Sixteen Bands, Two Stages, One Perfect Day

Goldsounds is undoubtedly one of my favourite music days of the year. One day, one venue, 2 stages, 16 bands ! A joyous celebration of new music and bands. I knew very little about most of the bands playing and had done no pre-listening, so it was just a question of oscillating between the rooms to catch as many bands as possible across the day. The festival promised ‘a bustling selection of exciting up-and-comers in the post-punk, noise pop, garage rock and outsider indie scenes', so I was pretty confident that something would pique my interest. Also worth noting that the day is outrageously good value at £20, so there really was no excuse for lovers of this type of music not attending. It was therefore great to see that there was a good crowd in right from the start, and I think this was the best-attended Goldsounds I can remember.

Gig: Goldsounds Festival - Various
Date: 3 May 2026
Venue: Brudenell Social Club - LeedsKicking things off were Leeds band Paper, whose soulful indie was the perfect accompaniment to the first pint of the day. Singer Ruby had a great voice that settled me into the notion that this was going to be an enjoyable day. Being someone who has been going to gigs for a very long time, you see sounds and influences coming round full circle, and I’ve definitely noticed a nod to 80s indie in many of the bands currently, including Paper. Perhaps a reflection on current bands being influenced by their parents' record collections? Dinnerbone continued what would be an excellent undercurrent theme across the day of female-fronted bands, and they had a nice take on the quite / loud aesthetic with swirling dreamlike guitars gently washing over you before occasional explosions ramped things up before a return to hushed vocals. It all had a lovely hypnotic effect.

Ugly Ozo was pure indie pop perfection and great fun to boot, with, to my ears, slices of early Pumpkins and Pixies riffs. Kissing on Camera were, I think, the first of several Irish bands on the bill, and they had a heavier, more indie rock / emo side to them that wasn’t too polished. I enjoyed the raw edges they had to the sound.

As the bands came thick and fast, I was reminded that the setup at Goldsounds is perfect for discovery. Each band has a half-hour slot, and as one band finishes, you move across to the other room in the Brudenell for the next band. You continue this way through the day, moving back and forward between the rooms with new music coming at you thick and fast.

Cabl continued the Irish sub-theme with driving, urgent indie underpinning the glorious voice of lead singer and bassist Ava Durran. Blanket cranked things up with their take on heavy ambient/shoegaze rock; there was a real widescreen cinematic quality to their sound. Little Grandad brought about a gear change with smooth, harmonised, Americana-influenced indie with the fun added blast of a trumpet at times. Tooth served up a different dish with some classic melodic indie rock. Another Irish band, Bleech 9:3, packed out the main room and had the boisterous crowd lapping every track with their blend of anthemic, grunge-influenced rock. They are back for a headline show at the Brudenell late in the year and are definitely a band to check out.

Vancouver art punks Piss were, without doubt, the standout performers for me. If you are going to have that name, you better bring it on strong, and oh my, didn’t they just? A seething boiling rage that was nothing short of a sonic assault. An incredible live performance of energy and anger as lead singer Taylor Zantingh delved into the personal and political and seemed hell-bent on reshaping music and society right from the stage, it was controversial and challenging in ways that only the best bands are.

I missed a couple of bands across the day, but Goldsounds yet again curated and delivered a fabulous lineup of new music, and I’ll definitely be checking out a few of the bands when they play their shows. It’s such a great, accessible way of seeing new bands, and I’m already looking forward to next year.