We head to Hillsborough Park, Sheffield for this year’s Tramlines Festival.

Review and Photos by John Hayhurst

Day 1 – Friday 26th July

We all still have the twitches from memories of last years Tramlines, the mud and rain on Sunday was ‘biblical’ as Liam Gallagher would say, so this weekends predicted 21 degrees and partly cloudy is a godsend and probably perfect for this time of year.

So much to see at Sheffields biggest party, and we start with Bedroom High Club, local lads from Barnsley playing the Sarah Nulty Main Stage, they have been around for over 6 years now and ‘Courtesy’ has been on my Spotify favourites list for months. So it was great to finally hear it live on a big stage, with an animated guitarist doing high kicks and mid air splits and singer Blue Brownlie in his trademark truckers cap screeching the lyrics. What a start!

The Main Stage line up today is so good we only venture to the other stages for the punktastic Soft Play (aka Slaves) who put in a crowd pleasing and prize winning set in the 2nd stage tent, and then Tim Burgess with The Charlatans for the headliner performance there with nostalgic 90’s indie hits galore.

The Mysterines were also headlining at the Leadmill stage and I can’t get enough of Lia Metcalfe’s vocals, their album ‘Afraid of Tomorrows’ is one of the best this year, this Liverpool 4-piece are heading towards being main stage contenders of the future.

Special guests playing early on are The View and I caught them last year in Manchester, just after the punch up on stage on the previous tour. No sign of any such shenanigans this time and whilst the lyrics might still be indecipherable with such strong Dundee accents they have plenty of tunes like ‘Same Jeans’ ‘Wasted Little DJ’s’ and ‘Superstar Tradesman’ to get those at the front singing along.

Then much loved (by me) Coach Party are on next, this Isle of Wight band surprised a couple of years ago with their ‘Everybody Hates Me’ song at a festival somewhere, from that point to their debut album released last year, it has been a joyous discovery of a new band that have some of the best earworm choruses you find yourself whistling (if you can whistle) several days later. They might not be the most animated on stage but their songs are mostly sub 3 minutes each, so they can get through the whole of ‘Killjoy’ in this one set.

Miles Kane I think wishes he was the reincarnation of Marc Bolan, minus the perm. If new wave glam rock had an unlikely hero, then Kane is it, he certainly crosses that genre with his regular lads indie brand, which can be a potent mix for those who haven’t heard any of his music before.

Then we have a rejuvinated Sophie Ellis-Bextor, thanks to the Saltburn film and that scene! Her set gets everyone dancing in the kitchen, but the piste de résistance is an outstanding version of Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’. I’d go as far as saying that she does it better than Madonna, and it is my unexpected highlight of day 1 here at Hillsborough Park.

Brilliant musicians Bombay Bicycle Club become also rans after Ellis-Bextor’s performance, but that doesn’t mean their set wasn’t entertaining or worth watching, but for the general populous here I think Sophie edged it a bit and there was a mass exodus for food/drinks/the loo at this point.

Which at Tramlines is a broad selection of anything you can think of – even lobster! Gone are the days of soggy burgers or jacket spuds as the only food available. This is as good as it gets for an inner city festival, that doesn’t have camping facilities.

Finally, to our Friday headliner Paulo Nutini, I find it strange that after such a long hiatus, he is now considered headliner material, and yet here he is at Tramlines (and Kendal Calling next week). I wouldn’t say it was the most amazing set, it definitely picked up towards the back end when the hits came out like ‘Jenny Don’t Be Hasty’ and ‘Candy’, but ‘Pencil Full of Lead’ was unrecognisable, it used to be full of trumpets and dance, now reduced to a slower dirge, there was a spark missing and playing lots of new stuff is never going to win over a festival crowd, particularly in Yorkshire.

So a little flat after what was an inspired day of great bands, and tomorrow we have the return of Jamie T to look forward to !!

