BEST OF THE FEST

The Fringe Festival l Best of the Fest

From gigs in breweries to latenight shenanigans, here are a few handpicked highlights of the weekend...

Pic: Tarquin Clarke

PEACE GARDENS PARTY // SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

Following a big success last year, The Peace Gardens will again feature DJs across a multitude of music genres that are guaranteed to get people dancing. Hosted by Sile Sibanda of Radio Sheffield (who will also DJ), Saturday highlights include a DJ set from Dorian Cox of The Long Blondes and an open deck event hosted by local music shop and venue, Record Junkee. Also featured are Herbal T & Mikki Revel from Bradford FM playing a smooth mix of reggae, dub and soul; and Jesus Hairdo, former DJ from the famous ‘Brighton Beach’ club night. Also on Saturday are electro-pop peddlers nON sTOP eROTIC cABERET and Manchester DJ/Producer Xariella Music.

DANCING ON DEV GREEN // SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

The spiritual home of the annual festivities, Devonshire Green will again feature a large stage and an enviable range of food and drink vendors. Curated by local legend Papa Al, the lineup aims to include a diverse range of music to suit all tastes and you’ll hear from the likes of ska/reggae legends Jungle Lion, the outlandish Captain Avery, Romano Jilo (a local Romani dance group), Neighbourhood Voices (60 strong self-identifying choir singing alt-pop and indie covers), Blue Street Brass and post-punk electronic sounds from Speed for Lovers. And that’s just a small taste of what’s to come!

MAKE IT A LATE’UN // ALL WEEKEND

Once the main stages have finished, there are plenty of eclectic DJ sets to enjoy at a variety of late-night venues across the city centre. On Friday, Yellow Arch Studios will be hosting a special instalment of their ever-popular For The Record, playing everything from soul and funk to ska and rock & roll right through to 4am. Elsewhere renowned Steel City rave shrine Hope Works will be hosting TEKKERS, their much-loved bassline/ garage/DnB bash, from 11pm-5am and featuring some of the Steel City’s finest selectors. On Saturday and Sunday, we’d also recommend checking out lively jungle sets at Church – Temple of Fun, vibey deep house parties in the Bloo 88 courtyard, upbeat disco dancing at Bungalows & Bears, and bangin’ pop classics at The Foundry. Full info over in our listings section!

BREWERY BOOGIES // ALL WEEKEND

Combining two things that Sheffield does rather well – music and beer – popular Kelham Island brewery and taproom Heist Brew Co. will be hosting ‘Beerlines’ over the weekend, which includes sets from Sheff hip-hop artist Otis Mensah (Friday, 18:30), a tap takeover, live punk-jazz sets from Dat Brass (Saturday), and day-long b2b sets from the University of Sheffield’s DJ society (Sunday). In a rush? Don't want to hang around? Got other places to be? Then stop by for takeaway beers and burgers or grab a rum cocktail from their Rum Shack for your travels.

JAZZ IN THE SQUARE

Leopold Square is back as an official Fringe at Tramlines stage, bringing some of the best jazz, swing, folk and blues acts from the local music scene to the festival. The live music kicks off at 5pm on Friday with Montuno, one of Sheffield’s longest running groove bands, and runs all weekend with Phil Johnson taking the reins from 1pm on Saturday, followed by Julian Jones, Sheffield’s ‘King of Swing’ John Naylor and his band Dizzy Club before the live music is brought to a close by Papa Soul and their unique take on classic songs from timeless labels such as Stax, Chess, Motown and Atlantic. Sunday sees Leopold Square favourite Nicola Farnon & The Made Ups get things going at 1pm, followed by jazz/soul/ funkateer Ryan Taylor, Lindsay Dracass and then seven-piece Bossa Nova/Samba band Carioca Soul.

APPY DAYS

The Fringe at Tramlines now has a dedicated app available on both Android and iOS. As well as the handy printed guide, it’s the perfect digital accompaniment to have at your disposal while you navigate the festival and will contain maps, news and the latest listings. Simply head to gowoov.com/event/17697 or scan the QR code above.