Watch Yard Act turn on the Christmas lights in the Yorkshire village of Meanwood
Yard Act were invited as special guests to turn on the Christmas lights in the Yorkshire village of Meanwood. Check out footage of the moment below.
The switch-on took place over the weekend, and saw the rising indie icons from Leeds appear at the event to turn on the lights for Christmas 2023.
“A bit of a surprise now. There’s a local band, but they’re [a] hugely successful local band called Yard Act. We’re lucky to have James [Smith] and Chris [Duffin] from Yard act this evening to come onstage,” said the host, inviting the band members onto the platform.
The two then spoke briefly with the crowd about their upcoming plans – including tour dates in Japan which are set to kick off next week, before switching on this year’s decorations alongside Ronnie The Rhino, the mascot for the city’s rugby team the Leeds Rhinos.
The appearance at Meanwood to switch on the Christmas lights also comes as Yard Act are set to share a new single titled ‘Petroleum’.
As shared on their Instagram page, the band posted a snippet of the upbeat track last week with the caption: “It’s what your soul needs”. They also confirmed that the new song is set to arrive tomorrow (November 30).
The new track will be the latest since the members shared ‘Dream Job’ last month, alongside details of their upcoming second album ‘Where’s My Utopia?’.
Speaking about the forthcoming LP in an interview with NME, frontman James Smith opened up about the sources of inspiration behind the new material – saying it was about that constant push to grow and progress.
“It’s about hope and perseverance. A lot of what we’ve always done has been rooted in where society is at and a comment on the times, but it’s more universal. Human beings have always been driven by our ambitions,” he said.
“In a world where there’s currently supermarkets where you can get food from and houses you can live in, once we’ve got the basics covered our minds aspire for other things our minds think are important because we’re not content in just being animals.”
He also revealed that the album makes reference to his recent turn to sobriety, adding: “For me, it was a matter of asking what I wanted more: to be half-cut half the time, or to be able to do the job you’ve always wanted to the best of your ability. To get the most out of it, I had to stop drinking. That’s been quite a profound and uplifting thing for me.”
Yard Act will share ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ on March 1, 2024. Pre-order it here and check out the band’s upcoming tour dates below – visit here for remaining tickets.
Yard Act’s upcoming tour dates are:
DECEMBER 2023
2 – Maho Rasop Festival, Bangkok, TH
3 – Clockenflap Festival, Hong Kong, HK
5 – Shangri-la, Osaka, JP
7 – Club Quattro, Tokyo, JP
MARCH 2024
13 – The Nick Rayns LCR, Norwich, UK
14 – Rock City, Nottingham, UK
15 – O2 Academy, Glasgow, UK
16 – O2 Apollo, Manchester, UK
17 – Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK
19 – Mandela Hall, Belfast, UK
20 – Vicar Street, Dublin, IE
22 – Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool, UK
23 – O2 Academy, Bristol, UK
25 – The Dome, Brighton, UK
27 – Eventim Apollo, London, UK
APRIL 2024
4 – Stereolux, Nantes, FR
5 – Cabaret Sauvage, Paris, FR
6 – Rock School Barbey, Bordeaux, FR
8 – LAV, Lisbon, PT
9 – Mon, Madrid, ES
11 – La 2, Barcelona, ES
12 – Le Transbordeur, Lyon, FR
13 – Locomotiv Club, Bologna, IT
14 – Santeria Toscana 31, Milan, IT
16 – Mascotte, Zurich, CH
17 – Muffathalle, Munich, DE
18 – Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin, DE
20 – Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm, SE
24 – Uebel & Gefährlich, Hamburg, DE
25 – Paradiso Main Hall, Amsterdam, NL
26 – Doornroosje, Nijmegen,NL
27 – Kantine, Cologne, DE
28 – Les Nuits Botanique, Brussels, BE
MAY 2024
30 – Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
31 – The Regent Theater, Los Angeles, CA
JUNE 2024
1 – Pappy and Harriet’s, Pioneertown, CA
3 – The Catalyst Atrium, Santa Cruz, CA
4 – The Independent, San Francisco, CA
6 – Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR
7 – Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver, BC
8 – Crocodile, Seattle, WA
AUGUST 2024
3 – Millennium Square, Leeds, UK
The post Watch Yard Act turn on the Christmas lights in the Yorkshire village of Meanwood appeared first on NME.
Liberty Dunworth
NME
