Tramlines Festival 2018
A while ago, I went to Tramlines Festival in Sheffield and it was my first time going to the festival.
With amazing bands such as Arctic Monkeys and Reverend and the Makers calling Sheffield ‘home’, it’s a given a festival there is going to be good so I thought I’d give it a try.
Tramlines offers no camping, so unless you live close by, you’re going to have to get a hotel. We stayed at the Premier Inn in Derby, although a lot of people think Derby and Sheffield are ages away from each other, it’s only a 40 minute train journey and it worked out cheaper to stay there and get the train rather than re-mortgage my parents house to stay in Sheffield for the weekend.
Day 1 – Friday Headliner – Stereophonics
After rushing around for the train from North Wales to Derby, Friday was the first day of Tramlines. Despite its name, there was no trams running as they were on strike. But there was a bus replacement service.
As soon as we got to the venue, the heavens opened (Tip: Never listen to your boyfriend when he says ‘don’t take a coat’). The standout performance for me on the Friday was definitely Mystery Jets. I’d been listening to them a lot in the weeks leading up to the festival so was really excited to see them and they didn’t disappoint. Their energy on stage was incredible and that showed in the tent with everyone singing and dancing.
Stereophonics were the headliners. They slightly clashed with Mystery Jets so we didn’t see their full set but saw most of it. As a welsh person you are required to like Stereophonics and I’ve seen them before in Wrexham. However their energy didn’t match a lot of the other acts we’d seen that day. But I can’t deny his voice is amazing. Highlight – Mystery Jets
Day 2- Saturday Headliner – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
After seeing them at a Neighbourhood Weekender, I was really excited to see Reverend and The Makers at a festival in their home time of Sheffield. They also bring a great energy to the stage which is shown in the crowd but this was just amplified in Sheffield.
I think they’re a really good band to go on before a headliner as they really get the crowd going, however they are always lower down on the line up which I don’t understand! Even after seeing them over 15 times, Blossoms are yet to disappoint me and Tramlines was no exception (Although all I could think about was how hot lead singer Tom Ogden must have been in a jumper).
The headliner was Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, we split our time between them and Ray Boy as they were on at the same time. I’m not really a massive Rat Boy fan but I really enjoying seeing him at Benicassim. Highlight – Blossoms
Day 3- Sunday Headliner – Craig David Presents TS5 (the less said about that the better)
On the final day of the festival, we were more interested in seeing bands that were not on the main stage. We started the day watching Pale Waves, (aka The 1976), which was a great way to start the day. This was the first time we’d seen them, but we have been listening to them a lot recently so this was always on our agenda during Tramlines 2018.
Black Honey were on the smallest stage at the festival. This was also the first time we had seen them, although I missed out on a free show they did at Dr Marten’s in Derby. Sadly some of the artists we wanted to see clashed, mainly Jake Bugg and Tom Grennan but we decided to watch Jake Bugg instead and he was amazing. He was on the perfect stage and the tent were singing back every single word back to him which created a phenomenal atmosphere.
Highlight – Jake Bugg Overall, our first experience of Tramlines was fantastic, despite there actually being no trams. The tireless work of Sarah Nulty through the past ten years has paid dividends and has brought thousands of people together through the means of music. #BeMoreNulty
