Tramlines festival returned to Sheffield, with an incredible array of new and established artists. The weekend saw the likes of Miles Kane, Jamie T, Corella and Snow Patrol entertain the Sheffield crowds in glorious weather.
We kicked off our weekend with The View, followed by an afternoon of stage hopping to see the likes of Miles Kane, Mitch Santiago and Dylan John Thomas. Topping the afternoon was a visit to the Leadmill stage to catch the brilliant Corella perform their hits ‘Bloom’ and ‘Barcelona Girl’. We even spotted Red Rum Club artist Joe in the crowd enjoying such a great band.
Following a great day, it was left to Paolo Nutini to bring it home but unfortunately, we found the performance anti-climactic. Whilst playing alternative/electronic versions of his classics we noticed a lot of the crowd talking amongst themselves or leaving early.
Saturday commenced with “Yorkshire’s Kings of Parody”, the Everly Pregnant Brothers. As bizarre as the name suggests they delivered a full hour set of comedic parodies of ‘Stuck in the Lidl with You’, ‘No oven no pie’ and newest single ‘you’re Yorkshire’. A great watch, especially for the first time experiencing them.
The day continued with Balancing Act and a new act we saw earlier in the month and had to see again, Sprints. Following up on the Sarah Nulty Main Stage, named in honour of the late festival director, were Scottish greats, The Snuts performing their crowd-pleasers ‘Gloria’, ‘Glasgow’ and ‘Millionaires’.
We took a short break to enjoy some of the food options on offer choosing to have a Steak sandwich from Gaucho which was perfect to set us up for the rest of the evening as we headed back to watch Tom Grennan. Tom really got the crowd buzzing, performing ‘Found What I’ve Been Looking For’ and ‘By Your Side’. The crowded field of fans were bouncing to ‘Lionheart’ and waving their hands to ‘Little Bit of Love’. I think everyone can agree; they don’t make them like you anymore.
We took the final main stage interval to recover from dancing along to Tom Grennan, and found ourselves a good spot to see Jamie T, who did not disappoint. Finishing with his typical high-energy performance, the crowd were dancing and singing away to ‘The Old Style Raiders’, ‘Sheila’ and ‘Sticks ‘N’ Stones’.
A big credit goes to the Tramlines set up and team, as the masses left the arena there was only a small wait between leaving Hillsborough Park and getting on the shuttle trams back to the centre without being crammed in.
In contrast to 2023’s flooded arena, Sunday brought the heat, with the hottest day of the weekend opened by The Chase on the Library stage. A lively set with a slight feel of The Madness in their sound, they were perfect for getting the day off to a great start.
The Main Stage hosted Maximo Park, who whilst finishing with their popular hits of ‘Books From Boxes’ and ‘Apply Some Pressure’ mostly played new unreleased songs from their upcoming album leaving the crowd a bit lost.
Hoping to re-ignite the flame, we headed to the Leadmill stage to catch 86TVs who are the new project from brothers Will, Hugo and Felix since bowing out from performing as The Maccabees in 2017. Joined by drummer Jamie Morrison (The Noisettes) performing their singles ‘Higher Love’ and ‘Worn Out Buildings’ the foursome definitely succeeded in bringing the vibe back. They will be releasing their first album together later this year, which we are unquestionably looking forward to.
The evening had us stage hopping again, as many of the great acts overlapped such as Antony Szmierek, The Lilacs, The Magic Gang and The Pigeon Detectives who delivered a highly entertaining performance with their stage presence and crowd interaction, showcasing their 20 years of experience and catalogue.
To draw the festival to a close, Snow Patrol headlined the Main Stage. With a powerhouse performance, it was a sheer delight to watch them perform their well-known hits including ‘Run’ and ‘Open Your Eyes’ and finally finishing with ‘Chasing Cars’.
Overall, the festival was amazing and a big mention to the organisers for a well set up festival celebrating music and community. We’re already excited for what 2025 has to offer.
Written by Anthony Daley
Photo by Matt Higgs
