Jake Bugg

Having just released his first platinum self-titled album in 2012, the 19 year-old evokes sounds of Johnny Cash, The Beatles and Noel Gallagher.
Dubbed by The Telegraph as ‘an East Midlands Bob Dylan’, the young man has accrued five Top 100 singles alongside his album which topped the charts last November.
A Brit Award nominee, Bugg will be playing on the NME/Radio 1 stage on Sunday 25th August.

Alt-J

Without even a Wikipedia article to their name this time last year, the Leeds University group have since won the Mercury Prize, been nominated for three Brit Awards and their album, An Awesome Wave, has recently been given a Gold Certificate by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Announced by some as the next Radiohead, the band have enjoyed a string of successful singles including Matilda, which peaked at number 6 in the French Charts.
The band are headlining the NME/Radio 1 Stage on Sunday 25th August.

Frank Turner

Cut almost with the same cloth as Jake Bugg himself, Frank Turner, for those who haven’t heard him, is a folk/punk singer-songwriter who was originally the vocalist of post-hardcore band, Million Dead.
Since his departure from the band in 2005, Turner has gone on to release four acoustically-based solo albums, the last of which peaked at number 12 in the charts.
Having played his first arena show last year (at Wembley no less), Turner is well worth checking out on the Main Stage on Saturday 24th August.

Editors

After three highly successful albums spanning back from 2005, The Editors are this year making their comeback as they plan to release their fourth album around late summer.
Having had all three albums reach platinum status, it is expected that the band shall perform a hit laden set including ten Top 40 songs and material from the as of yet unnamed new album.
Without a studio release since 2009 however, it will be interesting to see how the crowd react to the Birmingham band as they play on Friday 23rd on the Main Stage.

Green Day

Formed in 1987, Green Day this year form the pièce de résistance of the festival after having released a trio of albums in 2012.
Having sold more than 25 million albums in the United States alone, the band, since the release of their first release in 1990, have gone on to impress in all three decades, having featured no less than 10 times in the UK album charts.
Whether you want to see Green Day for nostalgia, or would just like to try something new, there is no doubt that the Californian rockers won’t disappoint the Main Stage on Saturday 24th.

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Image courtesty of Leeds Festival 2010

If Glastonbury weekend has given you festival fever even though the weather was slightly unkind and there appeared more mud than ever – there is another huge event to look forward to this summer.  In Leeds it has become one of the best weekends in the Festival calendar and we are all again looking forward to a great Leeds Festival.  The Festival weekend is in August so there is still enough time to get yourself organised and arrange tickets and accommodation.  Many Leeds Festival revellers tend to camp but this is not always what people want from a festival weekend.

The Leeds serviced apartments have welcomed guests in the past that want to experience the Leeds Festival but want a nice cosy bed to sleep in at night.  This year is no different and for corporate groups that will be attending the festival the serviced apartments will definitely provide 5 star accommodation.  The Leeds Festival venue, Bramham Park is easily accessible via the 770 TransDev Leeds to Harrogate bus – the bus leaves Leeds and the bus stop is approximately a 10 minute walk.

If you want to have a weekend in Leeds during the festival period, it is possible to purchase day tickets for entry for around £82 – this allows you the freedom to enjoy the festival for a day and enjoy Leeds city centre too.  If you are purchasing a day ticket it is good to check out who is performing and headlining on each of the dates, Friday 26^th, Saturday 27^th and Sunday 28^th.  Below we have listed the headliners for the dates and choose your favourite.

Main Stage

26^th – Muse

27^th – My Chemical Romance

28^th – Pulp

NME/Radio 1 Stage

26^th – 2manydjs

27^th – Beadyeye

28^th – Janes Addicition

There are six stages in total so in addition to the Main Stage and NME Radio 1 stage there is the Lock Up Stage, Dance Stage, Festival Republic Stage and The Alternative Stage. Each stage has its own headliner during the Leeds Festival weekend.  After his sell out tour in Leeds, Russell Kane returns to Yorkshire and headlines on the Alternative Stage on Sunday 28^th – if you missed him when he appeared in Leeds, here is another opportunity to see him.

We are excited and we hope that our guests due to stay at the Leeds city centre apartment hotel are excited too. It should as ever be a fantastic festival weekend – lets us hope it stays fine and dry.

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L’Occitane is a very exciting addition to Debenham’s in Leeds.  The opening of the L’Occitane boutique in Debenham’s, means that the people of Leeds and visitors to the City can enjoy the gorgeous L’Occitane products that are available in their beauty ranges.  L’Occitane en Provence is an interesting company as they have been committed since way back in 1976 to the preservation of nature and those that work in nature’s manufacturing arm and for blind people throughout the world.  L’Occitane describes their values as those of generic inheritance, respect and sensoriality.

