Wakefield Long Division Festival: ‘It’s not going to be perfect but it is going to be great’

Gigs will take place either side of the main event on Saturday, September 25, starting on Friday with longtime Long Division favourites The Wave Pictures at Balne Lane Working Men’s Club.

The London-based indie-pop trio will be joined by promising new Leeds outfit English Teacher who recently signed to Nice Swan Records with tickets on sale now.

Scheduled Saturday performers The Anchoress and Beardyman have now moved to Long Division 2022 due to ongoing individual health concerns, while CUD have been added to the bill.

The full list of festival venues have also been announced, with gigs taking place on Saturday at WX – the city’s former Market hall – Mechanics Theatre, Wakefield Town Hall, Vortex, Velvet, Westgate Chapel, The Establishment, The Hop, and Jolly Boys.

Sunday at Long Division is presented by Wakefield BID, Arts Council England and Wakefield Council, and will take place at WX.

It will host performances from renowned tribute acts Weetwood Mac and Green Haze along with Shades Collective, Transcend, and a special set from 2021 The Voice contestant Chanel Yates.

This part of the festival is free to attend but capacity for the stage is limited so people are encouraged to sign up for tickets, with a one-in one-out policy once the venue is full.

Festival founder and director said: “Now that we’ve finally made it – touch wood – to our tenth festival, after nearly two years of planning and replanning and planning again, all I can really say is - thank you.

“Thank you to all those who supported our Crowdfunder in 2020, who bought and held on to tickets since. To all the artists who have dealt with rescheduling and venue changes. To all the great venues and our sponsors, funders and supporters.

“Hand on heart, it’s not going to be perfect. It can’t be – what is right now? But it is going to be great.

“There’s still a little bit of space for those who want to join us. “Be part of the beginning of the new-new-normal of the grateful return of live music.”

Headliners will include The Futureheads, Glasvegas and The Lovely Eggs. Long Division has formed a partnership with new Wakefield residents Tileyard North. The new development at Rutland Mills is expected to make hundreds of creative jobs and boost new industries in the city.

The two will team up for the Mechanics’ Theatre stage on the Saturday.

It will feature a lineup including post-punk and shoegaze from Hull’s Low Hummer and BDRMM, Hebden Bridge’s The Lounge Society, local Wakefield garage-rock heroes Knuckle, and more.

Joining them will be Georgia Meek, a Tileyard Education student success story who was awarded a Spitfire Audio Scholarship and has performed at huge events such as Radio One’s Big Weekend.

Paul Kempe, Tileyard owner and co-founder, said: “We are delighted to be working with Long Division, an outstanding local festival with a reputation for nurturing and supporting emerging talent.

“We see this as a long-term partnership for Tileyard North and are looking forward to being able to collaborate further with Long Division at Tileyard North in the years to come.”

Nick Keynes, Tileyard co-founder, said: “Long Division Festival is a perfectly aligned partnership for Tileyard North, a pioneering festival with emerging talent at its core. We are excited to watch the festival grow, and to help support and amplify the initiative, as well as immerse ourselves in some incredible music, for us, it was a perfect collaboration, and we look forward to growing with the festival.”