Tramlines Festival 2016 review

Image: Tramlines

The all consuming Tramlines Festival once again engulfed Sheffield in a summer haze of alcohol and music this weekend. It was the eighth time the sprawling celebration of songs had come to the Steel City, and with such an eclectic line up it was impossible to not enjoy yourself.

Firstly, the whole concept of the festival is brilliant. Yes, sitting around your tent in the pissing rain is lovely - character building if nothing else - but being able to sit at your mate's house for a few hours before scaling the many hills of Sheffield's outskirts, ending up in a bar in the process, is delightful. Throw into the mix some great live music and you can't help but fall for the charm of Tramlines.

With 18 main venues and a host of fringe stages too, there's no end of choice and, conveniently, the black cabs are cheap enough to help you save time if you're on the last minute for an act.

Find upcoming festival tickets.

Naturally, the main stage hosted this year's premium performances, and the first night was topped off by a spectacular performance from Dizzee Rascal at Ponderosa. His set was thought out impeccably with a Boy In Da Corner medley the highlight early on. On the eve of the day that marked 13 years since the release of his aforementioned debut, Dizzee sounded fresh and brought all the bangers to his headline slot.

Ponderosa is the ideal main arena, a sprawling mass of green faces the stage making almost every spot on the grass a perfect viewing platform. Once you're there it's hard to leave; there's bars that are by no means extortionate and food stalls with amazing locally sourced produce. 

To get the full experience you do need to stray away occasionally and find some of the more unconventional venues the festival has to offer. Late Friday presented the perfect opportunity for this with Crazy P performing at Queens Social Club, and unconventional was exactly what it was.

Gold ribbon adorned the walls as a healthy crowd got down on the wooden floors. The school disco for grown ups was complete with vocalist Danielle Moore strutting around the stage in a resplendent orange jumpsuit whilst grooves and hooks echoed around the hall. 

Saturday brought with it glorious weather, so naturally the Peace Gardens in the centre of the city were the obvious destination. From here you're only a stones throw from venues like Cathedral, City Hall and the O2 Academy, but if nothing else the Gardens act as a glorious communal area for everyone to enjoy.

There's no wristband needed here but the fervent atmosphere makes you feel as if you're a part of the festival. The fact that the event security have the common sense to decant your bottles of booze into plastic cups, rather than making you throw them away, makes it even more enjoyable.

Over at the Sheffield Hallam University main building, we caught the Crookes in the afternoon sunshine as they awaited their slot at the O2 Academy later in the evening.

LIVE on #Periscope: The Crookes backstage at Tramlines https://t.co/WVYbQm4Res

— Skiddle (@skiddle) July 23, 2016

In the mean time Ponderosa's enviable line up meant that another evening at the main stage beckoned. First, George Clinton brought his extravaganza of funk, dipping into a vast back catalogue of solo work and the discographies of both Parliament and Funkadelic. It was the Kendrick Lamar infused 'Ain't That Funkin Kinda Hard On You?' that shone brightest in the early evening bliss, a reminder that Clinton remains with his ear to the streets. 

A passionate performance from Young Fathers preceded Kelis' headline slot with the Scottish three piece strongly voicing their opinions on immigration, before launching into 'Shame' as their set came to an end. 

With the likes of 'Trick Me', 'Millionaire' and the undeniable 'Milkshake' in her armory, Kelis exploded onto the main stage and took the crowd back to the early 00's heyday of r'n'b with a performance drenched in nostalgia. She even had time to squeeze in the Calvin Harris collab 'Bounce', which was a pleasant surprise for all.

A beguiling performance in the pristine millennium gallery from snooker player turned DJ Steve Davis again showed Tramlines' ingenuity; the venue is only a stone's throw from Davis' spiritual home, the Crucible, and was filled with intrigued ravers who managed to beat the lengthy queues (no pun intended honest).

While Davis' performance had novelty, it wasn't as slick as expected but you could always call upon more seasoned professionals behind the decks to put on a show. Across the weekend the likes of Greg Wilson, Skream and Cut Chemist all put in after hours shifts across various venues until the early morming, making 46 quid for a weekend ticket look like a bargain. 

Craig Charles' Funk and Soul show kept things grooving at Foundry in the University of Sheffield's SU with an impossibly eclectic mix of music, topped off with a mind bending mix of 'Uptown Funk'/'Living In America'/'Seven Nation Army'.

Sunday brought showers but they did nothing to dampen the spirits of those looking forward to yet another enviable line up of acts across the city. At Ponderosa, Hinds may have lost their instruments somewhere in Finland but they did bring sunshine to combat the rain. As a live outfit the four piece from Madrid are unassuming yet completely raucous and a treat to watch and they blistered through their set untroubled despite their fears. 

Find upcoming festival tickets.

What followed was arguably the performance of the weekend from Jurassic 5 whose old school hip hop show was a joyous experience and a lesson in having the audience firmly in the palm of your hand. Whilst Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark mixed and scratched effortlessly in the background, the four MCs out front interchanged seamlessly, one spitting bars at a rapid pace whilst the others revved up the frenzied crowd. 

On the contrary to the lyrics in 'Concrete Schoolyard' (listen above), there certainly were some rabbit in a hat tricks when Cut Chemist brought out a bizarre guitar/turntable hybrid for a incredible solo section with Nu-Mark mid way through.

With the release of their second album The Ride only a few weeks ago, Sunday's headliners Catfish and the Bottlemen can certainly now consider themselves top bill material wherever they go. Their meteoric rise to the top seems to show no sign of stopping and when they put in performances like they did at Tramlines it's easy to see why.

Van McCann's rallying cries spurred on a crowd drenched by the early evening rain, although the weather did nothing to douse the flares that are now mandatory at a Catfish gig.

As the sun went down on Tramlines Festival  it only illuminated what an incredible festival it is. It continues to grow and in doing so boasts a more impressive line up year after year, remaining one of the jewels in the UK metropolitan festival crown.

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Like this? check out Latitude 2016 review