It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Tramlines Festival 2024, bathed in glorious sunshine and blue skies, stood in stark contrast to the muddy, rain-drenched spectacle of 2023. It was an age of open-air revelry, in contrast to the year prior’s waterlogged woes; it was the epoch of carefree dancing, instead of punters shivering under ponchos. The festival grounds in Sheffield’s Hillsborough Park, now dusty and dry, were a far cry from the swamp-like conditions that plagued last year’s event.
It was the season of sunshine, with no dampened spirits in sight; it was the spring of musical joy, in contrast to what felt like a winter of soggy despair. In short, the transformation was so dramatic that it seemed like an entirely different world, where the music soared under the summer sun and not a wellie boot was in sight. Welcome to Tramlines 2024, where we finally experience Sheffield’s biggest music festival as it was meant to be: bright, jubilant, and free from the clutches of the weather gods.
Friday
Despite sporting a questionable haircut and a poncho that seemed symbolic of the now far-gone rainy days, Miles Kane’s early afternoon billing set the tone for the rest of the night, with his high-energy performance featuring hits including ‘Inhaler’, ‘Colour of the Trap’ and the rousing closer ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’. And, with his mum and auntie in attendance too, their presence perfectly encapsulated Tramlines’ family-friendly vibe.
Bethany Grace graced the Library Stage next. Performing her debut single ‘Miss You Missing Me’, she attracted a modest crowd, ahead of a soulful cover of The 1975’s ‘Somebody Else’ that drew in passers-by before Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s set.
Returning to the main stage after her last performance in 2021, the lockdown kitchen disco legend brought her trademark glamour and infectious energy, even joking about going back to London with a tan from Costa-del-Sheffield. Her set was filled with sure-fire crowd-pleasers including ABBA and Madonna covers, finishing on her hit that’s still enjoying a second wind thanks to Saltburn: ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’. Sophie’s charismatic presence and the declaration to the crowd, “You can sing, you can dance, you’re easy on the eye,” cemented her connection with the Steel City.
Manchester’s Corella took to the Leadmill stage after that, with Joel leading the charge in a rousing rendition of ‘Lady Messiah’. A mellower mainstage set from Bombay Bicycle Club followed, with frontman Jack Steadman humorously opting to squint at the crowd because he’s “not cool enough” for sunglasses. The brass section, featuring Dan, Johnny, and Tom, added a rich layer to their already superb live sound.
Friday’s headline performance from Paolo Nutini was a heartfelt highlight of the weekend, although his rearrangement of hits such as ‘Jenny Don’t Be Hasty’ was a bit Alex Turner-esque, preventing fans from singing along with the enthusiasm they might have otherwise. Donning his shades because he “gets nervous” playing ‘Last Request’, his performance was at its best when it was stripped back to just him and his incredible voice. There was a sincere appreciation for Sheffield palpable in the encore performance of ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’, with Nutini having spent the day with his friend Kyle from The View’s family – a sentiment at stark odds to Saturday’s expletive and rant-fuelled headline performance from Jamie T: a sour note on an otherwise superb weekend.
Saturday
Although Jamie T’s messy headline set cast a cloud over proceedings, Saturday was overall another scorcher. West Lothian rockers The Snuts good-humouredly joked about bringing the sun down with them from Scotland, with a set packed with corkers including ‘Fatboy Slim’, and the anthemic ‘Gloria’.
English Teacher played a sweaty Leadmill stage, with hits offering an introspective look at the trials of writing an album, before Tom Grennan’s lungs drew the crowd back to the mainstage for a barnstorming performance. A natural frontman, wearing a knitted shirt that no doubt felt like an error of judgement facing the day’s fortuitous forecast, he worked his way through radio-dominating hits including ‘Found What I’ve Been Looking For’ and ‘Little Bit Of Love’.