Day 2 – Saturday 27th July

Day 2 of Tramlines and still no major heavy rainstorms, could this be the year when we don’t have to unpack the full waterproofs? The beauty of this inner city festival is that there is no camping, so its a simple bus or car journey to Hillsborough Park, and as it all finishes at 10:30pm every night, you’ve already had plenty of sleep from the night before.

Tonight’s headliner is the eagerly awaited return of Jamie T, he of ‘Sheila’, ‘Zombie’ and ‘Sticks and Stones’ fame. Similar to Nutini from last night, it’s been a while, so quite peculiar to see him at headliner status so early on his return to the live stage.

First though a slew of artists to catch up on and always at Tramlines we have The Everly Pregnant Brothers kickstarting as ‘Special Guests’ on the Sarah Nulty Main Stage. Their comedy songs are sung back heartily by this local South Yorkshire crowd, and every year a similar setlist. This is the first year though that they have a new lead singer in Kieran Wardle from another Sheffield band Hot Soles. Dare I say the tradition is looking a bit tired on the main stage and perhaps they should move it to t’Other stage next year as the crowd seems to be getting smaller each time.

It is unique to this festival, Kendal Calling has the Lancashire Hotpots, Tramlines has The Everly Pregnant Brothers. Both taking the old Barron Knights formula to new levels.

Elsewhere Sheffield’s Poet Laureate Otis Mensah is on t’Other stage and New Guitar Heartthrob Harvey Jay Dodgson is in the Leadmill sweeping up the youngsters with his gritty lyrics and heartfelt melodies. Dodgson was a stand out performer today and his set was full of energy even if he admitted being hungover from Truck Festival the previous night. If you are a Jamie T and Tom Grennan fan then this Portsmouth lad is about to become your next favourite.

A different feel on t’other stage today (after the usual daily comedy) – Very Rap/Dance/DJ crossover with Coco and then one of the hottest voices in new contemporary dance music – Jazzy makes the whole place get club funky – and with DJ Annie Mac up next, this is effectively ‘THE’ Dance tent until singer songwriter Holly Humberstone headlines. Holly has the songs but needs to break out of that 2 yard circle around her microphone if she’s ever going to really connect with a new audience, and any people from the dance set waiting to see who she is, have long gone when she starts her more intimate ‘heart on sleeve’ meanderings.

Back in the Leadmill tent, local bands City Parking and Minds Idle are playing the biggest gigs of their lives and for me the talky sing of Jade Cook wins hands down from Ted Mitchell’s quirky pop. “Karl has fancy friends and I’ve got fancy shoes” she deadpan drawls and it feels fresh and interesting, rather than camp and hipster.

Manchester/London’s Balancing Act follow and add something more sonic to their set than quirky, we are stretching the trad lads indie formula but for those escaping the dance music they will find much to like here. ‘She Plays The Theremin’ wins favourite song title of the day and it would have been brilliant if they had a girl actually playing the Theremin on stage with them. Lead singer Kai Roberts is drawing from the Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury book of how to be a frontman, it works to a certain extent and if you have that level of confidence then why not.

You can’t see everything at a festival and have to make choices, but the combo of Main Stage and then opposite, on top of the hill the Leadmill Stage was brilliant today, not much overlap and a fantastic set of artists on both. I’d seen Nieve Ella at Live at Leeds (In the Park) earlier this year so I was desperate to see her again, ‘The Things We Say’ is one of my favourite ‘pop’ singles of the year ‘Sugarcoated’ not far behind. This artist will surely be up higher on the bill in the coming years, still only 21 years old, this was a highlight to see her on a big stage, she left with hundreds of new fans and those that knew the words sang louder than her today.

Back on Leadmill and we found Nottingham’s Cucamaras doing exactly what Yard Act did a few years ago, tearing up the place with their post punk anthems from their second EP ‘Buck Rogers Time’. One of my ‘bands of the day’ and certainly one I will be checking out again.

