Wakefield indie band's hometown gig shutdown by police over fears of uncontrollable numbers

The band's plans to play for fans in The Ridings car park on Saturday (September 30) have been squashed by authorities over fears that uncontrollable numbers would turn up to the event.

Since meeting at an open mic night in the Admiral Duncan pub on Thornes Lane, the band has amassed more than 80 million streams and sold-out tours across the country.

Regardless of its growing success, the Wakefield-based band frequently puts on events for free for its hometown crowd.

Thousands turned out to Heath Common earlier this year to watch the band play an acoustic set in the sun, leading to Skinny Living announcing a pop-up in the popular Wakefield centre’s car park.

Previous videos of the band playing its music from The Ridings car park have racked up more than 20 million views on social media in the past year alone.

However, its newly announced performance was cancelled last week, with the band told that the pop-up was not possible following numerous safety concerns.

Lead singer and frontman of the band, Ryan Johnston, shared his disappointment on the cancellation.

He said: “It’s disappointing, of course, but we completely respect the decision and look forward to working with the local authorities to ensure we can continue to do things for Wakefield in the future!

"The safety of everyone at our gigs is so important to us, but a lot more people have been finding out about us recently in the local area, and I don’t think we realised until now the impact of that.”

While the future of the band's pop-up gigs hangs in the balance, not all is lost, Skinny Living will play at Unity Hall this Christmas in collaboration with Wakefield Trinity for Reece Lyne’s testimonial year on December 16.

There are also plans for the band to bring its UK tour to Wakefield for a special run of dates.

For more information about Skinny Living’s upcoming concerts and pop-ups, visit: https://skinnyliving.co.uk/