Another city centre festival experience and one in which we managed to pretty much miss all the headliners. Luckily there was plenty more to see. Hopefully this will provide a bit of an overview and highlight a few bands to keep an eye on. This was our fourth time at Tramlines in central Sheffield. The first time had been in the summer of 2021 when the live music scene reopened good and proper. You had to prove your vaccination status and there were two distinct groups at the gate. Young people trying to download the NHS app with variable coverage, and let’s say older folk waving printed barcodes of their status. Good old hard copy! 2023 was a complete mudfest by the third day when we arrived. Thankfully decent wellies and Gortex proved their worth, and watching Paul Heaton was a wet affair. The damage to Hillsborough Park was substantial, and it was good to see several mitigation measures this year in terms of extended paths and plastic boards. Organising festivals must be tricky financially without having to account for our unpredictable British weather. I’m sure there was considerable relief for the Tramlines organisers this year with a hot sunny weekend forecast!
Back In Black(heath)’s Mr JOB had given me a list of six artist recommendations to check out. I managed half of those, as it can be tricky logistically to manage to see everything that you want. Horrendous M1 traffic meant a late arrival and missing the first recommendation - Coach Party. Like Wet Leg, they hail from the Isle of Wight, and sound intriguing, so worth investigating.
There is no camping here at Tramlines and most punters seem pretty local. Premier Inn always tops canvas, and I had done two nights camping for TRNSMT, and endured a noisy campsite for one of those nights!
As we enter the site Sophie Ellis Baxter is entertaining the crowds on the main stage. We head off to T’Other Stage (this is Yorkshire) for Dylan John Thomas. A large Scottish contingent is in and like TRNSMT are chanting ‘Gerry Fucking go’. Unlike TRNSMT, Gerry Cinnamon is not even on the bill here. Local bucket hatted lads (many on shoulders) reply with the chant ‘No England No Party’ to adapt the Scottish refrain often heard. Great atmosphere. Amongst his rowdy folky material, DJT does a cover of Abba’s Mama Mia, which was quite unexpected.
Back in the Main Stage, Bombay Bicycle Club seen keen to be back in Sheffield. The say that they played here at The Foundry (this is steel city!) after their hiatus a few years back. I’ve followed this North London Band through five or so LPs and love their arty upbeat approach. Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) probably gets the best reaction despite being a relatively new song. My wife got to see a couple of local artists on the smaller Library stage - Bethany Grace (solo) and Pippa Crossland (with a band put together at Leeds Conservatoire). Both sounded very good.
Soft Play (formerly The Slaves) provided quite a contrast to Bombay Bicycle Club, with a crowd-surfing singer guitarist, Ian Holman and a whole lot of energy. The audience loved them, and I’m guessing their show would be fantastic in a smaller club. We managed a couple of songs by Paulo Nutini on the way out, again (and unsurprisingly) enjoyed by the many Scottish fans. Four hours of standing the night before at Wembley (for Springsteen) takes its toll on middle aged legs, and an early night was most welcome.
Upon entering on Saturday, we get to hear a bit of an Everly Pregnant Brothers singalong. They seem to be South Yorkshire’s answer to Half Man Half Biscuit with some amusing lyrics, and certainly sounded entertaining. The comedy then continued in T’Other Tent, which is a nice way to start the day prior to the music. Back on the Main stage we get to see alt pop relative newcomer Nieve Ella. Here the Lidl app on your phone gets you to a ‘VIP’ raised platform with a decent view - every Lidl helps clearly. Better still they do a gourmet hotdog and prosecco deal for £9, which is good value at any festival these days. With all proceeds to the NSPCC, who can’t argue?
Nieve Ella was well received by what seemed like a predominantly younger audience. On this point there does seem to be less young people here than at TRNSMT. Whilst the bill is not as ‘headline’ as that festival with fewer high profile acts, I suspect ticket prices have had an impact. I’d certainly be in favour of an ‘U25s ticket’ even if mine (at a shade over 25) cost a little more. It is so important for live music to get the younger generation attending (as well as playing at) these events.
Next up is Balancing Act on the Leadmill stage. This band moved from Manchester to London to further their career and it seems to have helped. They were well received by the relatively crowded tent, with singer Kai Robert’s admitting it was the biggest audience they’d ever played in front of - maybe 1,000 or so. It’s worth pointing out that the iconic Sheffield Leadmill has been going since 1980. The #wecantloseleadmill campaign is well publicised here. I read in the local media that the current operators are now threatening to remove everything (sprung floor, toilets, lightbulbs etc) leaving the new owners a big empty pit!