Then Dublin’s SPRINTS hit the main stage with a fury, having seen them last month at the Piece Hall in Halifax supporting Idles, Karla Chubb was in another good mood shaking that red hair and Colm O’Reilly kicking and screaming on guitar. ‘Letter to Self’ is one of the best albums of the year and ‘Heavy’ and ‘Up and Comer’ are so blistering live. Finally some noisy guitar at Tramlines – we are truly woken up!

The Snuts are in my view that ‘Trad Lads Indie’ that goes down so well with a festival audience, I’m no major fan personally, but I can see their appeal, I head for some more amazing food from the many varied food stalls at Tramlines, no Lobster today but a nice pint of proper beer from the craft ale tent goes down very well.

Leeds based English Teacher are high on my list as I missed them when they played Float Along festival in Sheffield last year. I love the talky sing poetry from Lily Fontaine, her normal afro hairdo is in braids today, and ok I lied earlier ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ really wins song title of the day. They should have headlined and they packed the tent to bursting, they really get better with every performance and the style is unpigeonholeable, which is always a good thing in my book.

Tom Grennan is now an arena artist with a portfolio of tunes that keep the mixed crowd here properly entertained, he is a modern British soul singer with a gravelly voice similar to Kelly Jones from The Stereophonics. ‘Found What I’ve Been Looking For’ still crosses that pop/indie divide and as he isn’t shackled to a guitar he can work the stage to captivate the audience. Is it really six years since his debut album ‘Lighting Matches’? Have to say the new birds nest hairdo needs to go though, not sure what was going on there, but he is a true entertainer and drew the biggest crowd of the day to the main stage – Future Headliner? I think he should have headlined today!

Finally, we arrive for “Jamie…Jamie…Jamie f%%king T” echoing around Hillsborough Park. I’m wondering exactly how many tracks the people at Tramlines really know here, and how is he going to feed them into the gig. Hoping that we might get a big one to start, one in the middle and then one at the end. However, sadly, Jamie had other ideas and preferred a gradual build up of the set.  “Oh No”, I thought, not again, this is another disappointing headline performance.

It wasn’t that he didn’t entertain and at least he didn’t mess about with the well known songs like Nutini did the previous night, it’s just he saved the hits for his last few songs. I might as well have just come in for the last few minutes. I don’t understand artists at weekend festivals (even if you are headlining) playing a set like that, half the people who were mildly interested had already left halfway through to get an early bus or train. Jamie T is no longer the skittish kid we once loved, jumping in the crowd, causing trouble, he has lost some of that spark but hasn’t learnt how to play to a festival audience, 60% of which might not be your fans. If the big hits had been spaced out with a few choice covers added, he would have been hailed as a true festival headliner, instead I left another night with a mildly disappointed face and too many unanswered questions.

Tomorrow, in my view, we have 2 headliners on the same night on The Main Stage, and the biggest unanswered question of them all.

Why are The Human League not headlining and closing Tramlines 2024 in Sheffield. This is their home-town FFS ???

Day 3 – Sunday 28th July

I’ve said it before but this years Tramlines at Hillsborough Park in Sheffield has been more than a success compared to last years monsoon and mudfest, however, whoever books or decides on headliners seriously needs to give their head a shake. Putting aside the borefest of Paulo Nutini on Friday, and the bizarre mumblings of Jamie T (who slagged off his audience too last night), if you are then putting Snow Patrol ahead of one of the biggest 80’s bands to ever come from Sheffield then something is drastically wrong or it’s been done from a distance without really knowing the locality. Whoever you are, I hope Sarah Nulty (Tramlines Founder) is haunting you in your dreams, would you have done that to the Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Def Leppard, even Richard Hawley or Heaven 17 and ABC? Then why do it to The Human League? Who were without doubt the highlight, and the band that drew the biggest audience to the Sarah Nulty Main Stage over the weekend.

