Long Division Festival

It was founded by the fanzine Rhubarb Bomb and its editor Dean Freeman in 2011, who cashed in his NHS pension to fund the event.

[1] It was intended as a celebration of Wakefield's DIY culture and grassroots creativity, while bringing more attention to bands in the local music scene.

[1] In 2017, the organisation Long Division CIC was formed to manage the festival and its first of its kind education programme #YoungTeam worked to build a foundation of talent in the town.

[2][1] Typically taking place over a weekend in June (sometimes September) the event made use of various live spaces within the city centre[3] to host live music and featured a mix of emerging artists and notable headliners, including The Cribs, Billy Bragg, Ash, Asian Dub Foundation, The Fall, The Wedding Present, Sea Power and Peter Hook.

[4] In January 2023, due to the impact of the COVID epidemic on the finances of the not-for-profit company running the festival,[5] Freeman announced that the 2023 edition of the festival would be its last.