TRAMLINES DAY THREE: ENDING WITH ELEMENTS OF ELECTRIFYING ENERGY

FESTIVAL REVIEW | TRAMLINES DAY THREE, SHEFFIELD | 26th July 2026 by Morgan Hermiston

My final day at Tramlines 2026 saw me venture to the three primary stages for the final time. With several acts across the Sarah Nulty Main Stage, the Leadmill Tent, and T’Other Stage, I got to see the greatest each area had to offer. On the third and final day, I managed to catch six acts, half of which I’d never seen before, but all were absolutely phenomenal respectively. From indie to rock and everything in between, this was an eclectic end to the festival.

Matilda Shakes

My final day of Tramlines 2026 began with a trip to the Leadmill Stage. I’d never seen Matilda Shakes before this, but the packed out tent gave me the confidence that it was the perfect time to. The four-piece’s performance was a hometown one and, as Sheffield locals, they’ve built up a steady, solid fanbase, and this fanbase truly showed up. I saw quite a lot of people singing along with their released material such as ‘Little Chicago‘.

Their electrifying energy extended beyond frontman James Hallam, all the way to drummer Joel Haddon who threw his drumsticks into the crowd at a couple of points. I think that Matilda Shakes are one of the most exciting up-and-coming acts in the UK at the moment. Their music has hints of homage-paying influence, but gritty guitar riffs, brilliant base lines and excellent stage presence makes them a band that is setting themselves apart from others. Their next single ‘Transmission‘ was a treat to hear live, and it’ll be intriguing to see how they contain such energy into a studio release.

Tickets for their hometown gig at The Foundry are on sale now! You can get one of the remaining tickets for this here.

Tramlines 2026 (Carolina Faruolo/Tramlines)

Bleech 9:3

Remaining at the Leadmill Stage, I saw Bleech 9:3 for the first time as well. With conversations on sobriety, and recovering from addictive mindsets, I was really eager to finally see Dublin lot live. In their seven-song setlist, there was mosh pits and collective admiration for the group from start to finish.

As song as initial track ‘Jacky‘ began, frontman Barry “Baz” Quinlan immediately leaped off stage and into the embrace of the energetic crowd. Guitarist Sam Duffy was also a hit with the audience, pretending to shoot those there with the neck of his guitar. Other released tracks like ‘No Surprise‘, ‘Underrated‘ and ‘Cannonball‘ were quick to follow in volume with the atmosphere in the tent never depleting once.

Two back-to-back tracks, ‘Figure 8‘ and ‘Tourniquet‘, were up next, and both are currently unreleased. Despite these songs not being publicly available, it was insane to hear so many singing along. With bands like Bleech 9:3, much of their popularity has amassed from live sets, and performances like this one really portray the significance of this approach. The tent had barely any space to move, and I think they’ll be on much bigger stages over the next year.

Bleech 9:3 (Gracie Erskine/Northern Exposure)

The Lilacs

I then headed to T’Other Stage to see the Wigan‘s wonderful quartet The Lilacs. Much of their set consisted of older, fan-favourites, and tracks from upcoming record Keeping Up With The Joneses. This album is set for release on 2nd October, with the option to pre-order here. One of the stand-out singles from the record, ‘What’s The Worst That Can Happen?‘ featured in this set, and if this is anything to go by, you should definitely pre-order.

The band’s dedicated audience, that has grown along with them, sang along loudly with each tune, adding to the anthemic sound already present. 2023 single ‘Grace‘ was dedicated to all of those there who shared the name, adding a personal touch to a packed-out performance. ‘Vicarage Road‘, their most popular song to-date, and another highly streamed song, ‘Sticky Dancefloors‘, delighted the audience, and I’m glad I could finally hear these live. The Lilacs are masters at drawing in a crowd and maintaining their undivided attention, and I would highly recommend catching them at a show sometime soon.

Brooke Combe

After severe technical difficulties, Scottish singer-songwriter Brooke Combe only had a setlist of four songs left. This unfortunately happened to her at Sound City too, with her stage time cut even further, and I saw just two songs. ‘Tears Won’t Lie‘ and ‘How Can I Tell You? (To Love Me More)‘ were among the limited material, but the audience still received these well, with many joining in with the captivating choruses.

Brooke’s stage presence was particularly impressive, not letting her cut-short show affect her ability to impress. I’ve seen what a full set can afford to Brooke Combe, but even in a condensed performance, power in her vocals and overall persona was not diminished. The tent was full, and this is the recognition she truly deserves.

Brooke Combe (Gracie Erskine/Northern Exposure)

Wet Leg

We’ve all heard of Wet Leg, and if you haven’t then I’m not sure what rock you’ve been hiding under, music wise anyway. Having supported the likes of Harry Styles on a stadium tour only a couple of years ago, Wet Leg are a band that have been successfully showing off to huge crowds for a while. Rhian Teasdale, the group’s front woman, sang along with unique melodies the are unequivocally, and unmistakably theirs.

Comedic, and some tongue-in-cheek lyrics are just staples in their performances, but this is merged with an affirmative attitude of remaining true to who you are, and doing life the way you want to. At times, the smoke on stage made it nearly impossible to see any of them, but I’m not sure whether this was intentional or not. So, sometimes, the only option was to watch them on the big screens on either side of the stage, but this neglected any opportunity to catch onto nuances and little pieces of performing that we may have otherwise picked up on.

However, smoke aside, well-known material like ‘Wet Dream‘ and ‘Chaise Longue‘ intertwined with newer material. Songs like ‘catch these fists‘, ‘davina mccall‘, and closing track ‘mangetout‘ formed some of the recent elements of this setlist. These were taken from 2026 album moisturizer. Wet Leg are a lively act to watch, and definitely one to add to your list of bands to see, if you somehow haven’t seen them already.

Tramlines 2026 (Gracie Erskine/Northern Exposure)

Wolf Alice

I don’t think there’s anyone doing festival headline slots, or even performing in general, like Wolf Alice. From huge headline gigs elsewhere, they were truly the perfect, and most powerfully poignant way to end Tramlines 2026. With every member of the band showing off their talents and just lively love for performing from start to finish, I didn’t know where to watch, but there wasn’t one boring moment.

‘Bloom Baby Bloom‘ started the set off with a bang, and confetti flew around the park, but there would later be another chance to collect a momento with closing track ‘Giant Peach‘. Their starting track, taken from 2025’s The Clearing, was just one of many moments that drew popular yet recent releases into the set. ‘Just Two Girls‘, ‘White Horses‘ and ‘The Sofa‘ formed more periods like that. With each song differing in tempos and melodies, the energy, and vibrance in vocalist Ellie Rowsell‘s voice didn’t fluctuate in the slightest.

Rowsell was a formidable force through the rest of the set, with songs like ‘How Can I Make It Ok?‘ and ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses‘ really boasting her brilliance as a musician. With such an incredible band providing the fundamental foundations to her crystal clear vocals, there’s few other bands that make as memorable a set as Wolf Alice. I could write an essay on the final headline act of Tramlines 2026, but I think it’s just best you see for yourself how anthemic their songs are, and the surreal serenity of their shows.