The Wakefield day festival waves a poignant goodbye with an outstanding and singular lineup.

This weekend, we say farewell to one of the UK festival scene’s underrated gems, Long Division. The multi-venue festival hosted in Wakefield brings a brilliant range of talent to the Yorkshire town, transforming it into the most happening party in Britain. Its booking policy is admirably adventurous, offering some of the first UK festival slots to underground live scene favourites like Vanity Fairy and Freschard alongside welcome well-known names of the festival circuit. You are probably already well aware that it will be worth seeing DEADLETTER, Arab Strap, The Lovely Eggs and Jessica Winter; we’re here to pick out some new discoveries on offer in between.

Festivities begin at 12.15 at Vortex with Leeds-based indie pop duo Living Body, whose hits include ‘Don’t Kill Yourself (It’s Christmas)’ and fan favourite ‘C.R.E.A.M., I Do’. Regular readers could anticipate that our sympathies early in the day lie with Ellie Bleach’s set at the cosy Unity Minor Hall. With new single ‘Pamela’ out tomorrow, and one or two other new tunes working their way into sets, we are all ears, enamoured as we were by last year’s debut EP ‘No Elegant Way to Sell Out’. Be sure to stick around for Vanity Fairy, one of London’s best loved performers with equal instinct for pop perfection and sparkling sartorial flair.

Over at the Theatre Royal, we are keen to see Drahla, the starkly minimalist Yorkshire guitar band. Latest single ‘Lip Sync’ is powered along as melodic instruments tangle into rhythmic drive, hinting at the unique targeted force of their live performances. Following that, there is no choice but to head to Venue 23 for the indulgently filthy funk-fueled punk of Opus Kink, currently lording it on the UK live scene after their triumphant sold-out Village Underground headline last week.

The early evening features a litany of strong options, including the fizzy, mottled lounge-based electronica of Robbie and Mona (Unity Minor Hall), riotous punk trio Loose Articles (Venue 23) and underrated post-post-punk sorcerers Folly Group (also Venue 23).

As the night takes hold, we look towards our current festival favourite Naima Bock, who takes to Unity Minor Hall with a live set that never disappoints and always unfolds new surprises. Acclaimed bleary dream punks bdrmm take on the baton from Folly Group at Venue 23 but dance-inflected indie heroes The Orielles at Theatre Royal is also a compelling option. Those willing to stray from the sure bets of the bill should, however, check out Freschard (Lobby 1867), the France-via-Berlin-via-New York indie artist who embodies the fun and freedom of DIY art in her music. Notable fans include Jeffrey Lewis and The Wave Pictures, and if you need any further convincing check out her addictive and charming 2016 single ‘party’.

From here, the headliners take over in a fierce competition for our attentions. Afro-futurist, ‘cry x dance’ artist Skinny Pelembe (Unity Major Hall) is certainly worth seeing if you haven’t already. That said, it will be hard to pass up Scottish indie legends Arab Strap, who play a stripped back set at Theatre Royal. All this runs parallel to two dynamos at the forefront of the UK’s current wave of exports, Jessica Winter (Unity Minor Hall) and DEADLETTER (Vortex), both of whom dazzled when we caught them at The Great Escape last month. Whatever happens, we should all be able to catch a decent chunk of The Lovely Eggs, who cap the festival off with an hour-long set at Venue 23.

Long Division features a great many of our current live favourites including a fair few not automatically booked across the rest of this summer’s festivals. An encouragingly enterprising booking policy gives us all the more confidence to take a few gambles on who we will end up seeing. As the festival’s director commented, this lineup “looks like a first festival rather than a final one”, with music discovery at its heart.