Long Division Festival Programme 2023

2023 official programme

“Well”, he said, “I’m an artist. I make art. It’s what I do.” His manner told me the creation of Art was a proud and meaningful pursuit, and that this should be obvious. But his tone also suggested, what else am I going to do?

On the whole Long Division does Long Division because that’s what it does. It started as an accident and after that, well, what else were we going to do? It’s periodically been an idea, a calling, a cause and a curse. It’s achieved what should be impossible, it’s stumbled at the most basic of hurdles. But with every success or failure, it never stopped. There was always a new way forward. Until now.

Our final headliners Arab Strap were a shining example on how to bring something to a dignified end when they dissolved in 2005 and we are glad we took the decision to end things on our own terms too. One last chance for us all to hang out. Who's to say we won’t return once more in ten years as they did?

But it’s unlikely. And that’s ok. The world keeps spinning. The kids keep writing their music. Wakefield persists.

In 2010 I also interviewed the late Mark E Smith, who would headline Long Division himself three years later. We spoke of (2019 headliner) Peter Hook and the latter’s declaration that he had found a way to make a future out of talking about the past.

“Pah, he’s a weirdo isn’t he?” Mark told me, shaking his head solemnly. “I mean come on, TONY WILSON’S DEAD!”. His exasperated declaration still lives in my head as a soundbite. He added with absolute sincerity, “It’s today.”

And so we thank you for being here for the final Long Division Festival. But MES was right. Long Division is dead. And we’re here, today, together in the moment. Enjoy the moment and don’t look back.

Dean Freeman Team Long Division

Long Division was formed from the fanzine Rhubarb Bomb and I miss those carefree days. For one, I got to interview all manner of interesting people. In 2010 I spoke with Luke Haines and asked him, after so many years of music making, what drove him to keep going?

VENUE 23

The final Long Division main stage houses some of the most vital bands in our history plus loads of new faces ready to leave their mark on Wakefield. Expect gorgeous alt-folk, propellant dance bangers, and psychedelic rockers all under one roof.

Bunkerpop

LCD Soundsystem if from Hull.

Luxury Goods

Anthemic alt-pop from Sheffield.

Sunflower Thieves

Best friends since 16, these longtime LD favourites make some of the best folk music coming from Leeds.

Opus Kink

Festival circuit favourites, these Brighton horn-powered jazz punkers are an unmissable presence.

Loose Articles

Punk with a capital P! A feminine, threatening, awesome quartet from Manchester.

Folly Group

London’s best post-punk quartet. Propelled by a love of electronic bass music, they’ll be lighting the dancefloor on fire.

bdrmm

Another longtime LD favourite, these Hull shoegazers have had a massive year. Fresh off a tour with Mogwai, the lads will be playing tunes of their upcoming sophomore album.

The Membranes

Punk history in the flesh. Blackpool post-punkers helmed by John Robb.

The Lovely Eggs

Long Division distilled into a band, the Lancashire two-piece’s fiercely DIY ethos and psychedelic freakouts are legendary for a reason.

Theatre Royal

An all time classic Long Division Festival venue. The seated theatre is simultaneously large and intimate and will feature a mix of our loudest and most stripped back bands, including loads of Wakefield’s finest. It’ll be real tempting to get a great seat and not move all day…

St. Gregory Orange

Wakefield electronic post-pop heroes grand return.

Mi Mye

Heartbreaking and heartwarming anthems from Wakefield legends. Wouldn’t be the final Long Division without an appearance from Mi Mye!

Drahla

Art-rock personified, Wakefield’s coolest band will play a magnifique set featuring tracks from their as of yet unannounced second album.

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly

Southend-On-Sea indie folk star, Get Cape will be performing a beautifully intimate solo show at the Theatre.

The Research

Reuniting for the first time in nearly fifteen years, Wakefield indie-poppers are playing a historic show for the last Long Division.

The Orielles

Manchester-via-Halifax experimenters were renowned indie champions. Now, embracing a free-form, experimental edge, they push the boundaries of what an indie band can be.

