Tramlines Review 26-28th July – Amalia Gherman
ABBA songs on the Main Stage, a rapper named after your nan’s favourite Corrie character, 50-piece orchestras, and a band lobbing bread rolls into a crowd of teenagers adorned in Lidl merch. Just a flavour of the things you can find at Tramlines festival over a single weekend in sunny Sheffield.
Friday
Arriving a little later than planned on Friday afternoon thanks to the train strikes, I entered into the park to see Miles Kane roaring through his set on the main stage. Despite it still being early in the day, the space was already packed with fans new and old watching Miles, whether they were huddled around the front of the stage or lounging on a blanket further away – there was an exciting yet still relaxed atmosphere to the weekend.
There were easily already tens of thousands of people around the site, whether they were watching Miles, zipping between the other stages and their stellar indie offerings, or simply checking out the masses of food trucks around the site; there was something for everyone and the weekend was only just starting.
I ambled my way through the crowds to T’other Stage tucked away down the very far end of the park, a trek and a half from the rest of the action, but very worth the visit for the varying array of comedians, new artists and old favourites gracing the tent. Mitch Santiago was the first new artist I’d discover this weekend, hailing all the way from Australia, and rather impressively, he was alone on the stage, utilising live loops and various instruments to play every part of his tracks himself.
The crowd lapped up his fusion of indie and electronic sounds, drawing more and more people into the tent until it became almost full for the rest of his set which was a delight to see.
Pivoting back towards the main stage, I found my way up to The Leadmill Stage (where I’d ultimately spend most of my weekend) to catch Been Stellar. A more recent offering to the indie scene, but already a force to be reckoned with. With members hailing from New York, Detroit, LA, and Brazil via Sydney, their sound is a delightful mix of musical and cultural influences and a strong offering to kickstart the Leadmill Stage’s lineup.
Next up to grace the main stage was Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Whilst not a personal favourite of mine, I have to admit her energy was clearly infectious. Thousands of people danced around, watching Sophie gleam and twirl across the stage adorned in a hypnotising silver bodysuit, with a neon cape of streamers, all the while singing along to her medley of classic disco covers.
My opinion was split during the set due to Bextor’s choice of setlist. On one hand, the crowd seemed to be having a great time dancing around and singing along, but unfortunately part of me felt disappointed that the set was mostly covers, and I felt as though many a deserving up-and-coming band would have benefitted massively from performing original music during this slot instead.
Despite my views on the matter the crowd seemed to lap it up, scream-singing along to a medley of classic hits from ABBA and Madonna amongst others, and ultimately going wild for the iconic, if not now slightly traumatic hit, Murder on the Dancefloor.
Rounding off the first day of Tramlines I went to catch old friends Corella back on the Leadmill Stage before heading off to see Soft Play run riot on T’Other Stage.
The first time I saw Corella was back in 2018, as an opening act at The Ritz in Manchester and it was as clear then as it is now that these lads had a drive to take the indie world by storm. They’ve steadily grown through the years until recently, and they’ve bloomed into one of the country’s top bands, with the crowd spilling out of the Leadmill Stage’s tent and almost meeting the crowd from the main stage behind them. It was purely bonkers to see first-hand how popular they’ve become and how all the years of graft have begun to pay off. Their set paid homage to fans new and old with a blend of recent releases and older singles which was wonderful to see.
No doubt they’ll be on the main stage by this time next year or even dare I say – headlining it.
Finally rounding off my selection from Friday’s offerings, Soft Play. If I could only use two words, to sum up their set… Pure. Chaos… But in the absolute best way possible. I’ve personally been a fan of the band from close to day one, but I’d never managed to catch them live until this moment, and my goodness was the wait worth it.
Following a name change, personal struggles and family loss, a hiatus and a 6-year gap between the last album and their most recent offering ‘Heavy Jelly’, band mates Isaac and Laurie have had a complete refresh and seem to be stronger than ever while still holding on to their loud boyish charm that we all know and love. The duo have dealt with a lot over the years but it’s clear to see they’re committed to each other and the band more than ever and have a clear sense of who they are and what they’re here to do.
