The Steel City’s weekend festival is now a must-attend event, a smash hit with Yorkshire music fans since its 2009 launch. Last year proved a triumphant return, eager concertgoers back in droves following the previous year’s covid-enforced cancellation. Attracting a wide range of local, national, and international talent, there is always something for everyone with opportunities to discover some great new music for those willing to take a punt.
The 2022 version boasts no fewer than four stages to choose from. Sarah Nulty‘s Main Stage, named after the late Tramlines co-founder, will be brimming with top bands from across the region including northern indie darlings James, Shed Seven, and The Coral. The Liverpudlians are also celebrating 20 years since the release of their first and gloriously shabby long-player. For someone still yet to see Madness live, the Camden legends will certainly be top of my list for a bit of Sunday evening skanking, despite the Harrington and Pork Pie Hat proving a bit of a tight fit these days!
T’Other Stage boasts a fully compered mix of the country’s leading comedians each afternoon. We then switch to a super cool mix of leftfield acts as darkness falls. Bradford’s bassline collective Bad Boy Chiller Crew will surely bring the house down, not forgetting super cool local chanteuse Rebecca Taylor. Formerly one-half of the very excellent Slow Club, Taylor is now reinvented as solo performer Self Esteem. I normally avoid tribute bands like the plague unless there’s something different about them. Elvana, the self-styled ‘Elvis Fronted Nirvana’, certainly fit that bill despite having Dread Zeppelin to thank more than anyone else. Should be a giggle though.
With Sheffield’s Leadmill suddenly shrouded in uncertainty, let’s hope this isn’t the last time we see The Leadmill Stage at Tramlines. Pick of the acts hail from West Yorkshire including electronic trio Working Men’s Club, a cracking way to start your weekend. Their 2020 eponymous debut was recorded in Sheffield, continuing the City’s enviable record of producing some of the world’s finest synth-pop. Between them, Goa Express and Yard Act will also provide a fitting finale on Sunday evening.
If that wasn’t already enough entertainment to declare your weekend totally sorted, The Open Arms stage is where you can enjoy a welcome breather from the rock and roll excess. With a heady mix of poetry and spoken word by day, banging DJ sets by night, it’s also the perfect place to sink the odd scoop containing some of the county’s finest wallop.
Be there or be square.
Words by Michael Price.
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