This article was published in 2013.

Festival season is in full swing and the pinnacle of the musical calendar for our city, is the arrival of Leeds Festival. Now in its 15th year and boasting 9 stages, putting on every kind of music you could wish to hear, you will find all genres, a little comedy and some poetry in the mix. With the recent confirmation of the BBC introducing stages, it is the hot topic which can be heard on the lips of music lovers throughout the city, and we are all rather excitable over here at Leeds Music Scene.

Whatever your leanings, Leeds Festival has something for everyone, drawing crowds far and wide for the north's music event of the year. We have Biffy Clyro and Green Day headlining the Main stage; in addition, Eminem will be making a special return to Leeds for one of only two appearances in the UK this year. With a cracking line up, the Main Stage plays host to a diverse range of bands from Nine Inch Nails and Bring Me The Horizon, to Foals and Frank Turner. If the Main Stage is not your thing, you can visit one of the many other stages where you will find Leeds' own alt-J packing out the NME/Radio1 Stage. Also featuring other popular artists, this year will see the return of Bastille, who played the Festival Republic stage last year and Disclosure, whom (I am sure) will be firm festival favourites this year.

The inclusion of the Radio1 Dance stage over three days, brings Sub Focus, Clean Bandit and Bondax to Leeds. Then you have artists like Bipolar Sunshine and Willy Moon who will give a different vibe to the proceedings. For lovers of Rap and RnB, Radio1 Xtra stage will be supporting the finest hip-hop artists like Itch, Wretch 32, Chance the Rapper and local lad Lunar C.

If you like it noisy, without a doubt the loudest and most raucous stage, will be the Lock Up Stage. Bringing you the best in Hardcore Rock, Metal and Punk from bands like Hawk Eyes, Gnarwolves and Arcane Roots. Once your face has melted, you can cool off and take a stroll over to something a little calmer. The Festival Republic is one of my favourite stages and this year plays host to some brilliant rising stars. This year you will find Leeds based, China Rats and Battle Lines, the winners of the Futuresound competition. I am also pleased that To Kill A King will be gracing this stage along side the likes of The 1975 and Swim Deep.

Then we have my favourite stage of all, the BBC introducing stage, a platform for many artists to launch their careers. This is where I will be watching some of Leeds finest amongst a selection of new and emerging UK based artists. Recent Winners of the Centrestage competition King no-one, will feature next to Glass Caves, Witch Hunt, Modo Stare and The Grand. So all in all, this year's line up looks set to be another belter! I will look forward to spending another year at Leeds Festival, come rain or shine, I will be there in the thick of it.

Keep you eye on this space for our recommendations, reviews and an in-depth feature on some of the Leeds artists lucky enough to be a part of this years Leeds Festival.