Tramlines Festival Day One - Hillsborough Park, Sheffield - Friday 24th July 2026

From homegrown hopefuls and indie heavyweights to comedy detours and a euphoric Fatboy Slim finale, Tramlines opened with Sheffield in full party mode.

Words and Photography - John Hayhurst

Born as a city-wide musical takeover in 2009, Tramlines has grown into one of Sheffield’s defining summer events. Around 40,000 people now descend on Hillsborough Park for three days of live music, comedy and the sort of glorious unpredictability that comes from trying to navigate several stages, questionable weather and an overambitious personal schedule. Tramlines describes it simply as “Sheffield’s Biggest Party” – and Friday wasted little time living up to the billing.

The honour of opening the Sarah Nulty Stage fell to Milly Pye, whose emotionally direct country-pop brought a refreshing intimacy to the festival’s biggest platform. Songs such as “Lucky,” “Hate to Love You” and “25” gave the early arrivals something melodic to hold onto, while Pye’s voice carried far beyond the steadily growing crowd.

From there, it was across to the Leadmill Stage for Sheffield four-piece CRUZ. There was a distinctly hometown energy surrounding their appearance, their muscular indie rock – led by tracks including “Make It Right,” “Disco Colour Beams” and “More of the Same” – providing the first proper burst of guitar-driven urgency of the afternoon.

Back on the Sarah Nulty Stage, Birmingham quartet The Clause arrived armed with sharp suits, sharper hooks and enough confidence to make a festival field feel like the back room of a packed indie club. Frontman Pearce Macca commanded the stage as “Time of Our Lives,” “Sixteen” and “In My Element” demonstrated why the band’s upward trajectory shows little sign of slowing.

Tramlines has always offered more than an endless conveyor belt of bands, and a visit to T’Other Stage provided a timely change of pace with Reginald D Hunter. The American-born comedian’s unhurried delivery and quietly devastating observations drew the audience in before the punchlines landed, bringing some welcome laughter – and momentary shelter from the musical mayhem elsewhere in the park.

The afternoon then shifted into unmistakable early-2000s nostalgia as Vanessa Carlton took to the Sarah Nulty Stage. Seated at the piano, Carlton brought a more reflective texture to the day through songs such as “Ordinary Day” and “White Houses,” before the opening notes of “A Thousand Miles” prompted one of Friday’s most immediate mass singalongs.

Over on the Leadmill Stage, Etta Marcus replaced nostalgia with something darker and more cinematic. Her poised, emotionally bruised songwriting gave “Girls That Speak and Boys That Don’t,” “Theatre” and “Death Grips” a compelling live intensity, her voice moving between controlled vulnerability and sudden flashes of power.

Manchester’s Westside Cowboy followed with music they have described as “Britainicana”: a ramshackle collision of alternative rock, country and punk that often sounds thrillingly close to falling apart. Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell and Paddy Murphy tore through the likes of “Alright Alright Alright,” “Don’t Throw Rocks” and the brilliantly titled “I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)”, turning the Leadmill Stage into one of the day’s most exhilarating discoveries.

By the time The Vaccines arrived on the Sarah Nulty Stage, Hillsborough Park was ready for an uncomplicated rush of indie-rock escapism. Justin Hayward-Young led the charge as “Post Break-Up Sex,” “Teenage Icon” and “I Always Knew” kept the momentum high, but it was the opening guitar line of “If You Wanna” that transformed the field into a mass of raised arms and hoarse voices.

Another dash to T’Other Stage brought us to KEO, whose bruising alternative rock offered one of Friday’s heavier diversions. Led by brothers Finn and Conor Keogh, alongside guitarist Jimmy Lanwern and drummer Oli Spackman, the band channelled raw emotion through “I Lied, Amber,” “Hands,” “Fly” and recent single “That’s Me.” Their performance felt volatile, physical and impossible to ignore.

The Leadmill Stage then welcomed Black Honey, with Izzy B. Phillips striding into view like the star of her own blood-spattered western. The Brighton band’s collision of grunge, glam and cinematic rock reached full force during “Corrine,” “I’m a Man” and “Heavy,” delivering a set filled with swagger, distortion and deliciously controlled chaos.

That left Fatboy Slim to bring the opening day to its inevitable, euphoric conclusion. With Norman Cook grinning behind the decks and Hillsborough Park transformed into one enormous outdoor club, familiar fragments of “The Rockafeller Skank,” “Right Here, Right Now,” “Praise You” and “Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat” sent waves of recognition through the crowd. Beats collided, visuals exploded and thousands of people attempted to summon one final reserve of energy from already exhausted legs.

As the last basslines rolled out across the park, Friday felt like Tramlines in miniature: proudly local but never parochial, capable of moving from intimate songwriting to abrasive new guitars, deadpan comedy, indie nostalgia and full-scale dancefloor release.

The schedule demanded determination, the distances demanded comfortable footwear, but the reward was a first day bursting with variety.

Tomorrow promises another packed journey through Tramlines’ many musical personalities. Sleeper will bring Louise Wener and a catalogue of Britpop favourites, while Sheffield newcomers Girl in the Year Above offer the chance to catch something fresh on home ground. Elsewhere, Inspiral Carpets should provide baggy-era psychedelia before Rick Astley turns Hillsborough Park into an enormous communal karaoke session.

Then come two of the weekend’s biggest indie draws: Blossoms, armed with polished pop hooks and effortless charm, followed by Courteeners, whose devoted following should ensure Saturday ends with arms around shoulders and every word of “Not Nineteen Forever” echoing across Sheffield. Can't wait !!