Tramlines 2025: A full rundown of a biblical weekend

The Gryphon takes Tramlines 2025 as Eszter Vida gives a rundown of a sunny weekend in Sheffield.

This year, the blazing Tramlines weekend shone with a star-studded lineup of legendary and rising acts. Here are the highlights of our weekend through our Gryphon goggles, as we navigated the blistering heat and the inevitable lineup clashes at Sheffield’s Hillsborough Park.

Friday: Pulp Headline 

Curated by Sheffield’s own Pulp, Day 1 saw Spanish Horses gallop onto the main stage, opening the field to a day of eclectic bands. 

With their alternative rock sensibilities, the band exuded a certain je ne sais quoi as they brought a brooding, melancholic flair to noisy, grunge-tinged guitar music.

Ed Cosens followed, bringing heartfelt indie craftsmanship and singalong tunes that pleased the crowd. Baxter Dury then magnetised us with a sharp contrast – half-singing, half-speaking tales of hedonism with charm and wit, strutting across the stage in his effortlessly cool aura.

For a short moment of laughter, we marched over to the T’Other Stage, where John Shuttleworth grounded us with his dry comedic set, delivering tasteful awkwardness and dead pan humour on a silver platter, as if we were gathered in a makeshift living room beneath a packed tent.

We caught Oracle Sisters dazzling in the late-afternoon sunbeams, fresh off the release of their new album Divinations (2025). I was lucky enough to interview them after their set (full interview here), where they revealed that Tramlines marked their Sheffield debut. Safe to say, they were met with a well-deserved warmth from festival goers. Draped in psychedelia, they had the entire crowd swaying at their command. 

Transporting us into another realm, Spiritualized served as main support for headliners Pulp, flooding the field with cathartic reversed guitars and spacey waves of sound. From across the park, Fat White Family roared out of the Leadmill tent, unleashing anarchy and frantic bursts of post-punk grit.

Now, for Friday’s main event: Pulp. Jarvis Cocker, our seductive show master, took the stage in his distinctively alluring manner, performing refreshing new releases from their latest album Spike Island (2025) along with greatest hits from our personal favourites such as His n Hers (1994) and 90s staple Different Class (1995). With a surprise appearance from Richard Hawley, we were reminded of the beauty of Britpop and how Pulp carved out their own singular personality throughout the era. Cheeky sexual innuendos and repeated “oohs” and “ahhs” made us all blush under the fading pink sunset. The set design complemented the band’s woozy, playful tunes, while subtle elements of protest served as a reminder of Pulp’s enduring commitment to their Yorkshire roots, during a performance of ‘Last Day of the Miners’ Strike’. Making art about the everyday person but topping it with wit and sex is what Pulp does best. They’re an example of one band who can transform the mundane moments into hymns for the common person, proving that art doesn’t belong only to rich avant-garde circles. In the words of the Beat poets, the poetry is in the streets—or in this case, Hillsborough Park.

Saturday: The Reytons Headline

Day 2 provided a mixture of more typical indie crowd-pleasers, a contrast to the previous night’s more experimental take on the festival.

Opening the Leadmill tent was singer-songwriter Daisy Peacock, who stunned with her heartfelt songs about failed relationships and the bittersweet lessons they leave behind. Another recent discovery for us was She’s In Parties, a shoegaze dream-pop quartet drawing on the nostalgic sounds of The Cure and Slowdive, marrying a hauntingly gothic aesthetic with a cool, modern twist. Daydreamers (who we also interviewed here) graced the stage next, debuting fresh tracks “Good Intentions” and “Start Living” as they gear up to release their new album. As their set wrapped up, their 

The ever-rising Chloe Slater then brought her catchy cultural commentary to the field, stunning us with an electrifying set of anthemic tunes delivered with a raw, unapologetic edge. She was followed by the great Heather Small, who lifted spirits with her soulful power, embracing us all in an oasis of healing classics like ‘Proud’ and “Search for the Hero’.

Over at the Main Stage, The K’s carried the torch for archetypal dark fruits indie, feeding the appetite of bucket-hat wearers and dark fruits drinkers, before Franz Ferdinand tore through their dance-punk classics. Dark horses The Reytons then took the crown, headlining their hometown festival in true style. Entering in a Trojan horse (surely a metaphor for something, can), the unsigned Rotherham lads hit a career-defining milestone, leaving us to wonder where their next ventures will take them.

But if that wasn’t your cup of tea, Rizzle Kicks turned the T’Other Stage into a time machine, hurling us straight back to 2011 – neon lights, baggy tees, snapbacks and all.

Sunday: Kasabian Headline

Don’t drown in your festival blues just yet – we still have one more day, and it delivered some historic sets. 

Our good friends April Tapes, another upcoming and unsigned band, represented the very best of Sheffield’s grassroots scene (interview here) as they continue to earn their stripes. The early bird catches the worm, and those who made it to their set will have the privilege of knowing them before they return to conquer the main stage in a few years’ time, so says our Gryphon crystal ball.

Glittery dream-pop outfit Sundress put a fresh spin on ’90s jangle pop, opening the main stage with style for the final time this weekend. They paved the way for the spellbinding The Last Dinner Party, who teased their sophomore album with their usual theatrics, painting brush strokes of baroque-pop sensibilities onto the canvas of art rock.

Another triumph for the women of Tramlines came from Scouse darling Luvcat, who brought noir drama and gory-romantic flair to her live set at the T’Other Stage, having exploded onto the scene over the past year. Her charisma could rival that of the glamorously funny CMAT, another diva who delivered welcomed ballads of self-love and frisky country-pop hoedowns.

Kasabian closed out the festival weekend in style, but they weren’t the only victors. As Hillsborough Park erupted in cheers for England Women’s Euro 2025 triumph, the band became the perfect soundtrack to a night celebrating our lionesses. Closing the gates to the kingdom of musicians for the weekend, they once again proved themselves worthy of dominating festival headline slots and remain a staple of 21st-century British music. “4,000 flares and we’re only on song three,” frontman Serge Pizzorno remarked, capturing the riotous reception of the beloved band. As the sunset over the tramline tracks and the 9pm curfew approached, bringing stomach-churning reminders of work in the morning, the community in Sheffield came together once more for a weekend of camaraderie and celebration on its 16th year – having moved out of the beating heart of the city centre to accommodate the growing demand for more live music. Sheffield shone this weekend with pride. And we haven’t even touched upon the rest of the city centre’s antics during Tramlines fringe…

Words by Eszter Vida