Tramlines 2026: Day Two
Saturday 25th July 2026
Sheffield
Courteeners and Blossoms head over the Pennines for a Mancunian invasion of South Yorkshire’s biggest festival. Paul Clarke watches two of Britain’s best live acts battle it out.
From its early days as a free festival in Sheffield city centre, Tramlines has grown to be South Yorkshire’s biggest festival, attracting 50,000 punters to Hillsborough Park. It’s one of the most family-friendly festivals on the circuit, as multi-generational groups lounge around on picnic blankets as gangs of teenagers roam the site waiting for headliners Courteeners to hit the stage.
One of Tramline’s missions is to support up and coming local talent, and the latest recipient of that largesse was Doncaster’s Freddie Halkon, making his debut on the Sarah Nulty main stage.He played the smaller Leadmill stage in 2025 and his brand of sincere indie pop went down so well he was promoted; he really took his chance in front of a pretty full field. There’s a touch of The K’s in his work and local heroes The Reytons, which is not surprising as one of that band manages him. There was a debut outing for Chinese Takeaway, and the teenagers were up for Shoulders Of The World from his debut EP. The Girl In the Smoking Area, which made his name online, was a crowd pleasing banger to close this rising star’s set.
Next up, in complete career contrast, was Sleeper who took many people right back to the heady days of Britpop just before the turn of the century.Tramlines always have a slot for nostalgia acts, and sadly for many Sleeper now qualify in that category, but all those years of touring have made them a tight live act. Their secret weapon was Louise Wener’s still strong indie pop voice and her ability to get a crowd going even if they aren’t that interested. Delicious was dedicated to all the women in the crowd, and they shrewdly threw in a cover of Blondie’s Atomic that morphed into a burst of Love Will Tear Us Apart that got the crowd onside. Inbetweener finished a set that was more than just nostalgia with a dollop of Britpop swagger.
Tramlines is always an eclectic bill so it was a short trek to T’Other tent where Creeping Jean flew the rock flag. Whilst it was good that a heavier sound was on the bill, their bluesy tunes wasn’t the most original rock sound I’d ever heard, despite some energetic posing.
“Are you in the mood?” bellowed born again pop star Rick Astley in a nicely tailored light pink suit, and everyone on a packed main field were ready to be entertained as folk of all ages sangalong to Eighties banger Together Forever.
You may recall that Rick’s career as a pop artist was revived when the Rickroll meme featuring his biggest hit, Never Gonna Give You Up, went viral. Since then, Rick and his still strong lyrical baritone have become a fixture on the festival scene because he will deliver a fun show. Rick does do some new stuff, which was respectfully listened to before he took to the drums as his tight band blasted through Raye’s WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!, generously invited backing singer Lauren to take lead vocals. The crowd want his Eighties hits, but Never Gonna Stop was mistaken for his biggest hit as people started singing the opening chorus, Rick playfully pointing out he had another 15 mins in the set so he wasn’t playing that song just yet.
Whenever You Need Somebody was a lovely piece of Stock Aitken And Waterman ’80s pop, but all roads lead to that song which sparked the loudest singalong I’ve ever heard in over forty years of watching live shows.Three women who probably bought Never Gonna Give You Up in WH Smith first time round tearfully clung on to each other as gangs of teenagers sang every word from start to finish. An utterly joyous celebration of why live music still matters to music fans new and old, even in this digital age.
Follow that Blossoms… Thankfully, Stockport’s finest were at the top of their game delivering the set of the day. With a giant gorilla sitting behind the drum, kit they kicked off with the punchy Gary as frontman man Tom Ogden wafted round the stage in a cut off top and a pair of flared jeans that seemed to have come straight from early Madchester. Odgen is a natural showman with charisma to burn, and since their last appearance on this stage they’ve developed a much more muscular sound that carried to the back of the field as they romped through Getaway, and the arch Oh No (I Think I’m Love). Ogden produced an old school red telephone for the start of Nightclub as he took a message from a local club as the band assembled with acoustic instrumentsto joyfully dance round the stage that was reminiscent of what David Bryne is doing with his live shows.
The Keeper turned into an extended fund workout including some bongos, and some fine fretwork work from their outstanding guitarist Josh Dewhurst. Blossoms famously collaborated with Rick Astley to play the hits of The Smiths and, given he was still on site after his set, it was no surprise to see him back on stage doing backing vocals on Joke About Divorce. Rick was so inspired he ended up swinging his mic about, much to the band’s delight. New song I Like Your Look had a touch of the Average White Band about it, and Dewhurst was on pedal steel for Your Girlfriend.Charlemagne rounded off a triumphant set as the teenagers sang along, and the only real question is whether Blossoms will headline Tramlines in 2027, or will it be their turn in 2028?
The last time Courteeners headlined Tramlines festival, it had rained so hard the field had turned a swamp making watching their set an endurance test.This time, in the later evening sunshine, this was a much more pleasant experience. The Manchester anthem-merchants, led by Liam Fray, set out their stall with a stomping Are You Love with A Notion?, and Cavorting saw the first wave of teenagers clambering onto each other’s shoulders as flares went off across the field. The pacing of this set didn’t seem quite right as the more recent Pink Cactus Café and solitude Of The Night Bus slowed things down, and Fray kept interaction with the revved up audience to a minimum.
That Kiss and the 17th are great indie love songs before Fray did a two-song acoustic set which was a bold move, but as an artist he certainly has won the right to do something this subtle at a festival.Maybe you can get away with doing that when your final run of songs are anthemic bangers like Modern love, Not Nineteen Forever and What Took You So Long?
It absolutely went off during Not Nineteen Forever as teenagers and old farts alike sang along to a song that is all about the tension between the recklessness of youth and of growing up. This was perhaps not a vintage Courteeners performance, but they remain a live act any promoter would happily sign up to headline their show
You can follow Tramlines on FacebookandTwitter.
~
Words by Paul Clarke; you can see his author profile here.
Photos as indicated, supplied.
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief