Leeds weekend gig guide: Slam Dunk, Jazz Sabbath and the best of the rest for your Bank Holiday weekend

If your plan for the next 4 days involves anything other than standing in a crowded room - or a historic estate field - with a pint in hand, you might want to rethink your Bank Holiday choices.

The city’s music scene is currently firing on all cylinders, and this massive four-day stretch is a perfect example of why the city remains one of the epicentres of live sound in the North.

From thousands of pop-punk and emo fans taking over the historic grounds of Temple Newsam to a spectacular, heavy-metal-turned-jazz symphony inside the city's oldest surviving theatre hall, the sheer variety on offer over the next few days is staggering.

Whether you're after the sun-drenched harmonies of New York power-pop or a nostalgic open-air dancefloor filler to see you through the long weekend, we’ve narrowed down the chaotic schedule to the four essential highlights that define the next 96 hours, followed by the best of the rest the city has to offer.

This weekend’s concert highlights

Slam Dunk Festival 2026 (Sunday - Temple Newsam)

The ultimate rite of passage for the UK’s alternative, pop-punk, and emo communities returns to the sprawling grounds of Temple Newsam for its massive single-day summer takeover.

This year's lineup packs a heavy punch of transatlantic nostalgia, anchored by co-headliners Sublime and Good Charlotte alongside genre icons like Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional. It is easily one of the biggest dates on the city's outdoor music calendar this year, transforming the historic estate into a haven of high-energy, early-summer chaos and pogoing.

The Lemon Twigs (Friday & Saturday - Brudenell Social Club)

For those looking for something a bit closer to the stage, New York’s sibling duo Brian and Michael D’Addario are bringing their flawless, sun-drenched 1970s power-pop harmonies to the hallowed turf of the Brudenell Bar for a highly anticipated two-night residency.

Coming off the back of rapturously received releases, their live shows are a masterclass in vintage showmanship and vocal precision. Securing them for a consecutive double-header in Hyde Park is a massive coup for the local grassroots scene, and both nights are bound to be the talk of the city on Monday morning.

RNB MANIA (Saturday - Project House)

Taking full advantage of the long Bank Holiday weekend, Project House is expanding its footprint directly into its outdoor courtyard spaces to host a massive celebration of classic rhythm and blues.

Built for the early summer sunshine, this open-air, day-to-night mini-festival promises a heavy rotation of throwback anthems, live DJs, and street food vendors right in the heart of the city's creative district. Get your dancing shoes on early for this one; it is a rare chance to catch pure festival energy without leaving the city center.

Jazz Sabbath (Monday - City Varieties Music Hall)

Serving as a flagship highlight for the fifth annual Leeds Jazz Festival, this is vintage metal, but not as you know it. Helmed by Grammy-winning pianist Adam Wakeman - longtime keyboardist for Black Sabbath—this unique, brilliant trio transforms heavy metal's founding rock anthems into exquisite, straight-ahead jazz interpretations.

Set inside the gorgeous, historic surroundings of the City Varieties, it is the perfect, beautifully eccentric way to round off your long weekend soundtrack.

Leeds Weekend Gig Guide - May 22 - May 25

Friday

• The Lemon Twigs - Brudenell Social Club
• Ratboys - Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen
• ALT BLK ERA - The Wardrobe
• Poly-Math, YOSHIZAWA, and Slow Loris - Wharf Chambers (membership required)
• L'objectif and Elwell - Mabgate Bleach
• Black Orchid Empire - Boom Leeds
• The Flooding and Tummyache - Hyde Park Book Club (HPBC)
• The Tullamarines and Gibberish - Oporto
• Dave Formula and Noko (plus Scant Regard) - Brudenell Social Club
• MLEKO - Headrow House
• James Adrian Brown and Sulk Rooms - Seven Artspace

Saturday

• Seafret - The Wardrobe
• The Lemon Twigs - Brudenell Social Club
• Inkubus Sukkubus - Boom Leeds
• Ruts DC - Brudenell Social Club
• Reach Up Disco Wonderland DJs and Galaxians - Howard Assembly Room
• Pantera UK (with Defector and Theseus) - Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen
• Static Caravan - Wharf Chambers (membership required)
• abs - The Fox & Newt
• Patrick Monahan and Alex Boardman - The HiFi Club
• Nick Halkes and DJ Andy Smith - Howard Assembly Room
• DJ Pantha, Mikey B, Trilla Trilloski, Subzero, and 1st Born - The Warehouse
• T40 1058 Days 2026 (featuring Hitlist and Yuppie Supper) - Eiger Studios
• RNB MANIA: Leeds' Outdoor Bank Holiday R&B Festival 2026 - Project House

Sunday

• Slam Dunk Festival 2026 - Temple Newsam
• Thomas Dolby - O2 Academy Leeds
• From The Jam - Brudenell Social Club
• Benjamin Steer - Lending Room
• Sukha - Leeds University Stylus
• Angie Brown, Allister Whitehead, and Marc Leaf - Project House
• Billy Bibby - Old Woollen
• Hannah Horton and Joanne Harrop - City Varieties Music Hall
• Sonja Moonear and DJ Sweet6teen - Mint Warehouse
• Tian Qiyi and Otto Hashmi - The Wardrobe

Monday

• Jazz Sabbath - City Varieties Music Hall
• Sonja Moonear - Mint Warehouse

All information is correct as of the time of writing.

Please check venue listings closer to the time of performance for any last-minute changes or cancellations that may occur.