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Live at Leeds lineup 2018: The Vaccines, The XCERTS, Rae Morris, IDLES and Nadine Shah to perform

Scottish rock band The XCERTS: Press image
Scottish rock band The XCERTS: Press image

Live at Leeds has added a bunch of great acts to its 2018 lineup.

The Vaccines have been announced to headline this year's festival, with Idles, Rae Morris, Nadine Shah, The XCERTS, Cosmo Pyke and Sea Girls also confirmed.

They join a massive bill for the festival taking place across Leeds City Centre, including Peace, Circa Waves, The Horrors, Blaenavon and Pulled Apart By Horses.

Rae Morris, who recently released her splendid second album Someone Out There, said: "I first played Live at Leeds in 2012 so I'm super happy to be returning again with new music. So many of my first gigging experiences happened around Leeds, with it being one of the closest cities to Blackpool where I grew up. It's a special place and audiences are always amazingly enthusiastic which I love."

The XCERTS, who dropped their acclaimed album Hold On To Your Heart in January, said: "We are very psyched to be playing Live at Leeds this year. This will be our first time at the festival and the lineup looks killer so we're delighted to be joining the party. We love playing in Leeds so we're going to have a hell of a time."

We caught up with frontman Murray Macleod to see what the Scottish three piece are looking forward to this year:

What are you guys listening to at the moment?

I just discovered the most recent Gang Of Youths record, ‘Go Farther In Lightness’ and I am obsessed. I can’t stop listening to it. Life affirming grandiose indie rock at its finest.

What’s your favourite festival memory?

We played the BBC Introducing stage at T In The Park in 2011 which i have wildly fond memories of! We were uncertain as to whether or not anyone would show up to watch us but the tent was completely packed out with everyone singalong and crowd surfing. It was mind blowing at the time and the fact our friends and families were in attendance made it even more special.

Tell us a few other bands/artists people should look out for on the Live at Leeds lineup

Dermot Kennedy’s recent releases have been fantastic so I’m looking forward to checking him out. Pulled Apart By Horses always put on a hell of a rock show so if you like it noisy, go and see the local boys!

What was the first gig you ever played and what’s been the best so far?

The first gig I ever played was at a venue in Aberdeen called Drakes. We played 3 songs opening for our friends bands who were older than us and I believe we played one origInal song entitled ‘Ripping Away’ and covered ‘Dammit’ by Blink 182 and ‘Take A Look Around’ by Limp Bizkit. Needless to say we killed it and stole the show....

We just played ABC in Glasgow which is now or biggest headline show to date and it was incredible. I also hold our last London headline show at Scala very dear to my heart. It felt like the stars aligned that night for sure.

What’s your favourite track to play live off your new album?

I’m really enjoying playing everything from the new record but i think ‘Feels Like Falling In Love’ is the most fun to play at the moment because of the crowd reaction. It’s big!!

Live at Leeds takes place on 5 May, tickets are on sale now