Arab Strap

Arab Strap in Wakefield is a real dream come true. The Scottish downbeat duo will be performing a rare stripped back set, brimming with old favourites.

Arab Strap

Heartworms

Unity Major Hall

An unexpected return of a Long Division venue of old. Hosting some of our favourite emerging bands, almost entirely from Yorkshire, expect everything from heartwrenching shoegaze, to raucous noise-rock, to indie-electronica.

Van Houten

Dark shoegaze from Leeds that surrounds vivid, emotionally mature songwriting.

Heartworms

Spielmann

A one man, synth and drum-machine equipped lover of indie anthems from Leeds.

Bug Teeth

Leeds-via-Norwich experimental dream-pop quintet helmed by a powerful frontperson. Not one to miss.

Nightbus

Mancunian eerie indie trio making music to soundtrack nighttime revels.

Tummyache

Raw, energetic indie from the USA with a confessional punk edge. Brilliantly emotive on record, unmissable live.

Defiant gothic post-punk from London signed to indie cult label Speedy Wunderground. Their fantastic debut EP is on repeat at the LD office.

Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip

Leeds artist, poet and musician backed by a full band performing his infamously eccentric and surreal material.

Thank

Sardonic and visceral noise-rock from Leeds quartet Thank was a must have for our final festival. Unforgettable, unmissable, and unmistakable.

Skinny Pelembe

Doncaster-via-Johannesburg funked up avant-garde Afrofuturist Skinny Pelembe might be the most exciting act on our lineup. One listen to his most recent album and you’ll know why.

Unity Minor Hall

In the Minor Hall you can find some of our favourite solo and duo performers with an eclectic mix starting with intimate folk and ending with futuristic, technicolour electropop.

Braithe

A new acoustic folk project from someone very close to Long Division and its history.

Ellie Bleach

London-based singer/songwriter Ellie Bleach crafts an indie-meets-baroquepop sound that melds witty lyricism with the strangeness of modern life.

Vanity Fairy

Norwich’s Vanity Fairy is an eclectic flurry of theatrics and pop songwriting somewhere between ABBA and Kate Bush.

Hang Linton

Leeds’s Hang Linton splices avantfunk, dance punk & breakbeats into a vivacious package that blew us away at last year's festival. We can’t wait to see him again this year armed with even more tracks.

Robbie & Mona

Dark and ethereal, the Bristol duo’s aesthetic forward approach to dreampop and electronica-infused jazz made them a strong LD office fave.

Stanley Brinks

No stranger to Wakefield (he wrote a love song in our honour) Frenchman Stanley Brinks and his anti-folk stylings will be a highlight for sure.

Naima Bock

Half Brazilian, Half Greek, the former Goat Girl member’s worldly folk artistry is quickly gaining renown and for good reason.

Jessica Winter

May very well be the future of pop music. With her bold, pop persona getting approval from the likes of Death Grips, The Cure, and Gorillaz, her set is bound to be essential viewing.

Jessica Winter

By far the hottest and sweatiest venue in our armory. Our takeover includes a partnership with Launchpad and Higher Rhythm to present an enviable lineup of outstanding emerging talent from across Yorkshire – with a special guest headliner to round it all off.

Living Body

This Leeds based ‘double-drumming anti-capitalist hook machine’ are no strangers to Wakefield. It seemed only natural that they be the band to kick proceedings off.

Beth Pilling

An accomplished singer/songwriter from East Yorkshire, Beth’s knack for melody and lyricism will be on full display at Vortex.

LADY

A powerhouse of psychedelic jazzinspired soft rock, led by singer/ guitarist Rebecca Herrington, LADY are an immersive and potent experience.

Harri Larkin

The Sheffield indie-funk trio are favourites of the festival circuit and one glimpse at their live presence answers why!

Bungalow

A 5-piece dream-pop meets indie extravaganza from Sheffield brimming with hooks and enviable pop sensibilities.

