Rob Chadwick catches up with Leeds duo Utah Saints ahead of their spectacular Club Classical Ibiza night at millennium Square in June.

Something is fitting about Utah Saints bringing their Ibiza Classical vision to Millennium Square this June. For Tim and Jez, Leeds isn’t just a hometown date; it’s the foundation of everything they’ve built over more than three decades in dance music. The June 26th show feels less like a touring spectacle and more like a full-circle moment.

Their take on the “club meets classical” concept is shaped by lived experience rather than trend. Utah Saints trace their beginnings back to The Gallery in 1991, one of Europe’s defining rave venues, and they’ve remained embedded in both the music and the city ever since. That longevity informs every aspect of their Millennium Square show. It’s not a retrospective or an outsider’s interpretation; it’s a continuation of a culture they helped define.

That perspective has also guided their evolving collaboration with Opera North.

What started as a crossover has grown into a finely tuned partnership. With each performance, the orchestra, alongside Tim and Jez, has expanded their understanding of how their marriage can deepen the emotional impact on the audience.

Bringing that collaboration to Leeds on such a scale carries particular weight. The city has always been central to Utah Saints’ story; it’s where they created their most influential music and ran weekly club nights for more than 15 years, helping shape the local scene. Now, with their inclusion in the ‘60 Years of Leeds Music’ exhibition and a large-scale performance in Millennium Square, their role in that cultural history feels firmly acknowledged.

Musically, Ibiza Classical is built around an Ibiza-inspired anthology, with Utah Saints’ own catalogue sitting alongside era-defining tracks. Songs like Something Good and What Can You Do For Me
have been carefully reworked for a 50-piece orchestra, not simply layered with strings but reinterpreted to emphasise the qualities that made them endure. The orchestral arrangements bring out new levels of emotion and power while preserving the energy that first made them resonate on dancefloors.

That same emphasis on authenticity extends to the guest lineup. Artists such as Janice Robinson, Rozalla and Shades of Rhythm are also central figures from the original era, whose voices and performances defined some of its most recognisable records. Their presence reinforces the sense that this event is less about revisiting the past and more about presenting it in a new, expansive form.

Talking about the show, Tim said: “Each time we’ve worked with Opera North everything has sounded better and more powerful. The orchestra has grown more confident with added depth and power, and we have gained a lot of knowledge into what is possible when the two worlds of electronica and orchestra combine.

And bringing such a large-scale Ibiza-inspired show back to your hometown clearly means a lot to the Saints.

Jez said: “Leeds has always been  central to our story – we made our best music here, and ran regular weekly club nights for over 15 years. The fact that we are part of the 60 years of Leeds Music exhibition in the museum and then bringing the orchestra to Millenium Square isn’t lost on us at all, it’s a huge deal for us.”

Maintaining that immediacy within an orchestral setting is a delicate balance, and musical director Steve Anderson plays a key role in achieving it. With a background that spans both classical and dance music, he brings an understanding of how to translate club energy into an orchestral context without losing its core impact.

The inclusion of Andi Durrant as resident DJ further strengthens that connection between past and present. A respected figure in dance music broadcasting and archiving, and a Leeds native, he represents both deep knowledge of the culture and an ongoing commitment to it.

Ultimately, Ibiza Classical aims to offer something beyond expectation. By combining the immediacy of a DJ-led event with the emotional scope of a full orchestra, set against the open-air backdrop of Millennium Square, Utah Saints are creating an experience that is both familiar and entirely new. It’s a reminder of how far the music has travelled, and how much further it can still go.

Club Clasical Ibiza takes place on 26th June at Millennium Square Leeds. For more information please visit clubclassical.com