Preview: Goth City Festival, 2016

11th - 26th November 2016
Leeds, UK

Taking place between Friday 11th and Saturday 26th November, Goth City Festival is a city-wide musical and cultural festival that celebrates the gothic and post-punk heritage of the city and of Yorkshire generally. Events will include, gigs, clubs, discussions, spoken word, acoustic and social events at more than six venues and feature more than 20 different bands and performers. 

"Leeds hasn't had a goth festival for several years, and with the scene in West Yorkshire undergoing such a renaissance with new acts and club nights springing up we thought the time was right that Leeds had it's own festival once again. The city and West Yorkshire generally are closing associated with the development of the scene and even today is a major site for goth culture, with the leading club night Carpe Noctum being the biggest goth night in the north. 

"However, we didn't want to copy the format of or compete with the UKs other goth festivals, so we have built a cooperative, community-minded cultural festival comprising a good balance of established and new acts as well as spoken word, acoustic, club, discussion and social events too. We feel this gives the festival a whole new dimension and gives Leeds the opportunity to be a platform for dark alternative culture once again.

"Also, and more vitally, we have prioritised key small venues and community sites for our events, eschewing corporate sponsorship and donating all proceeds to a local refugee charity. This is because we want to help rebuild the counter-cultural underground in Leeds and keep the festival true to the DIY/punk origins of the scene." 

Rather than being a sprawling, high-cost event crammed with the usual big names from the gothic rock scene and propped up with vast amounts of corporate sponsorship, Goth City Festival seeks to highlight and promote the new generation of goth and dark alternative artists in the region and to tap into the counter-cultural spirit of the scene and of the Leeds underground.

Headliners include legendary Leeds goth rock legends Salvation, who recently celebrated their 30^th anniversary, as well as the two bands that symbolise the next generation of Yorkshire gothic – Leeds' Zeitgeist Zero and Rhombus. Also appearing will be Rosie Garland (singer of seminal Leeds act The March Violets), Leeds' post-punk pioneers Expelaires, the Sisters of Murphy (the premier tribute to Eldritch & Co.), Leeds' rising stars of 'sister doom' Chambers, and many more. 

In keeping with the DIY and underground spirit of the event, the festival will be held at the best alternative venues across the city, including the co-operatively owned Wharf Chambers and renowned underground Leeds' venues such as the Fenton, Packhorse and Fox & Newt. It also feature Carpe Noctum, West Yorkshire's longest running goth clubnight and the largest event of it's kind in the north. 

All proceeds from Goth City Promotions events during this period will be donated to PAFRAS (Positive Action For Refugees and Asylum Seekers), a local charity for destitute refugees and asylum seekers.

For more information contact:

Joel @ Goth City Promotions

www.gothcity.co.uk

Full Schedule:

Friday 11th November - Goth City Festival: Launch Party

featuring Expelaires + Isolation Division

The Packhorse, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. Doors 8pm, entry £4. 

Saturday 12th November: It’s Goth Up North presents Carpe Noctum featuring Rhombus + Lesbian Bed Death + Caffeine Kill

The Lending Room, The Library Pub, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 7pm-late. 

Wednesday 16th November - Goth City Festival: Black Planet - Leeds Goth in Perspective. On the discussion panel will be: Rosie Garland (writer, performer and March Violets singer), John Keenan (Leeds alternative music promoter), Karl Spracklen (Professor of Leisure Studies, Leeds Beckett University) and Tim Synystyr (journalist and A Blogging Goth), chair: Joel Heyes (Goth City Promotions)

HEART Centre, Bennett Road, Headingley, Leeds. 7.30-9.3pm, tickets £4

Friday 18th November - Goth City Festival: Hot Goth Injection!

featuring Chambers, Deathtrippers, Kittinger Freefall

Bad Apples Rock Bar, Call Lane, Leeds. Doors 8pm. Free entry, collection for artists’ expenses.

Saturday 19th November - Goth City Festival: Occupy LS6! - The Goth City Otley Run. Social event. Various venues, Otley Road/Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 2pm start. Full details and schedule t.b.c. 

Saturday 19th November -The Sisters of Murphy

The Fenton, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 8pm-11pm. £4 entry. 

Sunday 20th November - Goth City Festival: Black Gold! - an alcohol-free social event. Wharf Chambers, Wharf Street, Leeds. 3pm-7pm. Further details t.b.c

Wednesday 23rd November - Goth City Festival: A Night of the Dark Arts featuring Rosie Garland, AMereKat, Alice Nicholls, Undead Poets Society and Nathan Ramsden

The Fox & Newt, Burley Street, Leeds. Doors 7.45pm, entry £4. 

Friday 25th & Saturday 26th November - Goth City Festival: The Main Event featuring Salvation, Zeitgeist Zero, Last July, Quasimodo, Berlyn Trilogy, Dawn of Elysium, The Hearse, The Lost Souls, The Black Riders Cult + DJs to be announced

Wharf Chambers, Wharf St, Leeds. Weekend tickets £20.