Green Gardens

Medieval Americana. Feudal indierock. Pastoral art-rock. Many hyphenates to say this Leeds 4-piece have something special going on…

Dilettante

A northern art-rock collective built around multi-instrumentalist Francesca Pidgeon resembling the sounds of St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear, and Radiohead.

Before Breakfast

Sheffield’s Gina and Lucy use pianos, cellos, and breathtaking voices to take alt-folk to new heights. Eternally intimate, eternally stunning.

Sister Wives

Half-Welsh, half-English post-punk, prog-flecked psychedelia from this Sheffield four-piece will be downright riotous in Vortex.

Deadletter

London-via-North-Yorkshire punk provocateurs went down a storm at last year’s festival. The demand was simply too high not to bring them back!

The Hop 14+

The Hop hosted the first gig of the first ever Long Division Festival in 2011, so it’s great to have them back one last time around. The downstairs stage is ideally situated next to their spacious suntrap of a beer garden and will host a great selection of noisy local and regional talent.

Ld's Amplify Bands:

La Sorda

Punchy singalong Pontefract Indie

The Blinds

Energetic spiralling booming Castleford Indie

Identity Crisis

Genre bending, head-mashing Rock / Jazz madness

Sooner Or Later

Face melting rock and roll from Emley youths.

Mason Whittle

Huddersfield songwriter and rockstar in the making, with a set featuring performances from Long Division’s finest staff.

Daisy Dorothy

Up through the ranks of LD's education programme, Daisy Dorothy’s songwriting never ceases to impress. Fans of Neutral Milk Hotel won’t want to miss this set.

Feeble Strength

90’s guitar music brought to the present by Sunderland punks.

Little Hand Feet

Angular to the extreme, the agile and volatile nature of Little Hand Feet is post-punk at its most fun.

Keep Back Ivy

Lo-fi rock/electronic duo doing it themselves for the outsiders. Expect songs about anxiety, social media, and our political situation.

St. Malo

This 80’s tinged electro-pop West Yorkshire collective is blindingly fun. Featuring members of Cruel World, St Cyrus, Shadowlark and more.

Little Hand Feet

The former Unity Works Cafe Bar is now re-established as Lobby 1867. Ideally placed between the two main stages, the outdoor seating will be fought over (it’ll be sunny, it’s always sunny for Long Division) and the good vibe acoustic performances are open to all, ticket or not.

Epilogues

Beginning in an empty flat in Norwich before landing in Leeds, a melancholic but gripping songwriting is what’s at the heart of this project.

Vehicle

Formerly of York cult outfit Perspex, Michael Cable’s new project is a sardonic and uniquely British britpoping good time.

Marnie Glum

Realising her expertise in writing "sad bops", York’s Marnie Glum uses delicate vocals and carefully crafted lyrics to tell her own stories.

birdseed.

Self described ‘alternative-indie-folk sorta thing’, Leeds based Eve Westwood writes heartbreakingly relatable songs about growing up too fast.

Amy May Ellis

Journeying from the North Yorkshire Moors, Amy’s delicate songwriting and charming personality will take you to a world of nature, beauty, and mysticism.

Honey Guide

Soft rock songwriting from Leeds with a lo-fi edge. Think Andy Shauf meets Julia Jacklin.

S.T. Manville

After the burnout of being a successful pop songwriter and the aftermath of a 10 year marriage, this Midlands artist makes music somewhere between where he used to be and where he wants to go.

Freschard

A familiar face to core LD fans, the French songwriter was the ideal choice to close out our acoustic stage.

Amy May Ellis

The Red Shed

The legendary Red Shed returns to Long Division Festival courtesy of a team up with Matinee Punx, who use it as their regular venue for their monthly gigs. The free, all ages stage features some ace punk bands from near and far.

Tiger Island

Tiger Island are a 5-piece garage punk band from Leeds. Think Yeah Yeah Yeahs fronted by PJ Harvey – all done by some nice Yorkshire folks.

Last Season’s Winners

No official releases yet but we can promise you a loud time while these lot are on stage.

Nervous Twitch

Four albums deep and this Leeds trios short and snappy songwriting continues to go from strength to strength.

