LIVE REVIEW: Yard Act @ YES, Manchester (BBC 6 Music Festival)

BBC 6 Music Festival 2026 saw a weekend packed full of some of the most exciting breakthrough acts such as Mandy, Indiana as well as Indie legends like Bloc Party. However, our favourite moment of the festival was the reappearance of Leed's Post-Punk troubadours Yard Act who filled out The Pink Room at YES for a thunderous and experimental return.

Yard Act // BBC 6 MUSIC

Firstly, it has to be said what a treat it is to see one of the countries biggest and best Indie/Alternative acts in such an intimate venue. We covered Yard Act playing YES's Pink Room for the launch of their debut album back in 2022. Even then, the room felt small for there as they were on the precipice of blowing up and would go on to play the 02 Ritz later that year, a venue 5 times the size. So, to see them return to this intimate setting as they gear up for album three felt like a true honour and a wonderful full circle moment.

This intimacy allowed a candid, conversational approach from frontman James Smith as they teased a host of songs from their upcoming record for the first time. At times it felt like a work-in-progress show in the best possible way as they tested out new tracks, asking for feedback and thanking the crowd for bearing with them through unreleased material. Yet, there was no need to be apologetic as every new track went down a treat.

Yard Act // BBC 6 MUSIC

It seems as though they have left behind the electro-infused experimentation of album two in favour of wonderfully layered piano and brass accompaniments. The new tracks also felt full of a darker, grumbling angst then the previous record with rolling grooves and some insanely fast vocal flurries that pushed James' vocals to the edge. The expansive euphoria of 'You’re Gonna Need a Little Music' and the poignant yet punchy 'New Beginnings' stood out and are sure to be early singles.

Despite debuting 8 new tracks, Yard Act still found time to offer up some fan favourites that sent the room into a frenzy. The jamming freak-out of 'The Trench Coat Museum' was mixed with the galloping energy of 'Dead Horse' to provide a full-throttle high point of the night and the extended closer 'Witness' had to crowd dancing wildly as a final moshpit opened up in the centre of the room.

Yard Act // BBC 6 MUSIC

On the whole it was a fantastic set that proved why they are so beloved, teasing the new album and playing enough fan favourites to produce countless singalongs but still kept enough back to keep the demand up for their December UK tour. And, thanks to BBC 6 Music, we were lucky enough to see this unfold in such an intimate venue!