Yard Act Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Yard Act have been named in a new study as this summer’s most-booked new music act on the European festival circuit.The annual study, which is conducted by the European talent exchange programme ESNS Exchange, sheds a light on “the most promising European emerging acts of the moment”.Yard Act have come out on top of this year’s study, racking up 11 bookings at ESNS Exchange-affiliated festivals in 2022.The four-piece are three ahead of Ukrainian rapper Alyona Alyona, Priya Ragu and Wet Leg, who have eight European festival bookings each.

Yard Act frontman James Smith has shared concert footage of him with his grandad covering Tom Jones‘ 1966 classic ‘Green Green Grass Of Home’.Smith took to Instagram to share a snippet of their cover at a recent gig in Warrington. You can view the footage below.“A few weeks ago my grandad Dave asked us if we knew ‘Green, Green Grass Of home’ by Tom Jones,” Smith wrote.

Yard Act have announced their biggest headline show to date and shared the new video for their track ‘100% Endurance’ – you can watch the clip below.The song is taken from the Leeds four-piece’s debut album ‘The Overload’, which arrived back in January.The video for ‘100% Endurance’ was filmed in Blackpool and directed by Yard Act’s longtime collaborator James Slater, with the clip starring the actor David Thewlis. “I’ve told my agent I’m only doing Yard Act videos from now on, though next time on a tropical island or a big yacht,” the Fargo and Harry Potter actor said in a statement.Speaking about the ‘100% Endurance’ video, Yard Act frontman James Smith added: “It was great shooting this video.

Yard Act have collaborated with mental health charity Mind on a new poem for Mental Health Awareness Week.Frontman James Smith shared the poem on social media, explaining how he worked with Mel, a young woman who suffered from an eating disorder (bulimia), to create the poem.“When we first met on zoom, I instantly clicked with her,” Smith said of meeting Mel. “Myself and Mel talked for an hour or so about her life and the condition she lives with.

Yard Act, Billy Nomates and Billy Bragg are among the leading names on the line-up of Glastonbury‘s Left Field for 2022.The stage is celebrating “20 Years of Pop and Politics” at this year’s Worthy Farm festival, which runs from June 22-26.Left Field will host a mix of live music and debate next month, including the Bragg-hosted ‘Radical Round-Up’. The war in Ukraine, Black Lives Matter and “what’s next for the climate emergency” will be among the topics discussed by Left Field’s panels this year.Live music will come from the likes of Yard Act, Billy Nomates, Bragg, Jamie Webster, Brooke Combe, The Magic Numbers, Kam-Bu, Yola and The Regrettes.Speaking about this year’s Left Field line-up, stage co-curator Bragg said in a statement: “So much has happened in the three years since we last gathered under the Left Field big top.

Benefits have announced details of their first ever 7″ single, to be released via Yard Act‘s Zen F.C. label.The new release will land on June 3, the day of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and feature recent singles ‘Empire’ and ‘Flag’.To celebrate the announcement of the new 7″ single, Benefits – aka Teesside-based artist Kingsley Hall – has shared a new video for ‘Flag’, which sees him taking a dip in the North Sea.Discussing the link-up with Yard Act, Benefits said: “In late 2020 we released a song called Traitors and I got a message from Yard Act saying they liked the song, in particular the line ‘we get the future you deserve‘.

Yard Act, Frank Turner and Tears For Fears have scored the biggest selling vinyl albums and singles so far in 2022 – check them out on NME first below.‘The Overload’ was the biggest selling vinyl album so far with 11,000 units sold since its release in February, according to the Official Charts Company.Yard Act’s debut album was closely followed by Tears For Fears’ first album in 17 years ‘The Tipping Point’, while Black Country New Road came in third with their second album ‘Ants From Up There’.Elsewhere, Fleetwood Mac’s classic album ‘Rumours’ went in at four, The Wombats‘ ‘Fix Yourself, Not The World’ finished fifth and Charli XCX came sixth with ‘Crash’.“It’s ace to have won music for at least one quarter of the year,” Yard Act said of their accolade. “Clearly it has made some form of connection with enough people, for this to happen which is the most important thing.”“We are incredibly grateful for that and will never forget that. To all our team and the whole crew at Island Records for believing in us, working so hard and chucking loads of money at it, thank.

