The time eventually came, whether it lasts is anyone’s guess but at this time it’s pretty much good times.
The start of the Festival season, for me,couldn’t come soon enough, my camera’s sat idle, bored, taking an unhealthy liking to booze to get me through to the other side of the lockdown. Then along came Tramlines to put me back into the real world, away from Spotify Playlists and to where real people are in front of me strutting their stuff. But preparing for Tramlines was difficult because I had forgotten what the procedure was, what time to get there, how to get home, what crowds were etc.
On day 1, the main stage was opened by The Blinders, last time I saw this band was at The Neighbourhood Weekender in 2019, I didn’t recognise them at first. A breath of fresh air, great band from my neck of the woods. It was actually kind of hard to be around so many people at first, it’s gonna take a while for a lot of people to adjust.
Highlights of the first day were The Rooves, The Slow Readers Club and the amazing Sophie Ellis Bextor……….although The Streets aren’t my cup of tea, they were also spectacular.
The feel of the festival was still a bit reserved in patches, it took a few belters to really open people up, for me that was Sophie Ellis Bextor, like a giant disco in T’other tent, I really enjoyed her.
By day 2 I had lost my Reviewer to a foot injury so I was on my own. The rest of the weekend was how I’ve come to expect Tramlines to be, friendly and a lot of fun. Acts such as Royal Blood, Georgia, Little Simz, R.A.E. and Sophie and the Giants were my outstanding performances of Saturday.
As for Sunday, all I can remember is how good Dizzee Rascal was. I knew we were in for something special but he was amazing, it was so good seeing thousands of people going mental to his bass loaded tunes. Okay maybe I remember how The Reytons looked so good on the main stage and also The Snuts deserve a mention because they blew the roof off of the T’other stage.
Baby Queen was also worth a heads up, I only went to see her because I tagged along with another photographer but she was quality, hope she goes a long way. For the teens but her tunes were very catchy.
As a whole Tramlines never lets me down, Sheffield is such a special place and the people are very friendly.
If putting on a Festival isn’t difficult enough with dealing with Acts, Press and the Council, I can’t imagine how difficult it was this time when it involved Covid and the Government. Thank you to all the Staff and Management for putting on such a super festival against all the odds……..Will defo be there next year.