Their headline set consisted, quite surprisingly, of mostly tracks from their recent LP ‘Heavy Jelly’, roaring through bangers such as ‘Isaac is Typing..’, smash hit single ‘Punk’s Dead’, and amongst others, my personal favourite, ‘Bin Juice Disaster’. Some might consider Soft Play to be an unusually heavy offering for Tramlines but their energy was clearly infectious, packing out T’Other Stage’s pinstriped tent with glorious mosh pits and frequent crowd surfing from guitarist/bassist/all-round legend Laurie Vincent.
Frontman Isaac Holman delighted the crowd with his quick wit and behind-the-scenes stories, especially when he outed bandmate Laurie for obsessively watching John Wick after a few too many heavy benders, leading to them writing the hilariously short but punchy track titled (you guessed it) ‘John Wick’. The latter amazingly had a hell of a lot of mosh pits for a track that only lasted a little over a minute.
A rather brilliant day of music perfectly rounded off as I left the park, eager to return the next day for Saturday’s chock-full lineup.
Saturday
Arriving just before lunchtime on Saturday with a few hours to spare before my first bands were picked from the lineup, I used the Tramlines app to see who would be kicking things off across the site. I was led to the Leadmill Stage once again where I would discover a post-punk band called City Parking, who were not dissimilar to a personal favourite of mine, Dry Cleaning – with a sense of northern wit and complaint about everyday life, but still able to find charm in the mundane. The band have been a firm favourite of Steve Lamacq on Radio 6 and it’s easy to see why, they started off with less than a handful of people in the tent and soon had a crowd spanning the entire stage and all the way back to the sound desk. These Sheffield locals are sure to be back year after year and I can’t wait to inevitably catch them headlining over at T’Other Stage.
Heading back out into the blinding sun (rare to say in Sheffield) I found myself face to face with the 50-piece plus, Leadmill Orchestra on the main stage. Walking further around the site I found my way to the Open Arms stage where DJs took turns on an open deck and young grime artists flaunted their skills to a growing crowd. Quite a stark contrast musically, yet it made perfect sense and showed that Tramlines truly has something for everyone.
Next on my radar was Minds Idle back at the Leadmill. A good old-fashioned indie band, outfitted in everything from sparkly shirts and cowboy hats to Dickies and Carhartt. Their sound was dreamy and nostalgic, a welcome blend of bands such as Marsicans, MGMT and M83. Their set was rounded off with a nod to Sheffield with an honestly brilliant cover of Babies by Pulp which went down incredibly well with everyone watching.
It seemed as though today truly was all about mashing up musical genres and offering everything you could possibly think of, as next up was the bizarre but brilliant, The Everly Pregnant Brothers, with their comical renditions of popular songs such as ‘Stuck in the Lidl with You’. Truly the highlight of their set may have been pelting a crowd of teenagers with bread rolls/barmcakes/baps/muffins as they sang a rendition of ABBA’s The Winner Takes It All – quite a pivot from Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ABBA covers the day before on the same stage. Despite some stronger language during the set the crowd was full of people of all ages and was a welcome easy-going and silly treat for a Saturday afternoon.
After a quick break in the press room, it was back out to see Nieve Ella on the main stage and Balancing Act on the Leadmill Stage. Nieve’s set soared with anthemic indie songs and a sound adjacent to the likes of Phoebe Bridgers.
Balancing Act blasted through their set, with frontman Kai Roberts commanding the stage with his presence. Just like Corella the day before, the tent was jam-packed and spilling out into the main field with more people trying to wedge their way inside. It seems the Leadmill might need a bigger tent for next year!
Back to the more unconventional offerings of the festival, I found myself back at the Open Arms to see self-described ‘Chap-Hop’ artist, Mr B. The Gentleman Rhymer. Armed with a banjo, the Queen’s English and quite an impressive knowledge of hip-hop history, we were treated to a set that felt like a grown-up close cousin of a Horrible Histories skit. Witty and not too serious but still informative and good fun to watch.
I hadn’t expected to wake up today and see a man in a tweed suit covering De La Soul with his banjo, but here we were. The day certainly was proving stranger things really could happen at any moment.
Sprints and English Teacher were the last artists I’d catch on-site for the day. Both dazzling crowds with their larger-than-life tunes and vivid lyricism.
