WORDS AND IMAGES DESH KAPUR
FRIDAY TRAMLINES
I could tell walking into the Tramlines showground on Friday it was going to be a big weekend, even if the weather didn’t look like it was going to be great. Overcast and on and off rain was promised for the weekend, We had a downpour on the way to the showgrounds, but as I collected my passes and got organised, the rain stopped.
I had arrived early doors but the festival was already in full swing. That taste of festival excitement and anticipation was already hanging in the air.
My list of bands and artists was pretty full for the day, so many acts and artists I wanted to see, including Richard Ashcroft, DMA’S, Deadletter, and Sea Girls to name just a few.
My first port of call was The Leadmill Stage named after the iconic Sheffield Venue, for Lizzie Esau a singer-songwriter from the North West. She played a set of short sharp sonic alt-pop songs, reminding me of Wolf Alice and Beabadoobee , and due to a quick downpour of rain, she also played to a packed-out tent.
A quick walk across the festival and I was at the Sarah Nulty for Bug Club, to be honest, they didn’t do it for me, so I headed back to the Leadmill stage just in time for a band that a lot of people seem to be talking about right now – Glasgow’s post-punk quartet “Dead Pony”. Comprising of Anna Shields, Blair Crichton, Liam Adams and Aidan McAllister, they were brilliantly energetic as they ripped up the Leadmill stage, even though they seemed to have been tagged with the post-punk label, there was more than a big helping of 90’s grunge mixed in. Pumping bass, squealing guitars and a talented singer in Anna Shields, who has the perfect voice to set it all off.
A quick drink and it was back to the main stage for scousers Circa Waves who kicked the indie level right up to 10 with a tight set of punchy, chorus driven Indie Rock, confident and powerful and very well played by a band that deserves a bit more success than they are getting right now
I was pretty excited to catch the next band, they were on my small list of bands that I must not miss, so it was a very quick move back to the Leadmill for Deadletter. A Yorkshire-born and now London-based 6-piece who were loud, energetic, and noisy take on post-punk, and you couldn’t take your eyes off them for a second. Lead singer Zac Lawrence is one hell of a charismatic frontman. He seemed to spend just as much time in the crowd as he did the stage delivering a performance which whipped up the crowd inside the packed tent.
The brilliant London-based four-piece Sea Girls were up next on the main stage, I do like this band! great song-writing, performed by a band that is incredibly in sync with each other. And even though it was raining and cloudy it still felt like sunshine.
The Mary Wallopers were up next back in the Leadmill stage, bringing their take on traditional Irish folk songs to the masses and It was all banjo’s, bodhrans, tin whistles and accordion and the whole of the packed-out tent loved it.
Up next on the main stage next were Australia’s DMA’S and if I had to pigeonhole them, it would be Oasis-inspired Britpop with shades of the La’s, The Stone Roses, and The Chemical Brothers. But they are so much more than that. They write truly great songs. Right from the very first song, the crowd sang along, the indie bangers came one after another, the band played a set of anthemic indie pop gems and I for one loved it.
Then it was back to the Leadmill for Earlstown, indie heroes Jamie Boyle, Ryan Breslin, Dexter Baxter and Jordan Holden collectively known as The K’s.` a band I have seen plenty of times but they never fail to deliver a set of the finest brit-pop inspired indie rock and today was no different Indie banger after indie banger, ripping up the stage, covering every inch of it a great band with a big future
So it was time for Friday’s headliner Richard Ashcroft legendary frontman of The Verve, acclaimed solo musician, Iconic British Rock Star, the best voice of his and many a generation, and the laudation just keep coming.
No pressure then as he strides confidently onto the stage turns to face the festival crowd and raises his arms in the air-you know this is going to be magical. Wearing the obligatory large black sunglasses and sporting the classic festival bucket hat, he just oozes cool,
His stage presence alone is something else; from standing there with his arms folded across his chest to using his glasses to play the guitar or kneeling on the floor while wailing out a chorus- all add to that incredible voice, cool as f@£K attitude and amazing melodies and songwriting. And that, my friends, is why he is a legend and why albums like Urban Hymns are still revered today. He played a mixture of Verve songs and his solo stuff, and the crowd were giving it their all in return. Tonight we were reminded that he has a great voice, his songwriting is brilliant, and he is a very cool human, but most of all, I learnt Richard Ashcroft is still very, very, very relevant.
And that was it, my first day at Tramlines.
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FOLLOW RICHARD ASHCROFT
FOLLOW DMA’S
FOLLOW THE K’S
FOLLOW DEADLETTER
FOLLOW SEA GIRLS
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
