Tramlines Festival: One of the UK’s Longest Running Festivals is Back Tomorrow!
Written and Edited by Eve Moat
The Sheffield Festival is back in Hillsborough Park from tomorrow, with a cracking line-up, from up-and-comers to headliners, artists new and older, with some from far and wide, and others hailing from the city itself.
I have many memories of the festival over the years. As I have grown up, the festival has too, as outlined below in my written coming of age story.
“As a kid growing up in Sheffield, I started going to Tramlines Festival at the age of 6. I went with my parents and I remember when Tramlines was in the centre of Sheffield and the main stage was on the small but electric Devonshire Green. We saw Reverend and the Makers on the Friday night and I somehow remember having a light up wristband. Tramlines was incredible when I was younger. I loved the community spirit, the local bands, up-coming artists and the atmosphere of my longest-attended festival. Tramlines has evolved a lot over the years and I like to think of Tramlines’ evolution as a mirror of my evolution as a person, as I’ve grown up with my music tastes changing and different things happening in my life, just like how Tramlines has changed. The Fringe at Tramlines in Sheffield City Centre still reminds me of Tramlines back in 2009 and I love that it lives on. However, Tramlines now in Hillsborough Park is more than anyone could have dreamed it to become: a full evolution. It is almost like all the instalments of Tramlines that I attended as a child were leading up to the year I turned 18 which I associate as a turning point in my life in relation to my music taste.
2021 was the year I turned 18 and was the first year I worked the bar at Tramlines. I chose this year as it was a turning point in my life, musically and lifestyle-wise – the beginning of a new chapter (leaving home, going to university). Also, I loved the music that year, the atmosphere was electric, and I met some amazing people and made great friends. I saw some of my friends there. It also led to me working 3 Tramlines in a row because I loved it so much. It was my first festival I worked at, so it felt like I was growing up. It was a new chapter in my life. I was becoming an adult, gaining self-sufficiency, but whilst doing something I enjoy – seeing live music.
In terms of music, I chose this year because many indie and up-and-coming artists played, making me realise my love of indie music. Artists that included The Fratellis, The Kooks, The Streets, DMAs, Jake Bugg, Pigeon Detectives, Blossoms, Vistas, Bloxx, Baby Queen, Holly Humberstone, the list goes on. Indie music truly shone that year at Tramlines, and my love for the genre grew.
I went to university in 2021 after this Tramlines, and my love for indie music and the scene continued its exponential growth. I co-hosted the Indie and Alternative hour on Leeds Student Radio the same year, and found one of my now closest mates on the show who shares my love for indie music and we became regulars at the O2 Academy Leeds’ Indie Thursdays club night, where I made even more indie-loving friends. Without Tramlines 2021, I may have never found my people at university who loved this music the way I do and I owe a lot to that Tramlines. I’ve seen many of the artists I saw at Tramlines 2021 multiple times now, and without seeing these artists, I wouldn’t have found other indie or up-and-coming artists due to them having them as support acts, supporting them in other ways (such as production) or simply them being similar and me finding them via recommendations, Spotify (discover or suggestions) or by chance. Many of these other artists I have had the pleasure of reviewing and writing about for The Gryphon. These artists include The Japanese House – I started loving their music around the time I really got into The 1975, I already loved their music, but got into more due to my friend I met on the Indie and Alternative show.
Another artist is Alfie Jukes, who I found online due to my love for up-and-coming artists and indie music – I was lucky enough to interview him briefly, as well as photograph his gig and write an article for him about the intimate gig. None of this would have been possible without Tramlines unlocking how much I care about music, especially the grassroots and indie music scenes. Many people think of Tramlines as just an indie music festival, but it also provides a platform for artists of other genres too. The Everly Pregnant Brothers – Sheffield icons – were at Tramlines 2021 and I first saw them on BBC music day 2016. They were told not to swear and didn’t want to leave the Sheffield Peace Gardens, so even when they were taken off air, they continued playing the gig, and the crowd had the best day.
Artists from different genres were what made that year of Tramlines so incredibly unique: artists like Sophie Ellis Bextor, Royal Blood, Pale Waves, Tom Walker, Little Simz – who I played on my own radio show on LSR – brought something new and fresh to the table. They created a new and different atmosphere and brought in a unique crowd, but it worked so well intertwined with the indie artists. This showed me how diverse my music taste is – I’ve always enjoyed music from a wide range of genres, eras and artists, but this reaffirmed my beliefs in that I do like a bit of everything and I would not change that for the world.
One of my friends from school, Bethany Pashley, actually played at Peddler Market in Kelham Island last year as part of the Pattern and Push initiative by Tramlines. This year she is playing on the line-up in Hillsborough Park. This initiative provides a great platform for up-and-coming artists and spoken word poets, and is proven to help artists achieve their dreams. I will be cheering Bethany on this year and many years to come!”
To hear more about my own memories of Tramlines and my connection to the music, listen back to BBC 6 Music Goes Back on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00214kl
The Gryphon will be covering the Tramlines weekend, with interviews, articles and updates, so stay tuned!
