip-hop, which blends elements of R&B, rap, pop, rock and dancehall. Playing tracks from his latest release, Ghetto Chandelier, his unique sound easily won over crowds. “Leeds is a place that embraces a lot of different music and different genres,” the rising star told us. “As a newcomer into the festival scene, it was amazing to see how much Roundhay embraced and appreciated what I had to offer.”
Los Tucanes De Tijuana put on a marvellous Mexican display, bringing their norteño tunes to the UK for the very first time. As Pitbull says, music is a universal language – and no language barriers could stop people loving their cowboy hats, brash leopard print shirts and bouncy accordion romps. ‘La Chona’, is a particularly big hit – it’s easy to see why it’s become the “official-unofficial Mexican world cup football song”, according to the band.
Pitbull’s own Globalization DJs Dan Hills and CJ.AllDayy also have crowds over at the East Stage boogieing in between the festivities, making for an all-killer-no-filler day of fun.
SATURDAY 4 JULY – LEWIS CAPALDI
Lewis Capaldi’s show had a celebratory feel to it. In 2019, he supported Ed Sheeran at the park and on Saturday he was back to headline – now an iconic star in his own right, with one of the great voices in British pop.
The entire amphitheater was full of Capaldi lovers, from diehards at the barrier to viewers from the hill, shining their phone flashlights for ‘Something In The Heavens’.
The evening marked Capaldi’s return to Leeds and back and on stage with a world-class set after a break from touring for health reasons. From the beauty of Grace to an extravagant ‘rockstar’ guitar solo at the end of ‘Pointless’ (“sometimes, you gotta shred it”), he clearly had a marvellous time.
By the time ‘Someone You Loved’ swung around, Capaldi hinted that he is also cooking up a new album – noting that he hopes to return to Leeds soon.
Capaldi’s pal Kerr Mercer, from Glasgow, opened up the mainstage with style: “What a Scottish lineup today. Me, Jacob Alon… that old guy, Lewis something…” Songs ranged from the groovy baseline of ‘Stop Me Dead’ to the heartwrenching piano-led vulnerability of ‘Terrified’.
“I know everyone is buzzing and in a good mood and that, but this is probably the saddest thing you’ll ever hear…” he said, before cutting himself off with: “Nah, actually, it’s a Lewis Capaldi concert. I can sing the saddest song I like!”
Jacob Alon served up a set of delicate, fluttering folk songs, endearing himself even further to the audience by proudly wearing a Leeds United jersey, along with sparkly boots and a bedazzled baseball cap. American TikTok-sensation-turned-popstar Jessie Murph opened with a cover of The Animals’ ‘House of the Rising Sun’, her ‘country belle’ vocals build the tension as her white dress floats in the wind. The ‘butter-wouldn’t-melt’ image faded when ‘Touch Me Like A Gangster’ kicked in, transforming her into a pop femme fatale.
Californian teen heart-throb Conan Gray swept across the stage like a new-age Peter Pan. In a billowing white top, he rushed out to the tune of ‘My World’ – and the fans that had been camping out at the barrier all day were instantly eating out of the palm of his hand, singing every single word.
On the East Stage, up-and-coming London acoustic singer Maya Lane charmed the audience with folk tunes, while American indie pop guitarist Ber performed cuts from her debut album, Good, Like It Should Be.
“I’ve lived in places like Norway and Minnesota, but moving here and studying at Leeds Conservatoire is when I fell in love with live music,” she said. “I’ve probably been to 100 shows in (Leeds venue) Oporto… I know how important this festival is for the community, so I’m so honoured to be involved.”
Indie rocker Nieve Ella unleashed tracks like ‘Drive’ and the suckerpunch ‘Good Grace’. With fans facing up into her face, her black mane flew around as she caused havoc – the fans in the crowd loving the show.
SUNDAY 5 JULY – ALL THINGS ORCHESTRAL
On Sunday, Roundhay Park welcomed All Things Orchestral with the world-renowned Hallé Orchestra immersing crowds in a rich sonic world of cinematic cuts and timeless orchestral movements.
Conducted by Stephen Bell and hosted by Myleene Klass MBE, the afternoon both thrilled audiences – with the orchestra performing themes from Star Wars to 2001: A Space Odyssey – as well as educating the crowds on sections on musical history, bass versus baritone vocals, and even the sections of the orchestra.
“Where are the… trumpets?” Klass asked in a roll call, before a handful of brass trumpets began swinging overhead to show where they were sat. “Now the… clarinets!”
The Halle Orchestra was joined by Klass’s “favourite tenor”, Alfie Boe. After joking that he’d “suggested some Metallica” to the orchestra, the Lancashire singer treated crowds to a slew of heartwrenchingly emotional cuts. From Lensky’s ‘Aria’ to Bring Him Home from Les Misérables.
The crowd was enchanted by pieces including ‘Fantasia on Greensleeves’ and ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ from Harry Potter.
The party was closed by a DJ Yoda set celebrating the 1990s, mashing up cultural soundbites from The Simpsons, Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction with hip-hop and club tunes.
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