Sunday 26th July, 2026
After absconding from Hillsborough Park on the Saturday to go see The Sunshine Underground and White Lies in Leeds instead, we returned to Tramlines for the Sunday in decidedly poor shape. After being revived by a few pints and an excellent roast gammon sandwich (shout out to the Cherry Tree pub in Millhouses), we made our way over to Hillsborough Park tired, full of food and beer but happy…
Having arrived just as Reverend and the Makers were finishing yet another Tramlines set, we headed over to the Leadmill Stage for Femur only to find that the tent was too full for us to get in. They sounded pretty good from outside. High-quality music writing from me there. Wet Leg also had a massive crowd over at the Main Stage and from the opening bars of ‘catch these fists’ to set closer ‘mangetout’, frontwoman Rhian Teasdale has the Sheffield crowd eating out of her hand. Having built up a large following over two successful albums and a relentless touring schedule, the band have now evolved into one of the most compelling live acts on the circuit. Nobody sounds quite like Wet Leg, and songs like ‘UR Mum’ and ‘Wet Dream’ have more bite and attitude when performed live than they do on record. It is ‘Chaise Longue’, a song that seemingly dropped from the heavens into Teasdale’s lap, that proves to be the set highlight, however, and what a song it is. Quite simply, one of the most arresting and memorable tracks of the decade so far.
The Enemy are up against Wolf Alice playing on the Main Stage at the same time but still draw a sizable crowd for their indie rock anthems of disenfranchised youth and working-class alienation. The Coventry band have five albums out now but wisely choose to draw almost exclusively from their classic debut album, We’ll Live and Die in These Towns, with 9 of the 11 song set coming from that record. The title track is probably the best moment of the set; it’s the kind of song made to be performed live in front of massive crowds singing every word back at the band and that’s exactly what happens here. ‘You’re Not Alone’ is the exuberance and passion of youth bundled up in a three-minute pop song and frontman Tom Clarke belts it out as if his life depends on it. An extended version of ‘This Song’ closes things out, again with everyone in the tent singing along, before we head back to the Main Stage to catch the end of Wolf Alice.
We arrive just in time to see ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’, and while the London band have never really been my cup of tea, there is no denying that they are a powerful live act. Everything about them is BIG, from the stage set-up to Ellie Roswell’s charisma to the songs themselves and it makes for an impressive live spectacle. A cover of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, which could have been a disaster, is actually pretty incredible before they close out their set and indeed the festival with ‘You’re a Germ’ and ‘Giant Peach’, complete with glitter cannons and Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ playing over the speakers as the band depart the stage. It’s quite the exit.
While I’d be lying if I said this was a great Tramlines line-up (for my money it’s probably one of the worst since moving to Hillsborough Park), there was enough great music over the two days we were there to justify the hundreds of pounds we spent on expensive festival beer and food. Roll on 2027.