Foals have announced the acts that will support them on their upcoming UK tour – see the names below.The Oxford band will hit the road later this month, kicking things off in Edinburgh on April 20, with shows set to follow in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, London, Brighton and more.Today (April 11), Yannis Philippakis and co. announced the six acts that will accompany them on the tour, with names including Shame, Goat Girl, Yard Act and Wet Leg.Shame, who released their second album ‘Drunk Tank Pink’ last year, will open for Foals on their four dates at London’s Olympia (April 29 and 30; May 1 and 2). Other names supporting on these dates include Goat Girl and Egyptian Blue.Goat Girl will also provide support on several other nights in Edinburgh (April 20 and 21), Birmingham (23), Hull (25), Newcastle (26), Brighton (27) and at London’s O2 Brixton Academy on May 8.Wet Leg and The Regrettes will open up for Foals at their massive Castlefield Bowl show in Manchester, while Yard Act will support on two dates at Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom (May 5 and 6).The support for the band’s Leeds show at Millennium Square on July 8 is TBC.You can check out the full list of dates and who will be supporting below:Ten days til the Life Is Yours Tour starts! Where are we seeing you?!?Can’t wait to play the new songs live plus all the classics…Goat Girl, Shame, Egyptian Blue, Yard Act, Wet Leg & The Regrettes will be joining us on select dates.

Yard Act made their US TV debut last night (March 24) with an electrifying performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – watch it below.The Leeds band played the title track from their acclaimed debut record ‘The Overload’, which hit Number Two in the UK albums chart upon its release in January.Appearing live in Fallon’s studio in New York City, Yard Act delivered an energetic take on the song as their circular black-and-white logo spun behind them. Later, a series of strobe lights flashed while guitarist Sam Shjipstone shredded towards a thrilling finale.You can watch the band’s appearance on Fallon here:Taking to Twitter after recording their first Fallon performance, Yard Act wrote: “What a rush to be a part of that. Didn’t dare look up to my left to see what [Fallon’s house band] @theroots were making of all our nonsense.

Yard Act have cancelled their scheduled performance in Edinburgh tonight (March 2) due to frontman James Smith’s continued illness.The band are currently on a headline tour of the UK in support of their debut studio album, ‘The Overload’, which was released on January 21.In a statement posted on social media yesterday (March 1), Smith told fans that he’d been “battling a sickness bug since Sunday” after performing a homecoming show in Leeds the previous night.As a result, Yard Act were forced to cancel their gig at Newcastle’s The Cluny last night.Smith’s statement added that he hoped the band would “be able to be back on the road” for tonight’s show at The Caves in Edinburgh. However, he’s since informed fans he’s still not well enough to perform and they’ve had to cancel.“Hi, James again.

Yard Act have cancelled their scheduled performance in Newcastle tonight (March 1) due to illness.The band are currently out on a headline tour of the UK in support of their debut studio album, ‘The Overload’, which was released on January 21.In a statement posted on social media today, Yard Act frontman James Smith told fans that he’d been “battling a sickness bug since Sunday” after performing a homecoming show in Leeds the night before.As a result, the group have been forced to scrap their gig at Newcastle venue The Cluny this evening.“Was hunkered down in the hopes I would’ve shaken it by now, but I still can’t move an inch without running to the toilet. I’m gutted,” Smith explained.I hate canceling shows, I'm so sorry.

Yard Act and their support act Baba Ali covered LCD Soundsystem at a hometown show in Leeds this weekend (February 26) – see footage below.Yard Act are currently mid-way through huge run of UK tour dates on the back of debut album ‘The Overload’, which reached Number Two in the UK charts upon its release last week after a heated chart battle with Years & Years.On Saturday night, they played a hometown gig at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, and ended the show with a special cover.“We had to do something special for Leeds,” they told the crowd before tearing into a rendition of LCD Soundsystem’s early hit single ‘Daft Punk Is Playing At My House’.Check out footage of the performance below.Yard Act ending their set with a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s Daft Punk Is Playing At My House pic.twitter.com/b98iTNCS7m— tom skinner (@TomSkinner_) February 26, 2022Yard Act’s tour continues tomorrow (March 1) with a show at the Cluny in Newcastle, with dates running until the end of May. See the full list of dates below.MARCH 202201 – The Cluny, Newcastle02 – The Caves, Edinburgh03 – Mono, GlasgowAPRIL 202205 – Earth, LondonMAY 202211 – Trinity, Bristol18 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham19 – Zanzibar, Liverpool20 – Irish Centre, Leeds21 – Band on the Wall, Manchester22 – The Foundry, Sheffield27 – Arts Centre, NorwichReviewing the band’s London gig earlier this month, NME wrote: “Yard Act should rightly be congratulated on all their successes, and tonight is another one to add to the list.

Yard Act have issued a statement following reports that a woman was harassed in the crowd at one of their gigs this week.The Leeds band played their biggest headline show to date at London’s Village Underground on Thursday (February 17), and wrote on Twitter that they’d been alerted to a young female fan being treated inappropriately by an older man during the show.“To be clear, Yard Act shows are for everyone, and we absolutely need everyone to feel safe at our gigs,” the band wrote. “If you are a fan of our band, that means it’s your responsibility too. Work with us.