We start the day with a contrast of styles, Alt-Rock/Dance band Static Lives are local to the area and have the worst set time, literally 5 minutes after doors eventually open on the Sunday morning, only the keen are here but that doesn’t stop Lori from prowling the stage with her big smile and even bigger voice, by the time their set closed it was a healthy audience happy for that rocking dancing morning workout. Over on the main stage the sweetest noise heard all weekend in the form of Philippa Zawe, the sun is shining as Zawe lifts us all through her lilting melodic voice, giving us serious Joan Armatrading vibes (although an octave or two higher). You can tell how strong her vocals are as she has to pull her head back from the mic before unleashing another crystal clear heavenly note.

A nice precursor to Lime Garden on the Leadmill stage, a band I’ve tracked since seeing them at the Brudenell in Leeds supporting Sunflower Bean, pre-covid days. Their debut album ‘One More Thing’ is chock full of danceable tracks that they like to call ‘Wonk Rock’ whatever that means?. It’s also guitarist Leila Deeley’s birthday today so the band are in top form as they power through their set in front of a sizeable crowd who probably saw them here 2 years ago. I watch the whole of their brilliant set, ‘Clockwork’ and ‘Love Song’ two of my favourite tracks are played and then sadly they have to leave early in the afternoon as they have a long road trip back to Brighton, my scheduled interview postponed to a zoom call later this year.

The Leadmill stage at Tramlines now has a refreshment tent next to it that sells some lovely craft ales, Farmers Blonde a favourite is being quaffed by the pints, as people are eager to get out of the early afternoon sun, it is definitely the hottest day of the weekend. Paul Smith of Maximo Park is wearing a suit black jacket and hat, and he’s still running around the Main Stage, that won’t last! and sure enough the jacket is off after 1 song to reveal a white ‘No War’ T-Shirt. Can’t quite believe they are becoming a heritage act (20years +) but those mid 2000’s anthems from ‘A Certain Trigger’ are still strong and fresh, and Smith is still the ‘lunatic jumping around in a suit’ that the band hired before they even knew if he could sing! Maximo Park are still a great festival band every time I see them.

We speed walk down to t’Other stage to catch NewDad, a band I caught the tail end of their performance at Glastonbury. They play some really nice shoegazy indie rock, think Wolf Alice mixed with a bit of The Cure, speaking of which they pull off a majestic version of ‘Just Like Heaven’ and they win the smiliest band award, particularly when their contemporaries haven’t cracked a smile in years. Well worth catching in their own right this Galway band and as they are also playing Kendal Calling next week, I think I will do just that.

To get a good view for The Human League you need to be there early, it is packed on the main stage area, the busiest I have seen it all weekend, what a suprise! I mean who would have thought, we are in Sheffield and lots of people want to see Sheffield’s multi platinum selling The Human League, a band that David Bowie declared to the NME after seeing them in 1978 was ‘the future of pop music’ – he was right of course, as he was about most things. ‘Dare’ is an iconic album and in most 40 and 50somethings vinyl collection.

The stage is decked in an all white style and the backing band with synths, keytars and drums are also wearing all white. The girls (! Now 61 !), Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall are the original schoolmates discovered by Phil Oakey at the Crazy Daisy Nightclub in Sheffield in 1980. They appear wearing classy black outfits and shades, looking cool swaying from side to side, Phil Oakey then appears in a black fashion jacket and matching black flared trousers, although it does look a bit like he’s left the coathanger in his jacket.He will change tops after every few songs, as will the girls – particularly for the finale into some stunning silvery shimmering outfits.

Mirrored shades for ‘Mirror Man’, a good choice of opener, one we all know. However, we shortly realise that we know all these songs, ‘banger after banger’ as the Reverend would say, as Phil Oakey is quick to remind the crowd that he used to live 200 yards from Hillsborough Park, this is a homecoming show of massive proportions as ‘Sound of the Crowd’, ‘Tell Me When’, ‘Human’ and ‘The Lebanon’ all delivered with impeccable sound. Highlights were a stunning version of ‘Love Action’ with that synth opening 30 seconds designed to take all the Mums and Dads here on a nostalgic trip back to the discos and clubs in the early 80’s – when they all had cool hair and fashionable clothes.