For those people that know L’Occitane – you will know that their products are very highly acclaimed already.  L’Occitane has boutiques in the US and in a further 70 countries in the world – so their reputation says something about the global success of the company but this in turn says something fantastic about Leeds.  Leeds has its own highly acclaimed reputation as the cultural and shopping hotspot of the North and this is reflected in the number of visitors to the city over recent years.  With the establishment of a new L’Occitane boutique Leeds is now on par with New York, Paris, Dubai and Tokyo all of which hail the company already.  L’Occitane gives those deserving shoppers in Leeds yet another opportunity to purchase gorgeous beauty products but more importantly the opportunity to sample the ranges that are firm favourites with many people throughout the world.  Groups of visitors staying in the serviced apartments that have arranged a shopping break in Leeds are already hallowing the L’Occitane products.

Some of the favourites have been the beautiful L’Occitane en Provence fragrances.  Through L’Occitane’s core values that are apparent throughout their brand which they describe as products to awaken the senses, the L’Occitane Foundation decided to support visually impaired people (relating their work cleverly to the human sense of sight), but that is not all the Foundation are committed too.  They are also working towards ‘economic emancipation of women in Burkina Faso’ – a commitment to support the women in the region in the ethical production of Shea Butter and to increase their living standards – but if that is not enough to encourage our readers to try the L’Occitane products the Foundation has a third commitment to the preservation of nature and the natural environment in areas that contribute to their products, calling this commitment ‘preservation of the knowledge of the nature.  Leeds and visitors to Leeds that stay in the serviced apartments can therefore be excited about L’Occitane opening their boutique in Debenham’s, The Briggate

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To showcase all the upcoming events and performances really would be impossible – so much is happening at the Northern Ballet in 2011.  We highlight some of the performances that we hope readers will want to see whilst enjoying a stay in a luxury apartment hotel in Leeds city centre.

9^th June 2011 – Northern Ballet Sinfonia – Spring Season Concert

Frist of four seasonal performances by the Sinfonia that will include performances of Mozart’s Divertimento in E flat and Dohnanyi’s Serenade in C.  Further dates of the seasonal concerts will be published when available.

17^th June 2011 – Choreographic Showcase

An exciting performance from the Northern Ballet in collaboration with the Phoenix Dance Theatre that will give young, upcoming choreographers a chance to choreograph works based on movement – in many cases the young choreographers will be choreographing for the very first time.

19^th June 2011 – Wayne Sleep – Precious Little Sleep

This is a must for everyone – if you have seen Wayne Sleep perform previously you will know not to miss this performance that highlights his ballet and entertainment successes during the past 30 years.  If you have not had the opportunity to see Wayne – it is a must – something of a ballet and dance phenomena.

26^th June 2011 – 30^th June – International Jewish Performing Arts Festival

Appropriately named ‘They Came to Leeds’ the story of the Eastern European Jews that fled to Leeds and their amazing tale as they formed part of the city’s amazing history.

There are a number of other performances during the International Jewish Performing Arts Festival see main Northern Ballet website.

The Leeds Northern Ballet is an exciting venue and as we mentioned there is always something that will appeal to many people.  Residence 6 luxury apartments are frequented by people that want to experience Leeds cultural venues and the Northern Ballet is no exception, it has and remains a very popular Leeds cultural attraction.

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The very modern architecture of the Hepworth has met with differing opinion but the exhibitions have been acclaimed as exquisitely stunning, with Hepworth’s works displayed together with pieces by Turner and Henry Moore.  The Hepworth affords 10 galleries over an amazing five thousand square metres and its designer, David Chipperfield, an award winning architect can be immensely proud of the design in our opinion.

We are excited here at Res6 as the gallery is expected to attract around 100,000 – 150,000 visitors to Yorkshire and guests are already saying they will be returning for another stay at the serviced apartments in Leeds to take in the gallery on their next visit.  For those that have already been to the Hepworth the comments are glowing – about the amazing exhibits, the space and design of the galleries and the overall feel that the building creates. Guests that attended the opening ceremony were enthralled and for those art lovers that want to come along to Leeds and arrange a visit to the Hepworth here are some dates for your diary.

21st May to 9th October 2011 – Eva Rothschild – Hot Touch Exhibition

Inspired by power and meaning of objects, the exhibition explores forms in a powerful display of sculptures created using a range of different materials.  The exhibit uses the gallery to its potential with pieces suspended in the air or balancing in precarious positions.  Truly spectacular!

