OUT WITH A BANG! TRAMLINES DAY 3

REVIEW | TRAMLINES 2025 | DAY 3 by Gracie Erskine

And with Monday morning looming and grey clouds circling the park, Tramlines Sunday could do nothing but delay the fear. 

Before you could put your dancing boots on, comedian and Taskmaster favourite Russell Howard opened ‘T’other Stage’. A set that had you clutching your stomach and curling over, rippling with laughter. Anecdotes squeezed between his signature accents and massive pull for storytelling, warmed the cockles of the crowd.

And just to keep the good times rolling, pop trio Scouting for Girls pulled every crowd engagement trick out of the bag over on the main stage. Whilst the audience were begging for fan favourites such as ‘I Wish I Was James Bond’, frontman Roy Stride teased the crowd before teaching them hooks off their latest record. Regardless, heart-pumping, toe tapping pop ballad ‘She’s So Lovely’ had everyone feeling like the lead in a noughties rom-com.

Local lads The Sherlocks took to their main stage mid-afternoon slot; what is slowly becoming a rite of passage for the festival to even commence without the returning band. The Sheffield quartet had the crowd in crescendo for their festival anthems ‘Chasing Shadows’ and ‘Live for The Moment’. Whilst their newer work ‘Bones’ didn’t evoke the same reception; it feels only time before it becomes a fan favourite with its electric launch and rugged twist.

And whilst we all the love to gatekeep, there’s one name that should be falling off everyone’s lips- Luvcat. The Merseyside darling strings visually comparisons from Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey whilst sonically feeling like an emo blend of The Velvet Underground and Leonard Cohen. Whilst inspirations may spring to mind immediately, the scouse starlet adopts a distinct character. Striking kilts are worn through the band with Luvcat herself donning a sailor-esque pin up to fulfil her cabaret act. Her heavenly vocals possess the crowd as she tracks the stage in such glamorous stealth. Despite her debut album Vicious Delicious not due for release until October, unreleased tracks are adopted early by her fans in hymn at the set.

Immediately after, ‘T’other Stage’ is a rush with Irish pop sensation, CMAT, fans. A clear mix of long-standing followers and newly introduced eyes awaiting the hype; and what hype the set lived up to. With such sensational rage, the Irish superstar dashes across the stage, caressing her body, pole-dancing round light-rigging, exporting every face from a game of ‘Guess Who?’ as she sings- its impeccable. For the moments she does remain stationary, a fan below her mic is whipping her hair around her, as she works her magic on the crowd. Eyes consistently glued to the woman, it’s hard to notice how engaged and tight her band are. With an ai-like crowd completing the Tik-Tok viral ‘Take A Sexy Picture of Me’ dance to CMAT having the packed-out tent sprawling to the toilet queues, two-stepping for ‘I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby’, her respect and awe is obvious. 

Back on the main stage, London based quintet The Last Dinner Party, are back with a fruitful set. Their rise to fame has been hard to miss, from the immediate clutch of their debut single ‘Nothing Matters’ to their Rising Star Brit Award win they’re becoming an indie household name. No theatrics are lost on this set however, as frontwoman Abigail Morris adopts her usual whimsical fashion, akin to Kate Bush, roaming freely, vocally and spiritually. The performance aspect extends to the gauntlets they drink from, whether water or wine no loss on verisimilitude to an ancient world disappears by a festival appearance. Latest single, ‘This is The Killer Speaking’ lines the banes as they patrol with their instruments, a hook than can displease no crowd. Lead guitarist, Emily Roberts, strikes the audience with her cataclysmic solo in ‘Nothing Matters’, a freeing release that reduces all your bones to the kind of inflatable tube men that dance outside a car wash. 

Kasabian might have been due on at 7:45pm, but the England women’s Euros had just gone to penalties, so what else could you do but stand watching the shootout, biting your nails, pulling you hair, with 40,000 other people in Hillsborough Park. Once Chloe Kelly had top binned the net and the pints had flown, Kasabian erupted on stage -the crowd already putty in their hands. ‘Call’ from their latest record ‘Happenings’ lit the match for the audience, but it wasn’t until the three-track run of ‘Club Foot’, ‘Ill Ray’ and ‘Underdog’ arose before someone threw petrol on said fire. 

Frontman Serge Pizzorno lunges himself across stage, he almost puppeteers the crowd to bounce with him, holding them to liken eyes-wide children watching the tv. And whilst the crowd are brewing a concoction of mosh pits, flare pools and sprawling pints, it can’t help but go unnoticed that from afar the set became borderline DJ. Blends of Kasabian tracks into 90’s club classics may appease a festival crowd, but reduces the talent and skill from the band, ultimately blurring the middle of the set into a kind of party mush where you may remember hearing ‘Shoot the Runner’ or it may have been ‘Insomnia’. Regardless, Kasabian made a Sunday feel like a Saturday, running off the high of the Euros and whatever was in the air, their set failed to keep feet on the ground.

And just like that, Tramlines 2025 closed with a bang. The distant chamberings off ‘Fire’ were still being regurgitated at tram stops and a bittersweet swaggering flooded out the gates. A star-ridden lineup and a Sheffield crowd is a dangerous mix for a Sunday, and one to be missed. Oh well, there’s always next year…