Friday 25th July, 2026
Christ almighty. Why do we do the things we do? As I write this, the morning after the night before, I feel, as a wise man once said, as if a pig has shat in my head. Surely I can’t keep doing this to myself? To paraphrase an even wiser man… oh, I can. Anyway. Tramlines 2026. Let’s get into it, shall we…
After arriving at the ridiculously early time of 1pm, it’s straight over to the T’Other Stage for Reginald D Hunter, who seems faintly pissed off to be there at all. Indeed, he spends a lot of time reckoning with his cancellation two years ago; he even repeats the joke that caused said cancellation. The biggest issue with the joke is not that it’s antisemitic but that it’s just not very funny. There’s some fairly straightforward stuff about ageing and a pretty spicy rape joke (which actually is funny), and that’s that.
Vanessa Carlton is up next and while she sounds great, the decision to play the one track everyone knows three songs into the set proves terminal. While that song, ‘A Thousand Miles’, still sounds great, it’s a shimmering slice of pop perfection, particularly in the summer sunshine; people lose interest after that.
The Coral are a band probably better suited to more intimate venues than big festival stages but their career-spanning set is well received here, with ‘Bill McCai’ and ‘Pass It On’ particularly enjoyable. They also throw in an excellent cover of The Doors’ classic ‘People Are Strange’ before closing out with ‘In the Morning’ and, of course, ‘Dreaming of You’. Lovely stuff.
Now, The Vaccines. There’s a band who are meant for big festival stages. They play most of their debut album, one of the best records of the 21st century in my humble opinion, and all of it sounds incredible. Because most of their songs are so short, it feels like their set lasts for ages (in a good way) and while ‘Teenage Icon’ and ‘I Always Knew’ are set highlights, it is those early tracks that still hit hardest. ‘All in White’ builds to an unforgettable crescendo, ‘Post Break Up Sex’ provides probably the best Main Stage moment of the day and ‘Wetsuit’ sparks a mass singalong that probably won’t be replicated by any other band over the weekend. What a set.
Radio Free Alice provide an opportunity for us to visit the Leadmill Stage for the first time of the weekend and there is a palpable buzz around the band as they take to the stage in front of a sizable audience. Taking the best bits from The Killers and The Strokes and adding their own inimitable twist, the Melbourne four-piece deliver a starmaking and memorable set that confirms that this is a band that are going places. They don’t say much, letting songs such as ‘Look What You’ve Done’, ‘Paris is Gone’ and ‘Rule 31’ do the talking, but when the songs are this good, this accomplished, that’s all you need. The band have yet to release their first album but when they do, these lads have the potential to be massive.
This is where things become decidedly hazy. In what proves to be a turning point, the barman mishears my drinks order and gives me four pints instead of two, and this is where things go rapidly downhill. We catch the first few tracks from Starsailor, who, as always, play their hearts out, particularly on ‘Poor Misguided Fool’, but then we leave because… I don’t know. I can’t remember. I think I see some of Fatboy Slim but by then I’ve become lost to pints in plastic cups and questionable fast food.
No Saturday appearance from me this year due to attending a different gig (what I should be attending is my bedroom and, indeed, my nice warm bed), so back on Sunday with yet another one of these. It never ends.