June 2011 Events inspired by the Eva Rothschild exhibition

2nd June 2011 – Hot Touch Exhibition – Make your own sculpture for children (6 – 11).  A free event to encourage children to create their own sculpture

16th June 2011 – Hot Touch Exhibition – Eva Rothschild will be talking about her sculptures.  It will also be an opportunity to discuss her past pieces.

The opening of the Hepworth is fantastic news for West Yorkshire – here at Res6 we will keep you updated on forthcoming events and look forward to discussing the exhibits with art lover guests staying at our luxury serviced apartments.

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Age Defying Facials – Espa Products

Harvey Nichols is showcasing Espa’s fine collection of age-defying Super Active Lift and Firm Skincare products.  Customers are able to book a 1 hour facial and receive complimentary Espa Facial products.  The facials are popular so booking is highly recommended.

8^th – 14^th May 2011

4^th – 11^th June 2011

16^th – 19^th June 2011

Harvey Nichols Wine Master Class

A number of the guests that have stayed in the luxury serviced apartments have attended the Harvey Nichols Wine Master Classes. All say that the classes are very good, a lot of fun and educational.  Reasonably priced at £15 per person including wine tasting and the expertise of wine connoisseurs, guests have reserved future dates for serviced apartments in Leeds in order to attend further wine classes.  Harvey Nichols has several dates arranged for 2011 including:

Friday 20^th May 2011

Harvey Nichols will showcase their new collection of own label wines from different regions of the world.

Friday 17^th June 2011

Wine Comparison Evening – this is a particularly fun evening with wine experts showcasing both New World and Old World wines for comparative tasting.

Friday 22^nd July 2011

Fantastic Fizz Evening – you guessed it a Champagne and sparkling wine tasting evening – this is very popular as you can imagine.

Friday 19^th August 2011

New Zealand wine tasting evening – there are now so many and experts will guide you through.

We have already received bookings for short term apartment stays for the dates, indicating the popularity of the Harvey Nichols wine expert and tasting evenings so we definitely recommend that you book your place on the wine master classes.   You can telephone Harvey Nichols on 0113 204 8000 or book by email at leeds.reservations@harveynichols.com.

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Broughton Hall Venue for Magic Loungeabout

It is a very exciting year for Yorkshire in terms of the huge variety of events taking place throughout 2011.  We are expecting a high number of visitors to the area for the events and take this opportunity to give you the ‘heads up’ to what can be expected.  Bookings for our short term serviced apartments are being snapped up like (hot) ‘Pontefract Cakes’ as more and more people want to visit Leeds for sight-seeing, shopping and to take in one of the fantastic events, festivals and concerts.

Ripley Castle has a couple of headlining events including a production of Macbeth and the amazing Jools Holland with his special guest Ruby Turner.

Ripley Castle Dates for your Diary:

Macbeth              Thursday 23rd June -Sunday 10th July

Jools Holland    Saturday 16th July

Another amazing venue Castle Howard has concerts arranged that include a Proms Spectacular and a joint concert with Alexandra Burke and the ‘cheeky chappy’ Olly Murs.

Castle Howard Dates for your Diary:

Proms Spectacular                    Saturday 13th August

Alexandra Burke & Olly Murs      Sunday 14th August

For those that want a festival feel consider the three day event at Broughton Hall – the Magic Loungeabout.  This promises to be a great weekend with head liners including The Human League for a nostalgic Electronic Saturday and Badly Drawn Boy for an Acoustic Sunday.  Lots of supporting bands are also playing the festival and we will keep you updated.

Broughton Hall Dates for your Diary:

The Magic Loungeabout                        Friday 29^th July – Sunday 31^st July

The Human League                    Saturday 30^th July

Badly Drawn Boy                      Sunday 31^st July

Later in 2011, there is the White Rose Winter Music Festival at Harewood House that includes A Night at the Opera, A Night in the West End and A Night at the Proms.  The three events run over the weekend 17^th – 19^th November. Great to see one of them but to spend the weekend being entertained by some of the most amazing music could only be considered a real treat for lovers of cultural and national musical extravaganzas – and this really does promise to be an extravaganza.

Harewood House Dates for your Diary:

A Night at the Opera                  Thursday 17th November

A Night in the West End             Friday 18th November

A Night at the Proms                 Saturday 19th November

We love to keep you in the know about the events going on in Yorkshire and look forward to seeing those of you that select to stay in the luxury of a serviced apartment.

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The apartments first gained the 5 stars award from Visit Britain and Quality in Tourism in 2008 and in order to retain the grading they are inspected each year.  The apartments since that first 5 stars award have also been successful in being awarded the Gold Award from Enjoy England for Quality of Accommodation and Gold Award from Enjoy England for Excellence in Customer Service for both 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 and have successfully been nominated again for 2011/2012 – we will inform when the decisions have been made, but with such a remarkable reputation for excellence it all looks very promising.