English Teacher were a definite highlight of the weekend. The recent Mercury nominees started their set with ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ from their debut album This Could Be Texas. Their laid-back attitude was a stark difference from some of the higher energy sets seen on the Leadmill stage, but it worked well for them with frontwoman Lily Fontaine powering through song after song with an effortlessly cool attitude.
Every year alongside the main Tramlines festival, Sheffield City Centre hosts the Tramlines Fringe, a free festival curated by small venues and promoters to offer an alternative to the festival in Hillsborough and spotlight smaller artists.
Post-English Teacher, I decided to venture out of the park and back into the city centre via the blue-line tram and found my way to a venue called Network. Manchester indie label Scruff Of The Neck were taking over Network for the weekend, with three stages of guitar-based music to explore.
Entering the main room there was a buzz of excitement as the popular Manc band, and also long-time pals, The Covasettes set up their equipment and line-checked before their high-energy indie-pop set.
Finally ending the night was Indoor Pets, a four-piece outfit from Kent who’ve been around in various iterations (previously Get Inuit), and may now be considered indie veterans by some. They’ve previously supported the likes of Weezer on UK tours, and after a bit of a hiatus, they’re back and blasting their way up to the headline slot across venues and festivals everywhere.
Their energy is truly infectious and their music is a perfect blend of nerd rock, indie-pop, American pop-punk, and there are clear influences from the heavier UK scenes in there too. Indoor Pets are truly unique and such great fun to see live, and I firmly believe they should’ve been way up on the main festival lineup for the T’Other stage at Hillsborough Park.
However, I can’t complain as I’m more than thrilled to have been able to see them for free in a small venue in the city centre before they start to sell out large venues again – This is exactly the spirit of the Tramlines Fringe and may it long continue!
Sunday
Last but not least, it was Sunday. The last day of Tramlines. Excitement buzzed in the air for a star-studded final day of live music, comedy and entertainment. The day felt slightly bittersweet as this had been my first ever Tramlines festival, aside from visiting the fringe back in 2019, and I’d felt so welcomed by all of the staff and the local community, and I had enjoyed my time so much that I didn’t want it to end. However as is the way, all good things must end and Sunday was definitely full of treats to round the weekend off.
Starting off at the Leadmill Stage once again, I absolutely fell in love with Lime Garden.
The all-female outfit had been on my radar for quite a while, frequently finding their way into my heavily rotated Spotify playlists and were so incredibly talented and captivating on stage. It was a real treat to finally see them live and audiences are in for a treat as they carry on touring throughout the festival season.
Across the weekend I’d managed to accidentally avoid the comedy sets happening on T’Other Stage, but after a sudden change to the lineup, I knew I couldn’t miss Adam Hills. As seemed to be the theme with this stage, Hills’ set was an absolute fever dream of spontaneity with chaos unfurling by the second. After avoiding picking on a guy at the front of the crowd who, to quote Hills, “Looked like he would beat me up.” the Last Leg host accidentally made the mistake of picking a former journalist who seemed to be Sheffield’s hidden comedy gem, quickly ripping into Hills and showing him up in front of hundreds of people.
The veteran comedian would then go on to host a ‘DIY Paralympic Opening Ceremony’. Kicking off with inviting weird and wacky crowd members onto the stage, he then also decided to crowd surf his leg prosthesis, which was accidentally handed to, of all people, a blind woman with a cane, to deliver up to the sound desk at the back of the tent and all the way back down to the front, to us at the stage. The carnage held on all the way through the 35-minute set, during which I became convinced something had been slipped into my drink and I was now wildly hallucinating everything, thankfully this wasn’t the case and I had in fact just witnessed Hill’s conducting a mass improv with the crowds of Tramlines.
Returning to a more normal service, I continued the day by catching another personal favourite at the Leadmill Stage, Folly Group. Much like Lime Garden earlier in the day, Folly Group have been on my radar for a while, with their single Butt No Rifle finding its way into my recommended songs, swiftly followed by bangers such as Fashionista, and Paying the Price – all of which were played live much to my delight! The band rather hilariously quipped they’d seen Sophie Ellis-Bextor the day before at Truck Festival and learnt a thing or two about stage presence letting the crowd know they were about to ‘watch the magic unfold’.
