![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0G5A8665-1024x551.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
All words and photos \u2013 John Hayhurst<\/p>\n
After a euphoric and at times chaotic Day 1 at Tramlines\u2014curated and closed out by Sheffield\u2019s own Pulp\u2014it would have been fair to wonder how Day 2 could hold its own. Bfut Tramlines has always thrived on contrast.<\/p>\n
If Friday was a celebration of the city\u2019s musical legacy and outsider cool, Saturday delivered a sprawling, high-energy mix of nostalgia, fresh discovery, and indie anthemics that proved once again why this festival remains one of the UK\u2019s most characterful and diverse.<\/p>\n
We thoroughly enjoyed the comedy headlined by Lucy Beaumont but the day began for us proper on the Leadmill Stage with She\u2019s in Parties, a rising quartet channelling the dreamier side of shoegaze and post-punk with icy precision. Their name\u2014a nod to Bauhaus\u2014hints at their influences, but there\u2019s something more celestial in their sound. Tracks like \u201cSummer Haze\u201d and \u201cCherish\u201d rippled with layers of chiming guitar and airy vocals, building a kind of soft intensity that washed over the crowd. Though it was an early slot, they held the space with quiet command, offering a welcome moment of serenity before the day\u2019s more raucous acts took over. Latest single \u201cSame old Story\u201d sounded pitch perfect for the day.<\/p>\n
By contrast, The K\u2019s brought pure energy to the Sarah Nulty Main Stage not long after. If there was a band built for broad daylight festival slots and bouncing crowds, it\u2019s them. Hailing from Earlestown and proudly flying the flag for working-class indie, they tore into their set with the swagger of a band who know their moment is coming. \u201cGlass Towns\u201d was an early highlight, all sharp guitars and lad-rock urgency, while \u201cSarajevo\u201d had the kind of stadium-sized chorus that made the field erupt with a couple of flares for good measure.\u00a0 They\u2019ve often been compared to early Courteeners or The Enemy, but live they have a touch more polish and a lot more punch than many of their peers and expect their star to rise even more next year.<\/p>\n
As the afternoon moved on, nostalgia kicked into high gear with Natasha Bedingfield on the main stage. It\u2019s easy to forget just how many hits she\u2019s had, but the crowd was quickly reminded as she launched into \u201cThese Words\u201d and \u201cUnwritten,\u201d both of which turned into massive singalongs. Her voice was as strong as ever, and there was a joyful looseness to her set that made it feel more like a celebration than a throwback. Even the deeper cuts had energy, and by the close it was clear she\u2019d re-earned a place in a lot of hearts.<\/p>\n
Over at t\u2019other stage, Heather Small brought even more soulful power. Her voice\u2014still commanding, still unmistakable\u2014filled the space with ease. From her time with M People to her solo work, Heather has always radiated positivity and resilience. \u201cSearch for the Hero\u201d drew a huge reaction, but it was \u201cProud\u201d that truly hit home, a reminder of how music can stir not just memories but a kind of collective uplift. There was something deeply affirming about watching her perform that track live on a warm Sheffield evening.<\/p>\n
The Leadmill Stage turned punchier again with The Futureheads, who delivered a high-octane, tightly wound set full of angular riffs and post-punk harmonies. \u201cDecent Days and Nights\u201d still sounds like an indie club classic, and their cover of \u201cHounds of Love\u201d remains one of the most joyful reinterpretations of a pop song in recent memory. Their energy was relentless, and the crowd responded with one of the liveliest atmospheres on that stage all day. It\u2019s no surprise they\u2019ve endured\u2014they\u2019ve always known how to make sharp, smart music feel visceral.<\/p>\n
Then came Franz Ferdinand, stepping onto the main stage like seasoned pros with nothing to prove but everything to celebrate. From the opening notes of \u201cNo You Girls,\u201d it was clear they hadn\u2019t lost their knack for taut, infectious rock. Alex Kapranos remains a dynamic frontman\u2014his voice still arch and charismatic, his movements angular and unpredictable. \u201cDo You Want To\u201d had the crowd in a frenzy, while \u201cTake Me Out\u201d was, unsurprisingly, one of the defining moments of the day. It\u2019s rare to see a band sound both tight and playful after two decades, but Franz managed it with style.<\/p>\n
T\u2019other stage closed with a surprise highlight: Rizzle Kicks. Their return felt less like a nostalgia trip and more like a reminder of how fun and clever pop-rap can be. \u201cDown with the Trumpets\u201d had people dancing across generations, while \u201cMama Do the Hump\u201d felt tailor-made for festival fields. Jordan and Harley still have an infectious chemistry and effortless crowd rapport, and their energy gave the late evening a massive boost before the night\u2019s big finale.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0G5A8605-1024x553.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
And that finale belonged to The Reytons, who closed out the main stage with a performance that felt like a coronation. Hailing from just up the road in Rotherham, the band drew a crowd that sang every word back with chest-thumping pride. \u201cKids Off the Estate\u201d was the kind of anthem that feels born from lived experience, raw and real, while \u201cRed Smoke\u201d and \u201cSlice of Lime\u201d carried the kind of hooks that prove The Reytons are more than local heroes\u2014they\u2019re genuine festival headliners now. The emotional weight of a hometown band headlining Tramlines can\u2019t be overstated, and their set was the perfect mix of grit, defiance, and elation. It wasn\u2019t just a performance\u2014it was a statement.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0X4A0028-1024x683.jpg\")
As the last notes rang out and people filtered through the food stalls and tram stops, Day 2 felt like a reaffirmation of Tramlines\u2019 unique identity: part pop carnival, part indie pilgrimage, always rooted in the people and places that make Sheffield tick. And with Day 3 promising performances from the likes of Kasabian and Sigrid, it\u2019s clear the festival still has plenty of surprises\u2014and singalongs\u2014left in store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All words and photos \u2013 John Hayhurst After a euphoric and at times chaotic Day 1 at Tramlines\u2014curated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,393,4884,1620,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-297278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sheffield","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-sheffield","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114928245159679128","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}