Sheffield’s coming out to play at Tramlines

Just as the tram delivers the good folk of Sheffield to the city’s beating heart, Tramlines festival is about to make music its life-blood for one thumping weekend. Starting this Friday, Sheffield’s music community will come out to play in pubs, clubs, bars and parks, along the route of the city centre’s tram. This is a massive celebration of music from our streets and beyond, as every available space in the city centre hosts its own series of bands. What’s more it’s as free as a breath of Sheffield air.

As there’s so much going on across the fifty or more venues, here are just a few of my daily highlights to get your toes a tapping:

 Friday

• Rising talent: Heebie Jeebies, Pistola Kicks, Screaming Maldini, The Big Eyes Family Players
• Don’t miss this: Purgatory Players and others selected by Ralph Razor at the Frog and Parrot
• Cool and quirky: Busker Line, a special bus service will circle between venues. Listen out for wandering minstrels performing on buses, including Bromheads, Mike Hughes and Michael Eden
• Featured genre: Folky sounds from Dead like Harry and legendary Sheffield R’n’B figure Frank White
• DJ of the night: Simian Mobile Disco

Saturday

• Rising talent: Hey Sholay, Jody Wildgoose, Lenders in the Temple, Little Glitches and Neil McSweeney
• Don’t miss this: Alvarez Kings, No Uniform Vs Do or Die club night, Mixed in Sheffield and Blood Red Shoes
• Cool n quirky: In keeping with this year’s green theme, you can have your very own solar-powered headphone disco on Devonshire Green
• Featured genre: Music from across the globe on the World stage with The Baghdaddies, Bollywood dance and Bertie Lees Blues Band
• For the littluns: Junior Tramlines music and dance in the Winter Gardens and Peace Gardens
• DJ of the night: Toddla T

Sunday

• Rising talent: Violet May, Shake Aletti and Smokers Die Young
• Don’t miss this: Hiem,  65daysofstatic and Rolo Tomassi
• Cool n quirky: Sensoria and I Monster’s AudioVisual Zone including improvised music to silent film from The Abstract Film Orchestra and a band of eukele brothers called The Everley Pregnant Brothers featuring local artist Pete McKee
• More to digest: Talking of home-grown talent, from Our Cow Molly ice cream to Sheff’s Special Pies, Made in Sheffield will be offering a stall of the finest local produce .

You’ll find exact timings and locations of the gigs on Tramlines online programme, and a description of most bands courtesy of Exposed Mag . If you hail from outside the city, for £25 a night, there’s some bargainous accommodation available too.

So if you want proof of Joanne Mateer’s observations in the wake of Sheffield’s City of Culture bid, go look for yourself – check out a venue you’ve never visited, listen to a band you’ve never heard before and do something just a little bit different.