The 5 stars awards are not given away easily – Visit Britain and Quality in Tourism assessors actually stay in the apartments incognito and sample the services, rate the ambience and quality of the rooms – all this without the knowledge of the staff that are working there.  This makes the award an authentic assessment of the quality of the apartments and undoubtedly gives great reassurance to prospective guests that the accommodation is of superior quality.

Leeds itself is a fantastic city to visit – it is a commercial centre, a cultural centre and is frequented by visitors wanting to explore its history, its elaborate Victorian shopping quarter and of course sample its diverse entertainment venues, bars and restaurants.  There is however a very special way to make visiting Leeds even more exciting – Residence Six Serviced Apartments with their prestigious awards and a commitment to strive to maintain the highest quality for their guests will completely exceed your expectations in terms of accommodation.  It will be impossible to ever want to stay anywhere else when visiting Leeds, whether on business or for a recreational weekend.  The award is well deserved and with a commitment to constantly maintain the highest quality of customer service, work has already begun towards maintaining 5 stars in anticipation of next year’s inspection.

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March is an exciting month at the O2 Academy in Leeds but as the venue is so popular most of the tickets for all of the events have sold out.  The Stranglers, Primal Scream and others can all expect a full house, showing just how popular the O2 Academy is in Leeds.  The popularity of events in Leeds is all down to the city being a gem in the North of England.  We have therefore decided to look a little further ahead to some of the highlights of the O2’s calendar of events for this year.

April

Propaganda:  every Saturday night throughout April is Propaganda Night focusing on the best in Indie from 11.00pm – 3.30am.

Friday 29th – Sunday 1^st May: Live at Leeds

The O2 Academy will again host the Live at Leeds event.  This is a truly Leeds city centre music festival and will feature the best musical talent from the region and some national acts too.

Tickets are still available

Saturday 16^th: Big Country

The Scottish 80’s band has reformed to play a 30^th anniversary tour.  Let’s hope they do the great tracks including Big Country and others from the early ‘The Crossing’ and ‘Steeltown’ classic albums. Tickets are still available.

Looking ahead to July a couple of exciting gigs are on the events calendar including:

July

Tuesday 12^th: Eels

Eels return to perform for the first time since releasing the third and final album in their trilogy Hombre Lobo, End Times and Tomorrow Morning.  The band are acclaimed in music circles including great testimony for the Hombre Lobo album as the New York Times Critics Choice.

Tickets are still available.

Wednesday 13^th: Bright Eyes

The great US Indie/folk band play their first live gig in over three years – right here in Leeds following the launch of their album in February 2011 – The Peoples Key.

Tickets are still available.

The O2 Academy in Leeds is a superb venue for live music and as previously mentioned is extremely popular – we always know when a big name is playing at the O2 – as the serviced apartments get booked up quickly too.  As the apartments are a great central place to stay it is a good idea to look ahead in the events calendar at the different Leeds venues so that a festival or a concert weekend can be arranged well in advance including advance booking of superb accommodation.

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The Grand Theatre and Opera House is amazing in its own right and people visiting Leeds can experience the beauty of the building but the best way to experience the theatre is to see a show.  A Theatre Weekend Break is a great way to experience The Grand.  There is always something that will appeal including musical shows, drama, concerts and comedians.  2011 promises an exciting year at The Grand with a number of particularly memorable productions already booked.

If you are planning a theatre break in Leeds here are our picks for the next 3 months.  We would love to hear your feedback too – let us know about your experience at The Grand.

March 2011

Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

This production is only showing until the 27^th March and there are only very limited seats left available.  If you are happy to attend the theatre on your own and have not seen this show before, it may well be worth going along.  A fantastic show that has remained popular for many years!

April 2011

Carman

For opera lovers Carman is showing at The Grand from 13^th April to 11^th May.  This opera is always a firm favourite with avid opera goers – but to experience this production at The Grand will be spectacular.  If you have never been to an opera production but have always wanted to experience their magnificence this could be exactly the right time to try opera – we bet you will be hooked.

May 2011

Journey’s End

Planning a theatre break in Leeds, watch out for The Grand’s showing of the amazing production Journey’s End from 17^th to 21^st May.  The production won acclaim in the West End and Broadway acknowledged as a masterpiece.  The emotional story is based on a young soldiers experience in the trenches during WW1 where he finds an old school friend – now a man.  Do not miss it.

We will update what’s on at The Grand later in 2011.

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