Get the party started

CAN YOU BELIEVE TRAMLINES IS 15? WITH RICHARD ASHCROFT, THE COURTEENERS, PAUL HEATON AND MORE, THIS YEAR’S EVENT LOOKS SET TO BE A SCORCHER. LET’S HOPE THE WEATHER OBLIGES TOO.

The countdown is now well and truly on. By the time you read this, work is probably well underway to get Hillsborough Park ready for what will be the fifth Tramlines event to be held there.

And what a line-up we have. Way back at the start of the year it was confirmed that Richard Ashcroft, The Courteeners and Paul Heaton would be headlining the weekend, which takes place from 2123 July. These will be joined by the likes of DMA’s, Kaiser Chiefs, Sugababes and Bloc Party. Local favourites Reverend & The Makers and the Everly Pregnant Brothers will also return.

The second wave of announcements added UK Eurovision contestant Mae Muller, Ella Henderson, Professor Green, Chappaqua Wrestling and more.

Operations director Timm Cleasby has been involved with Tramlines since the beginning and said: “This year’s lineup is a cracker with some awesome names and, as always, there’s more than just music with loads to do, see and get involved with.

“My personal must-sees are Kate Nash, Rachel Chinouriri, Rumbi Tauro, Sugababes, the funny Paul Smith and Paul Heaton. To quote our much-missed friend Sarah Nulty, ‘I just want to have a massive party with all my friends’. The turns are booked, the party’s on and you’re all invited. It can’t come soon enough.”

Comedy plays a huge part of Tramlines, taking over the T’Other Stage in the daytime. Acts confirmed this year include award-winning comedian and Hollywood star Omid Djalili, the outrageous spoof news reporter Jonathan Pie, and the quick-witted Hot Water Comedy Club compere Paul Smith. Plenty more laughs are in store with Tom Wrigglesworth, John Hastings, Nina Gilligan, Tamer Kattan, Scott Bennett and Raul Kohli.

Since 2009, Tramlines remains true to its roots in supporting both breaking and emerging talent. This year it’s tipping acts such as Stone, The Moly Wallopers, Primaqueen, Jetski, Franz Von, Amaroun, Deadletter, Lizzie Esau, Deuxe to be big hits.

Each year The Library Stage is a thriving home to a diverse selection of grass roots artists and once again local talent competition Pattern and Push will be curating the Saturday line-up, with newly-announced local acts Coco, Deuxe, JxK and DJ Lamour confirmed to appear.

The Open Arms stage has been an absolute hit with festival goers ever since its arrival in 2021 for its buzzing atmosphere and cabaret-style billing. Tramlines is thrilled to reveal the return of Shaun Williams’ Barrioke for 2023 which pulls in one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. There will be sing-alongs galore with Hip Hop Karaoke and Tragedy - Heavy Metal Bee Gees from NYC- games from Musical Bingo and Shell Suit Cher Bingo, world music from The Mariachis and German oompah band Brasswurst, and many more not-tomissed performances including, The Daniel Wakeford Experience, and the band born out of Sheffield’s disability arts charity, Under The Stars.

The Open Arms is also host to ‘Speakers Corner’, the only place on site to discover cutting edge lyricists, insightful poets and spoken word artists. Poet and hip-hop artist himself, Otis Mensah, is back to programme an exciting mix of talent that includes, San Diego rapper RoQy TyRaiD, a takeover from Sheffield’s urban lyricist competition Slambarz featuring The 1 Devotion and Young Eman, the caressing tones of Aka Kelzz, the emerging talents of poet Tai Ògún, Sheffield’s newest Poet Laureate, Danaë Wellington, and so much more.

Dominic Heslop, co-founder of Slambarz said, “We are so grateful for the opportunity to showcase the incredible talent, charisma and artistry that our young musicians possess. At Slambarz we strongly advocate live performance to enhance the connection between artists, audience and the community.

“Tramlines is one of biggest music festivals in the UK, renowned for its colossal headline acts, diverse culture and exponent of grassroots musicians and we’re very happy to be involved.”

And if that wasn’t enough, The Open Arms will also stage party-starting DJ sets when some of Sheffield’s favourite club brands takeover. Expect to flex the vocal cords and do some serious shapethrowing when The Sound - A Celebration of the 1975, ABBA Party, and the Club Tropicana DJs take control of the sound desk. There ain’t no party like a Tramlines party!

As we get ready to go to print, there was a handful of tickets still available – and we mean a handful. To find out more, visit www.tramlines.org.uk