News Beat
Self Esteem to headline Live at York Museum Gardens
Self Esteem will headline the gardens on Friday, July 10.
Rotherham-born Rebecca Lucy Taylor, who performs as Self Esteem, is set to take to the stage following the release of her third album, A Complicated Woman.
Released in April, the artist’s latest album follows her critically acclaimed and Mercury Award nominated release, Prioritise Pleasure.
Self Esteem’s show in York comes after a stint playing Sally Bowles in the West End production of Cabaret.
The acting experience has resulted in the musician’s live shows being “packed with even more drama, theatre and choreographed choral spectacle than before”, according to the Leeds-based Futuresound Group which runs the concert series with the York Museums Trust.
Joining Self Esteem on the night will be South African “future ghetto funk” artist Moonchild Sanelly, Nigeria-born and now Sweden-based spoken word artist and musician Joshua Idehen and more acts still to be announced.
Self Esteem’s performance will come a day after Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) opens the concert series on Thursday, July 9.
Rachel Hill, project manager at the Futuresound Group, said she is “elated” that the event is returning for 2026.
“With two successful years under our belt, and a third-year incoming I am elated,” Rachel said.
“Of course, none of this would be possible without working collaboratively with the incredible team at York Museums Trust.
“Kicking off the series with OMD, followed by Self Esteem is an incredibly strong start and shows how the event is growing year on year.”
This summer, Museum Gardens hosted Manchester rock band Elbow, disco funk legend Nile Rogers and CHIC, and Sheffield singer-songwriter Richard Hawley.
The venue was also transformed into the York Comedy Festival, headlined by Katherine Ryan and Dara Ó Briain alongside some of the UK’s brightest and best standups.
Recommended reading:
York’s Shed Seven headlined Museum Gardens in 2024, leading the way for other acts to follow in their footsteps.
It was the first time Museum Gardens had staged a major rock gig since the 1970s and 80s, with Roxy Music being perhaps the biggest names to have graced the venue.
A York exclusive postcode presale (YO1, YO10, YO19, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31, YO32) takes place for Self Esteem at 10am on Wednesday (December 3).
General sale takes place at 10am on Friday (December 5).
Tickets will be on sale via the Futuresound Group’s website.