Another band I was delighted to catch for the first time and truly one to watch in the years going forward.
Returning to the main stage for the last time this weekend, I caught the social media sensation Flowerovlove. I think it’s safe to say she stole the hearts of everyone in the crowd with her catchy bubble-gum pop anthems and adorable personality.
Young fans were invited up onto the stage where Flower urged the thousands of people watching to cheer and clap for them, including one girl who was celebrating her birthday at the event. At the end of her set, she went on to run along the barrier handing out hand-signed posters from a paper bag whilst meeting fans and exchanging friendship bracelets. It was refreshing to see such a safe space for a younger crowd at a large festival, especially for younger girls who might normally feel unwelcome and intimidated but stereotypical festival goers and older crowds.
After Flowerovlove, Example took to the stage, fueling the 2010s nostalgia that the crowd lapped up over the weekend. A high-energy set that left everyone quite literally bouncing.
The last two acts of the weekend were finally here, a moment I’d both dreaded and welcomed as the end drew near. Making my way to the Leadmill for the final time this weekend, I went to see The Magic Gang perform for the last time ever. As to be expected, the tent was packed full of longtime fans already mourning the loss of one of their favourite bands. The Magic Gang have been a pillar of the indie community since they first began playing shows, influencing an entire generation of new bands and making their way around the country time after time on headline tours and festival lineups.
It was a shame they only had 45 minutes to play as they could’ve filled hours upon hours with beloved hits, with the crowd singing every word back at them. I genuinely don’t believe there was a dry eye in the tent as for the final time they launched into their most instantly recognisable track ‘How Can I Compete’. Not even halfway through they stepped back as, unprompted, the crowd took over singing the chorus and bridge, watching on from the stage side by side for the last time. It truly felt like the end of an era as their set ended and the crowd erupted into applause, with the band taking their last bows and soaking up the memories of the past 11 years together. It was, to use the word again, a truly bittersweet moment. The boys from Brighton had their run and had now grown up, deciding they would now be taking time away to pursue their own creative endeavours. Hopefully, the future will continue to be bright for them all and they may even pop up again on festival lineups under new musical personas.
Onto the final band. The last set, and the end of a glorious weekend of music and mayhem. Nobody does out with a bang quite like Yard Act. A band who seemingly popped up from nowhere just before the country was plunged into lockdown, they happened to take the world by storm with their northern charm and quick wit garnering a Mercury nomination and a No. 2 album in the charts. Leeds has churned out many a great musician but none are doing it quite like the lads in Yard Act. An angry fusion of spoken word, noughties indie-rock, og post-punk and fusion jazz, blend and smash together to create Yard Act’s distinct sound. Anyone watching can expect tales chronicling the mundane to the absurd, all spat at the crowd by tornado-in-a-trench-coat frontman James Smith as he marches up and down the stage in his Doc Martens to match – quite frankly becoming the unofficial uniform of the post-punk crowd as I found myself in the pit with a nearly identical outfit.
The T’Other Stage was illuminated by the high voltage energy from the band’s performance, with backup singers/dancers Lauren Fitzpatrick and Daisy J.T Smith stealing the show time after time with their perfectly timed choreography and infectious energy.
Yard Act are truly deserving headliners despite being a relatively ‘new’ band still. They know how to run things and put on an unforgettable show and will most definitely be finding themselves at the top of many a festival lineup to come.
All in all, Tramlines was an incredible weekend full of unforgettable experiences and plenty to see and do. I’d gone into the weekend with a more negative view considering the lineup to be weaker than years prior, but I was swiftly proven wrong. I’d say I’ve been convinced to return again next year, and the year after, (and hopefully the year after that) and so on, I found myself enjoying it so much. The site was accessible and well planned with the layout with plenty of areas to stop and explore new things, refill a water bottle or grab a bite to eat, and there’s truly something for everyone no matter your age. Tramlines deserves a 10/10 in my book and I’d encourage everyone to attend at least once.
What a brilliant weekend, hopefully, I get to say the same again next year!
Words by Amalia Gherman
Photos by Philip Goddard and Amalia Gherman
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