We opted to see Holly Humberstone instead of Jamie T, and from the final portion of his set that I saw – with him saying to the crowd “Stop talking about how cultural Sheffield is, it’s f**king boring”, which he followed up a few songs with later with “I had to put a dig in somewhere otherwise I wouldn’t be a Southern fairy” – I made the right choice; not least because Humberstone’s magnetic and witchy energy had T’Other tent captivated. She played songs from her 2022 release, Can You Afford To Lose Me?, propelled to new levels of popularity by TikTok, including ‘The Walls Are Way Too Thin’ and ‘Falling Asleep At The Wheel’.
Sunday
Lime Garden’s gratitude for an early Sunday crowd brightened the skies darkened by Jamie T’s dourness, setting a positive tone for the final day. Set highlights included ‘Clockwork’ and ‘I Want To Be You’, with the crowd eager to wish Leila a happy birthday, and grateful that they didn’t have to sing themselves.
Newcastle’s Maximo Park brought the throwback indie anthems in spades. Frontman Paul Smith exuded Tom Hiddleston energy in his hat and slogan t-shirt, quipping about the challenges of having a repertoire full of angsty songs scheduled for early afternoon in a sunny Sheffield park. Despite the lack of a typical Yorkshire chant, the crowd happily took in Maximo Park’s new material – a self-proclaimed ‘no-go’ at a festival – in good enough spirits to politely bop along between ‘Girls Who Play Guitar’, ‘Books From Boxes’ and ‘Our Velocity’.
Ahead of the release of their debut album next week, 86TVs also played a smattering of new material, including ‘Pipedream’, in between known and loved songs such as ‘Higher Love’. The three brothers’ gratitude for the crowd’s presence was heartfelt, with it self-evident how much they enjoyed the change in tempo compared to the Maccabees’ mellower music.
A shirtless Example brought a wave of dance energy to the mainstage, basking with an all-age crowd under the midday sun. With his characteristic humour, he admitted, “I only listen to guitar music; I just make dance music because it pays the bills.” Despite being jetlagged from a recent trip to Australia, he energised the crowd, encouraging everyone to get on shoulders and making shoutouts including, inexplicably, several for food vendor Cheeky Burger. His set was a mix of self-confessed “filler” leading into the famous ‘Kickstarts’, ensuring a high-energy dance party that had everyone moving.
“Leeds scum” The Pigeon Detectives continued the momentum, although they opened with a new track to “keep the crowd on their toes”. Reflecting on last year’s rainy ordeal, Matt Bowman revelled in the hot weather, cheekily remarking about the festival’s admission fee not being enough to ensure any clothing removal on their part. Their set was a lively and spirited affair, with all the usual hits including ‘Take Her Back’ and ‘This Is An Emergency’.
A tightly controlled set from The Magic Gang was a weekend standout; with the band rolling through their own hits including the funky ‘Take Back The Track’, as well as an excellent rendition of the Arthur theme song ‘Believe In Yourself’. Despite a quip about not having made eye contact with one another in years, the outfit could definitely give the Gallagher brothers lessons in camaraderie, with the sharing of the spotlight a really nice and refreshing thing to see.
As the weekend started to draw to a close, Yard Act scared off the Sunday scaries with their raw and engaging set. Inviting “Jono from school” onstage by way of an apology for childhood misdemeanours, so he could fulfil his life-long dream of crowdsurfing all the way to the back of T’Other stage tent, frontman James Smith kept the crowd captivated from start to finish, powering through a set ranging from ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’, ‘Dream Job’ through to ‘The Trench Coat Museum’. Adding to his already impressive rockstar persona, the can of Guinness 0 he occasionally drank from and held aloft felt emblematic of a new generation of musicians: content to let their music be the only buzz they and the crowd needed on a Sunday evening in Sheffield. Take note, Jamie T.
Super Early Bird tickets for 2025 will be on sale August 2 from 12pm and will allow you access to the festival for the best price. Early Bird tickets for the festival usually sell out within minutes, so Tramlines suggest you sign up for priority access here before August 2.
Words by Beth Kirkbride
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