Yard Act Live at Brudenell Car Park

Playing to an expectant, excited and surprisingly sun-soaked crowd, Yard Act transformed the concrete and white paint lines of Brudenell’s exterior into a unique festival atmosphere. This temporary summer setting, just like their music, had a wry cynicism. Every quotidian quip in frontman James Smith’s lyrics seemed to bounce off the gravel. Each observant detail is evident affection for the mundane, prompting James to ask us, Are you here for us or for the car park?

Whilst the final stretches of the Leeds marathon struggled on over the other side of Headingley Stadium, this side of Hyde Park celebrated “the overload of discontent / The constant burden of making sense” (from ‘The Overload’). Free tickets for the surprise set were announced last minute and, like some heavenly seal of approval, Brudenell basked in a rare sunny day to celebrate Yard Act’s unreleased new album You’re Gonna Need a Little Music (2026). Being the first ever outside gig at this famous social club, it was certainly one for the books. 

Following the brilliance of poet Phillip Jupitus (of Never Mind the Buzzcocks), Yard Act’s part-spoken word part-rock band played a swift and power-packed set. Starting with the new album in full, You’re Gonna Need a Little Music (2026), there’s always an element of risk that comes with playing unknown tracks. However, Leeds remained loyal and there was an agreeable nodding and shuffling to each new track. Yard Act showed no nerves, instead fuelling each first-time performance with the confidence of performing hit after hit. Released single ‘Redeemer’ brought a few dedicated fans to sing along. It was already evident that several of the new tracks will flourish onat their upcoming tour, including two dates at Leeds O2 Academy in November. There was, however, a brilliant sense of novelty at hearing them unreleased. A moment in musical history, the packed crowd made the most of having made it. 

I had the impression that Yard Act wanted this show to be right here, James’ onstage energy excitable and infectious. It’s at this point that I noticed someone wearing an ‘I completed the Leeds Marathon’ t-shirt. Despite the inevitable exhaustion, they seem to have just as much enthusiasm as the guy in front of me with “to die by your side” tattooed on one arm. Runners and Smiths fans alike, there’s something to keep everyone up at a Yard Act gig. 

The new album has buckets of eclectic promise – and I begin to count the days until I can listen to them again and unpick the lyrics. Snippets that I could hear followed an exciting trajectory from a band that can musically reflect on industry success, daily fears, personal insecurities and hope in the face of apocalypse (a selection of themes from the last two albums). Until release day, it will be hard to analyse the genre change and continuity from Where’s My Utopia (2024), but it’s fair to say that this will be a step up in scale. 

Whilst ‘100% Endurance’, from debut album The Overload (2022), could have been the perfect marathon accompaniment, Yard Act opened the last few tracks up for crowd suggestion. Fan favourite, ‘The Overload’, doubled the energy, a signifier to what could become the reception for many tracks in the new album. ‘Fixer Upper’ and ‘The Trapper’s Pelt’ close out the set and even the lone marathon runner ahead of me looked reenergised. 

Words by Francesca Lynes