Accessibility links
Hear Yard Act perform highlights from 'The Overload' : World Cafe 'The Overload' released in January on Island Records and quickly made a splash, debuting at No. 2 on the UK albums chart. Hear a live performance.

World Cafe

Essential and Emerging Artists

Studio Sessions

Yard Act's latest is a 'knowingly hypocritical snapshot' of the times we live in

FromXPN

Yard Act no World Cafe

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1094085213/1094106155" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Enlarge this image

Yard Act James Brown/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
James Brown/Courtesy of the artist

Yard Act

James Brown/Courtesy of the artist

Set List

  • "Dead Horse"
  • "The Overload"
  • "Rich"
  • "Pour Another"

Yard Act formed in Leeds, England, in September 2019 when bassist Ryan Needham lived in singer James Smith's spare room. Less than 3 years later, the band released their debut album, The Overload, in January on Island Records. It quickly made a splash, debuting at No. 2 on the UK albums chart. Plus, Yard Act is one of NPR Music's "Slingshot Artists to Watch" for 2022. The band says The Overload is "a political record, but in the same way that all great observations of human nature are — a messy, complex, knowingly hypocritical snapshot of our current state of play."

Enjoy a mini-concert with Yard Act, starting with a live performance of "Dead Horse."

Episode Playlist

World Cafe

Essential and Emerging Artists