Tramlines Festival Champions Sheffield Artists and Community Initiatives at Hillsborough Park

Tramlines Festival is set to return to Hillsborough Park from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 July, delivering three days of sold-out performances headlined by Fatboy Slim, Courteeners, and Wolf Alice.

While the event features prominent acts, it places a strong emphasis on promoting Sheffield’s local music scene and supporting community projects. The 2026 festival highlights a diverse range of Sheffield talent across genres, providing local artists, collectives, and community-led music platforms with access to major stages and large audiences.

Sheffield’s musical presence is evident throughout the weekend, with established acts such as Reverend and The Makers, Everly Pregnant Brothers, The Rosadocs, Freddie Halkon, The Leadmill Studio Orchestra, Under the Stars, and BBC Radio Sheffield DJs performing. Additionally, artists connected to the city, including Lucy Spraggan, will feature on the bill.

The festival also showcases emerging local talent. On Friday, Pattern + Push will curate an all-female lineup at T’Other Stage, including Aziza Jaye, Lavelle, and DJ Kyla C. On Saturday, Slambarz will present Sheffield voices at Speakers Corner. Sheffield’s dance music heritage is celebrated with bassline legend Big Ang and Siobhan performing at The Open Arms, alongside Sheffield singer and former The Voice UK finalist Nørskov.

Milly Pye, a student from WaterBear The College of Music, is scheduled to perform on the Sarah Nulty Main Stage on Friday 24 July. The Apply to Play initiative continues to offer emerging artists and bands paid performance slots and broader industry support to access the festival.

Beyond the performances, the festival’s commitment to local opportunity extends through the Tramlines Trust. Applications for the 2026 funding round are open until Friday 28 August, inviting local charities, community groups, schools, social enterprises, and grassroots organisations to apply for grants.

Since its inception in 2022, the Tramlines Trust has distributed over £120,000 in grants to support projects spanning music, mental health, disability access, food distribution, education, sport, youth work, community gardening, and the arts. In 2025 alone, the Trust awarded £30,000 across 70 organisations.

Recipients have included the Snowdrop Project, Roundabout, Support Dogs, St Vincent’s Furniture Project, A Mind Apart, Saffron Sheffield, FareShare Yorkshire, Under the Stars, and Sheffield Youth Orchestra. Funding has enabled Saffron Sheffield to offer wellbeing sessions for women awaiting one-to-one therapy, helped Sheffield Youth Orchestra welcome over 300 new players through community days, supported Roundabout’s music opportunities for young people, and assisted FareShare Yorkshire in delivering 20 additional van loads of food across North Sheffield.

Timm Cleasby, Operations Director at Tramlines, stated: “Tramlines has big headliners and big moments, but the local story is just as important to us. Every year we want the festival to create chances for Sheffield artists, support the grassroots organisations doing important work across the city and make sure local people feel part of what happens in Hillsborough Park.

“Seeing emerging artists step onto major stages across different genres, having Pattern + Push and Slambarz bringing through new voices, and opening the next round of Tramlines Trust funding all sits in the same place for us. It is about using the platform of the festival to develop local talent and give artists the chance to grow in front of huge crowds.”

Festival attendees are encouraged to support local businesses through Hillsborough Hotspots, a guide to dining, shopping, and visiting options around the festival site during the weekend.

The official Tramlines app provides up-to-date stage times, line-up details, and festival news. Fans interested in next year’s event can register for early bird ticket access for 2027 via the Tramlines website.

Local organisations wishing to apply for Tramlines Trust funding can do so through the Tramlines community page before the deadline on Friday 28 August.