Eye To Eye

With the pedal firmly to the metal, expect a full on sonic assault from this West Yorkshire punk rock quartet.

Misfortune Cookie

Misfortune Cookie are four friends who still enjoy getting together and making a racket whenever their various life responsibilities allow.

Surface Waves

A 4-piece punk rock ‘n’ roll band from Leeds playing fully energised punk rock ‘n’ roll. Their live show is a relentlessly pummelling force of electric noise!

Nervous Twitch

#LD2023 AFTERPARTY

23:00 – 02:00 @ The gEORGE AND cROWN

Some venues will be very busy this year. To ensure you are able to see your favourite bands, get down early. Once venues are full, a one in, one out system will operate.

Free FAMILY ACTIVITIES AT LONG DIVISION

From 11:30 until 15:30 we will be running free family activities in The Walker Studio of the Theatre Royal. This can be accessed for free through the Theatre’s Cafe Bar (the big glass fronted building on Westgate).

We’ll have a range of activities including; zine making, badge making, colouring, free (temporary!) tattoos + more!

Our friends from Deer Shed Festival will also be joining us!

Team PHOTO

We always take a team photo at the festival but this year EVERYONE is invited! Yes, even you!

Meet us outside The Art House (where you got your wristband) at 5:30pm for a quick group snap to remember the final festival.

@ ld2023

Our education programme #YoungTeam is all over the festival this year! Year round we work with young people (usually 14-18) by running programmes that engage them in music and get them excited about Wakefield.

The first three bands at The Hop (La Sorda, The Blinds and Identity Crisis) are this year’s Amplify bands, formed this year and mentored by ace local musicians. Don’t miss out!

Elsewhere, you’ll find #YoungTeam alumni scattered across the lineup as performers and even working behind the scenes in technical and Stage Manager roles.

Shout out to them all from a very proud Team Long Division!

Find out more...

If you want to know more about future #YoungTeam programmes, email PaulBateson@longdivision.org

Measuring the impact of a festival like Long Division on the environment is difficult. But we do know that our effect is negative, and the majority of that stems from artists and audience travel to and from the event.

We’ve already offered ticket buyers the chance to donate £5 as part of their ticket to a sustainability fund. This will be put towards a special project in September.

We’ve now set up a Pledgeball account specific to the festival. This is a place you can donate to offset your carbon footprint for attending Long Division and, if you can afford it, we ask you to consider it.

longdivisionfestival.co.uk/ sustainability

Long Division Festival 2023 was brought to you by Team Long Division:

Paul Bateson

Eleanor Beever

Amy Lilley

Dean Freeman Varun Govil

a final message from our director

12 years. 11 Festivals. Well over a 1,000 bands. People need to be thanked. Lots gave their time for the love of it. Managing a venue here, designing a logo there. Taking a million photos, lending an amp, giving people wristbands, handing out flyers. Even folks who were getting paid to play, perform or work on some mad idea; it often involved going above and beyond.

Organisations funded it, people bought tickets etc etc. To try to list them all would be beyond me.

But some special thank yous are due. Basically, without them the Long Division’s you know would never have happened and I wouldn’t have made it this far. This doesn’t exclude the many others who did their bit.

Thank you to all the artists, venues, sponsors, funders, staff, volunteers andgenuinely! - you for being here.

Adam Hayward was there at the start as Rhubarb bomb designer and co-conspirator without whom I would not have had the means or confidence to do what was done. Chris Morse’s programming on those early festivals set a high bar and put the whole thing on the map. Long Division Board Members past and present - Paul Bateson, Laura Doughty, Ben Fisher, Pat Freeman, Adam Hayward (again), Jenn Howard, Ruth Jones, Amy Lilley, Ash Scott, Andrew Whittaker and Jude Wright-Wolfe - were incalculable support and excellent stewards. Harry Ridgeway went above and beyond and was always sound counsel. Jamie Lockhart was everywhere and always a good ear. Jayne Freeman sacrificed a normal life and an unknown percentage of her sanity. Thank you.

Be safe. All things must pass. And so it goes.