We Out Here 2026 & the Leeds connection – review

WOH Saturday. Credit: @garryjonesphotography

From Subdub to Subaru, the Leeds influence ran throughout this year’s We Out Here. DJ Andrew Devine guides us through connections between the Dorset festival and the West Yorkshire city.

Looking back through photos of its sunkissed crowds and international jazz icons, it might be tricky to spot the link between the biggest city in West Yorkshire and We Out Here festival. But what makes this four-day get together in Dorset special is its ability to tie together different moments, scenes, and influences from across the spectrum and history of music, to make something that feels genuinely ‘worldwide’. Every WOH line up features everything from soul to reggae to jungle, and the likes of Kingston, Lagos, London and Chicago all get their spotlight. And in 2026, the contribution that Leeds is making to the culture becomes just as clear.

The Leeds connection is not just about booking a few Leeds artists. “It’s about community…” says Andrew Devine, seasoned DJ and promoter who’s been central to the Leeds ecosystem for the past decade. Andrew appears at WOH to play an hour of soothing reggae selections on Thursday night, and is happy to share why people make the 6 hour slog from West Yorkshire for the festival. “I’ve seen other festivals bandying that word around and it’s a bit like, what are you actually doing here? [WOH] really do outreach and they get into Leeds communities and try to bring the tribes together.”

Take Love Muscle’s takeover on Saturday night. The iconic queer party has been forging dancefloor magic in Leeds for 10 years now – yet the team have stayed selective about festival appearances, only working with those with the right intentions and right attitudes to safe spaces. But after hearing good things about WOH, they ended up curating a night of DJs on the Big Top, with rRoxymore headlining. “That is an incredible booking anywhere in the world,” says Andrew. “So the fact that they’re able to do that outreach and it doesn’t feel contrived or ticking boxes… It’s really inspiring to see.” The packed Big Top tent shows this Leeds institution can smash it on a national stage, energising a big festival crowd and picking up new fans in the process.

Iration Steppas. Credit: Will Baldwin-Pask

There’s more Leeds spotlighting when Iration Steppas – founders of legendary night Subdub and its offshoot Exodus – co-curate The Bowl on Friday with Outlook Festival. Conquering the world from Chapeltown since the late-80s, the Steppas career is defined by massive dub hits, pioneering technology, and a regular night at the West Indian Centre that brought UK bass & dubstep to the North in the 2000s. “Iration have a way of playing and setting up their sound system, so that when you say it shakes a room, it’s a different feeling.” explains Andrew. “Every Leeds DJ gets exposed to Subdub. Every Leeds DJ knows it doesn’t matter what you’re playing: you better fucking shake the room.” 

After Gilles Peterson and Channel One warm up, haze from the stage and a sea of bifters fills the collapsed ground of The Bowl, whilst Mark unleashes the notorious Year 3000 style. With big bleeps and brutal beats, his set brings home the influence of the Chapeltown legends and puts the Steppas at the heart of the UK soundsystem story.

Iration Steppas. Credit: Will Baldwin-Pask

The Leeds’ party ethos is evident everywhere: Babyschon, an NTS regular who cut their teeth through Leeds stations Sable & Narr, goes down a storm at The Beat Hotel; DJ Subaru, one of the city’s most respected selectors and promoters, elevates the stage even higher with a rapturous set of bangers; Coco Bops, the DJ behind club night GBOSA, commands the Carhartt tent; and the Leeds-born legend Nightmares on Wax brings a 40-year DJ career to Love Dancin’.

DJ Subaru. Credit: Will Baldwin-Pask

And when Blawan releases a techno-sized air raid upon The Grove, it’s a reminder of how Leeds has indirectly moulded the culture too. Blawan and his early supporters in the Hessle Audio family – the label that released his early work and have been the champions for boundary-pushing, off-kilter electronic music since – cite Subdub as the party that shaped them the most when they all lived in the city.

For anyone injured by Blawan’s live techno set: you have Mark Iration to thank.

Credit: Amyfernphotography

Leeds’ influence is throughout the festival, for those looking for it. And it goes deeper than programming. WOH’s ongoing partnership with Leeds Conservatoire gives musicians and production students direct festival experience. Meanwhile, Noah Ball, who manages We Out Here via his company New Bohemia (as well as Outlook, Dimensions and more) studied and lived in Leeds; whilst in Leeds, he ran a club night of the same name that brought eclectic DJs from around the country, such as (drum roll) Gilles Peterson, to West Yorkshire.

As we’ve argued repeatedly in this publication, Leeds excels at churning out talent that strengthens the creative industries across the country. Individuals like Noah and everyone else in the WOH team that honed their craft and refined their taste in the city, making We Out Here a success, are a testament to that.

Credit: SANDRA NAGEL. @SANDRA_NAGEL @KHROMACOLLECTIVE

Back home in Leeds, we can do our bit to strengthen the connection – by continuing to support the local promoters, venues, artists and operators who embody the worldwide party ethos of the weekend. Leeds has already, in its own way, helped We Out Here become what it is. When the festival ends, we take its energy back to West Yorkshire with us – we help make more DJs, more dancers, more performers and punters, who will go on to feed the We Out Here festivals of the future.

This festival is not just about good memories and a sunkissed summary for Instagram. It’s about the deeper enrichment of music culture in this country, achieved by reaching overlooked corners and inviting them into an ethos we can all believe in: a national agenda for what parties and festivals and community can be like.

As We Out Here’s success continues, the Leeds connection surely will, too.