Back on the main stage I see yet another Irish band, Dublin’s four piece, Sprints, who I had managed to miss at TRNSMT. I guess if you go to a couple of festivals like this, you can see the artists that clash and that you miss. Energetic and edgy, I found Sprints song Delia Smith quite intriguing, but sense that there is a lot more to it than just heralding Norfolk’s ‘let’s be having you’ culinary icon. Singer Karla Chubb was keen to stick up for Palestine before encouraging the kids in the audience to take up an instrument and form a band. You can certainly see why the band list IDLES as being a major influence. My Apple Watch at this point did not warn me about dB noise levels, and I was metres from the front. I’m sure that these big gigs are not as loud anymore!
The Snuts followed on the Main Stage with their belter Glasgow and some sunshine. Dreams, Millionaires and Gloria all get played from their latest, and impressive, LP Millennials. This band is building up an awesome live reputation. Back in the packed Leadmill tent I catch my second JO’B recommendation, English Teacher another Leeds Conservatoire product. Whilst their West Yorkshire roots are booed here in South Yorkshire, the audience warm to them. Their witty kitchen sink lyrics remind me of Wet Leg, and it is no surprise that they are hotly tipped. We miss most of Tom Grennan and all of headliner Jamie T on the main stage as it’s been a long day, and we have probably been there longer than most the audience.
Sunday begins with Philippa Zawe, a Yorkshire born woman of Ugandan heritage with a very powerful soul/blues voice. Her song Misplaced seems especially poignant in this world of conflict. She deserves a bigger crowd, but I suspect that she could be back in the bus with the band by 2.30 and play an early evening set at a smaller festival in Yorkshire or even the Midlands. Artists (plus the staging, lighting, fencing and toilets) must be moving around our motorway system all summer. Lime Garden, another JO’B recommendation, are an all-female four piece offering a punchy sound. They have one album so far called One More Thing describe themselves as ‘wonk pop’, whatever that is. Certainly worth checking out.
Back on the main stage old timers Maximo Park, from Newcastle, bounce onto stage. They have produced seven LPs, with their eighth due to be released in September. Paul Smith is in typically energetic fine form as we get two new tracks, Favourite Songs and The End Can Be As Good As The Start, from that forthcoming LP. They still like to mix it up a bit and classics like National Health and Girls Who Play Guitars get a welcome airing. Maximo Park are a solid festival band who have lost none of their youthful enthusiasm.
Over on the tiny Library stage, Sheffield indie band Beachcomber entertain a lively crowd. This is where all the kids entertainment is, and is precisely where I would have come with my toddler children fifteen years ago. Lots of free activities like circus skills, kids discos and a Lidl play area for them to do, whilst you enjoy some good music and a well-deserved pint, sitting on a gentle slope. Back to the Leadmill and the last JO’B recommendation achieved was 86TVs. I would not have known about their Maccabees link (with brothers Felix, Hugo and Will White, plus Stereophonics/Noisettes drummer Jamie Morrison) had I not been told. I know the recent Felix from his cricketing podcast, and I loved the Maccabees, seeing them a couple of times. I was really sad to see them disband in 2017, so it was good to see 86TVs play to such a welcoming crowd. Their music here is very different from the mellow and emotive Maccabees, and the fifth song in was dedicated to John McEnroe, presumably due to the film that Felix was involved with. They are a band I’ll need to explore further.
A quick near sprint to the second stage allowing for only one song to be missed by NewDad. Having seen them a couple of weeks back I knew what to expect. On the way I passed the Open Arms stage, where there was a ‘Double Dollies tribute’ that my wife was watching. Apparently one Dolly is not enough. If you like Slowdive, you’ll like NewDad. They seemed to rush off quickly at the end, I suspect because their drummer wanted to watch a Gaelic football game. Example then hits the main stage to entertain the younger folk. Not hugely impressed. You can hear a DJ play Mr Brightside at most weddings - is he really doing that much more?
By this time Mrs M and I were tired and in need of a sit down, and the nicely inclined wall of a helter skelter made an ideal spot. Additionally, we could hear (and nearly see) Willie J Harvey, which the festival write up described as Costello meets Beatles meets Neil Young. That sounds promising, but the reality seemed a little disappointing. Perhaps we had just seen too much music over the three days. However, we still have Sheffield natives, The Human League. They were really impressive. I took a quick detour mid set to see the Leeds based The Pigeon Detectives but felt drawn to come back quickly. Sheffield 1 Leeds 0. Although never a massive Human League fan, I knew way more of their material than I thought. I loved Phil Oakey’s comments that the band never really achieved any success until females joined! Most gratifying was the number of young people who have clearly discovered these 80s icons. I guess I often forget how lucky I was to grow up with this music, that the youth of today have discovered and love. It was a nice way to finish the three days, prior to clearing off before Snow Patrol. I had the excuse of an early morning flight to Germany, and once you’ve heard one Snow Patrol song……but we didn’t even stay for one! Sorry to all Snow Patrol fans.
Another great city festival which is well organised and supported locally. 50% JO’B recommendations seen too. If you get early bird tickets for this, you can dip in and out, turn up late, miss headliners, do other things and still not feel short changed. Wholly and enthusiastically recommended.
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