Independent Venue Week 2022 and why it’s more important than ever to shine a spotlight on these live music spaces.Between lockdowns, last-minute cancellations, high rents, Brexit uncertainty, and the  battle for meaningful government support, the last two years have seen the UK’s grassroots music scene endure unprecedented levels of instability. As the most recent wave of coronavirus starts to recede, it’s tempting to view 2022’s Independent Venue Week as something of a victory lap for those that have endured.“Now more than ever, it’s more and more important for small venues to be shouted about,” Julian Ive of Newcastle venue The Cluny told NME.

Elton John spoke to his new favourite band Yard Act on his Rocket Hour radio show this week, telling the group he would “love to catch up” with them in person.John praised the rising Leeds outfit during an interview with NME last October, describing their musical style as “a different ballgame”. He added: “I can’t do it but I love it and I wonder how they do it.”Earlier this month, Yard Act frontman James Smith told NME that it was “mind-blowing” to receive an endorsement from the legendary artist.

The Great Escape has announced 100 more acts for its 2022 festival, including Yard Act, The Amazons and Rebecca Black.The Brighton music showcase will return between May 11-14, having cancelled its 2020 and 2021 editions due to COVID-related restrictions. Organisers confirmed the first 50 performers for this year last September.100 more artists have today (January 27) joined the line-up for The Great Escape 2022.Appearing alongside Yard Act, The Amazons and Rebecca Black on the bill are Baby Queen, Lola Young, The Goa Express, Phoebe Green, Dylan Fraser, English Teacher, Balming Tiger, Honeyglaze, Joe & The Shitboys and many more.Organisers are promising that “there’s much more to come” for TGE ’22.

Florence + The Machine have been announced as the next headliners of Øya Festival 2022.The Oslo, Norway festival will return this year from August 9-13, with Gorillaz, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Aurora also set to top the bill.Florence + The Machine have been joined on the Øya bill today (January 26) by Fontaines D.C., Parquet Courts and Porridge Radio.Those acts have all expanded the festival’s growing line-up, which already features the likes of AJ Tracey, Girl In Red, Pa Salieu, Michael Kiwanuka, Yard Act, Princess Nokia and Beabadoobee. The Øya bill is split 50/50 between male and female artists.A post shared by Øyafestivalen (@oyafestivalen)Weekend tickets for Øya Festival 2022 have sold out, but day tickets remain available from here.

Yard Act and Years & Years are in a close race for this week’s UK Number One album, with just 400 sales separating them.Last Friday (January 21) saw the rising Leeds band release their debut record ‘The Overload’ as Olly Alexander dropped Years & Years’ third studio effort ‘Night Call’. Both albums were awarded four stars by NME.As the Official Charts Company reports today (January 25), Yard Act are edging closer to securing their first Number One in the UK albums chart on Friday (January 28).Should the group achieve the victory, they would become the first act of 2022 to land at the top spot with their debut full-length.Fewer than 400 sales separate Yard Act and Years & Years in the chart battle as of today.

Franz Ferdinand on Monday (January 31), who will perform an acoustic track live from PJ Molloys.

Self Esteem, The Lathums and Yard Act.The two-day event will return for a 15th anniversary edition between April 30 and May 1, 2022.

Yard Act have shared a new track called ‘Payday’ – you can listen to it below.The song is the latest preview of the Leeds band’s debut studio album ‘The Overload’, which is set for release on January 7 via Zen F.C.“‘Payday’ was one of the few tracks on the record we had to rebuild completely in the studio because the first demo was recorded on my computer and the hard drive corrupted,” explained frontman James Smith.

SXSW Festival has announced the first music acts for their 2022 event.The annual music, film and media event is aiming to return to action in-person next year in Austin, Texas after its 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.SXSW’s music festival is set to run in multiple venues in Austin from March 14-20, with over 240 artists being announced so far.The likes of Horsegirl, Yard Act, Poppy Ajudha, Priya Ragu, Ezra Furman, Wargasm, Walt Disco, Maxo Kream, Aeon

Yard Act have shared details of their debut album alongside its title track, ‘The Overload’.The album, which is released on January 7, 2022 via Zen F.C., precedes the band’s first headline tour (UK and Europe) early next year.

Yard Act has spoken out on the devastating impact that the post-Brexit touring mess is set to have on independent artists.Today sees the launch of the #LetTheMusicMove campaign, with the likes of Wolf Alice, IDLES, Poppy Ajudha, Radiohead among the 200 artists calling upon the UK government to urgently take action to resolve the ‘No Deal’ that has landed upon the British music when it comes to touring the continent after they to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for