Then came what I would suggest is the pinnacle of Tramlines 2024, the entire audience singing and clapping along to Electric Dreams, “We’ll always be together, However far it seems” Oakey sings as if this is a homage to his hometown and the people that have come to see them today. Then the opening to ‘Don’t You Want Me’ starts with two keytar players watching this massive audience sing the 1st verse and chorus while Oakey and the girls are still getting changed, they must have heard us because we were loud.

They return to the stage and start the 1st verse in full, thankfully none of this holding microphones out for us to sing nonsense, I hate that – we’ve paid to hear you sing, not the other way around. Another few choruses were sung with gusto and it was all over “Enjoy Snow Patrol” Oakey quips as he leaves the stage knowing that the band have just played a set that deserved to be headlining status, and the mass exodus to food vendors, toilets and breakout areas was very noticeable at the end. For many that was the end of Tramlines 2024 – lets get an early bus or tram and beat the crowds.

Over on the Leadmill stage The Magic Gang were billed as playing their final ever gig and had an introduction from a shirtless guy with a pint in his hand probably befitting ‘The End’. Its a shame because they produced some of the best guitar pop with catchy hooks just this side of Weezer, but for whatever reason it hasn’t worked out for them. That said, they had a decent audience at the Leadmill to witness it, and tears were shed by the front row when it ended.

You have a choice of final headliner as they are both on at the same time, although if you have any energy left then you could manage 3 songs of Snow Patrol and then ‘Run’ to t’Other stage (see what I did there) to catch Yard Act, which is exactly what I did. Snow Patrol are great and I would suggest they were the only valid headliner but shouldn’t be going on after The Human League in Sheffield, that was a travesty! However, no one can deny that Gary Lightbody & Co have some tunes up their sleeve and crucially they know how to work a festival audience – when to feed in your big hits ‘Run’, ‘Chasing Cars’, ‘Shut Your Eyes’ and ‘Chocolate’ all meticulously spaced out in the setlist – (Jamie T – please learn) and they don’t insult their audience (Jamie T – please learn)

Then Yard Act know how to get the party started as James Smith is everywhere, it’s like he is on some massive invisible rubber band which pulls him from one side of the stage to the other, he nearly spills his can of guinness at one point. ‘The Trappers Pelts’, ‘Trenchcoat Museum’ and other crazy named tunes have lyrics that are not designed to be sung back, but this audience in Yorkshire does just that, Yard Act might be from Leeds but Sheffield are happy to claim them as Yorkshire, no football club rivalry will stop that. During newish song ‘Down By The Stream’ the key lyrical subject Jono Steadman actually crowd surfs in the audience here, in the song Smith admits to bullying Steadman but “We were all good in the end though, I think, He never held it against me”. Then ‘The Overload’ title track of their first album brings hysteria to t’Other stage, I love it, anyone of their songs should be a poem studied at GCSE level, the wit and the delivery live is second to none in this game. This made it a worthy ending to a brilliant weekend.

I know the weather can make or break a festival, but Tramlines sees through all that, it is really a shining beacon of how a metropolitan festival should work, plenty of great up and coming artists playing live on stage, lets face it – aside from Jools Holland Where is the live music on TV? That’s why these festivals are crucial to the industry, a chance to show real talent in a live setting to a potential new audience. Replicate this in all the major cities in the UK and the music industry here will soar. Tramlines 2024 has been another fantastic weekend of discovery, influence and nostalgia, long may it continue and of course I’m coming back next year – no matter who is headlining!

Tramlines Festival took place at Hillsborough Park, Sheffield from 26 to 28 July 2024.