Music legends and future stars treat crowds to another iconic Tramlines Festival
Tens of thousands turned out to a sun-drenched Hillsborough Park over the weekend
Music fans in South Yorkshire have been once again basking in the sun and enjoying the very best of home-grown and international talent for Sheffield's Tramlines Festival.
The city's flagship event saw standout performances across the stages, with The Library, The Leadmill, 'Tother and of course the Sarah Nulty Power of Music Main Stage once again making an appearance.
And - of course - on Saturday afternoon - as the gates opened to the thousands flooding into the park to catch the early acts, the Steel City's very own Everly Pregnant Brothers did their thing on the main stage, by singing about breadcakes and Lidl, ahead of what's set to be a jaw-dropping night later this year at the City Hall, where they'll be performing alongside the 70-piece Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra in one of their most exciting hometown gigs to-date.
But ahead of that, we're reflecting on what turned out to be another classic edition of Tramlines with some of the queer legends and local stars who brought the vibes and energy to this staple event.
Vanessa Carlton: "I'm thrilled to bring joy and connect with people"
Vanessa Carlton - the iconic cinematic singer/songwriter from Pennsylvania who broke out in 2002 with the hit single “A Thousand Miles" - caught up with Hits Radio just after stepping off-stage on Friday afternoon.
"I think it just occurred to me that this may have been the first time I have done a festival like this with a full band!
"It was a big personal moment for me, at such a lovely festival," she revealed.
It was 16 years ago - at Nashville Pride - when the noughties legend stepped out on stage and announced to the crowd that she's a 'proud bisexual woman', something she revealed she'd never announced before.
She reflected: "I remember that Pride.
"I love playing Pride festivals, even though I haven't played one in quite some time.
"I'm thrilled to be able to bring joy and connect with all people."
After performing some of her new album - Veils - on stage, we asked about her queer song of the summer.
And it's not something you'd expect.
Vanessa said: "Are you asking me about new music?! Well, I actually listen to the Flanders Recorder Quartet, and Vaughan Williams.
"I'm always listening to The Replacements, Bob Marley, but I have to say, I have been in a major 16th Century Dutch music phase - that's a summer vibe for me."
That might be the vibe she cranks the volume up for in her headphones, but it's the process of creating the music which she loves the most.
She added: "It's my favourite, when you step inside a studio.
"Crafting, arranging, and coming up with the picture of it is to magical to me.
"It's like designing a room, when you're writing a song, but then you have to perform it in front of other people - and that's where I still actually get scared.
"But besides all of that, in music, I've already had my dream happen.
"Stevie Nicks covered 'Carousel'.
"I've had so many dreams come true in this life, it's an incredible thing."
Rick Astley: "There was something in the '80s which just made sense"
The man who needs no introduction, '80s music legend, Rick Astley made Saturday afternoon even more iconic with his high-octane set under the South Yorkshire sunshine,
Part of the set included a rendition of Raye's future Greatest Hit 'Where The Hell Is My Husband?', which we asked Rick all about.
He told Hits Radio: "I just love that tune.
"Also, I'm not stupid - there are a lot of young people in the audience, and the girls who sing with me are absolutely amazing.
"I also got to play the drums during the song, and that's one of my favourite things, just getting back on the kit.
"Raye is just incredible, and that song is an absolute banger.
"That song has travelled - you can go anywhere in the world, and you can year that tune.
"For me, it's a bit like the 'Uptown Funk' thing, where that track is just there - and it's a great thing for sure."
Of course, Rick brought all of his tracks to the stage - but why has his music had such staying appeal?
Well, he thinks the 1980s was just a special moment in time.
He said: "I don't know what it is - there's a little pocket of time there that made sense, and somehow, people have got a real connection with it - even if you weren't born when the '80s were rocking.
"It's like a little slice of something, that had something really great about it.
"It was a time when videos really exploded, and that has been a marriage with music ever since.
"You can't have a song without a video - even if it almost killed the radio star."
Jon McClure: The Reverend
Another act who needed no introduction on Sunday was Reverend and the Makers, straight off the back of their re-recorded track, Silence Is Talking, which became an unofficial World Cup anthem.
Sheffield's very own got the crowd 'bouncing' as the clouds broke to reveal a mottled, golden afternoon sky.
Jon McClure has become the Steel City's answer to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, as he's now the Chairman of the world's oldest football club, too, as the Sheffield Wednesday fan told Hits Radio: "I love it here, there's no secret I'm a Wednesday fan, although my time here is challenged now somewhat by my work over at Sheffield F.C.
"It's a bit of that, Welcome to Wrexham, but the responsibility here is huge - it's the oldest club in the world.
"It's the club that invented football itself, and how I like to describe it is like playing chess, but the board belongs to us.
"There's an opportunity to tell the origin story of football across the city, and there's a responsibility to take seriously the fact there's 3.4 billion football fans, and we invented that game.
"When you look at massive bits of steel we used to make here, we need to think as big as that.
"We don't want to be left behind, we want to let people know that the music is class, we invented football, and we need to do more with it."
The city's artist, Pete McKee, designed the first poster for Tramlines Festival in 2009, and Jon revealed how the whole event's deep-rooted connection to the city is what makes it special.
He said: "It was amazing, and we actually headlined it back then, which we've also done a couple of times since.
"Pete made that amazing, iconic, drawing that everyone knows.
"For me, it's a family event.
"Memories of being with my dad, when he was still alive, my kids, my cousins, it's next to my favourite football club...
"I love it - it's deeply in my heart, and the people who run it nowadays are amazing."
Lucy Spraggan: "It means everything to represent the LGBTQ+ community"
She's known for her unforgettable ride on the X-Factor back in 2012, but since then, Lucy Spraggan has been traversing the festival circuit and entertaining crowds up and down the UK.
To-date, her music has amassed more than 169 million Spotify streams, with over 350,000 monthly listeners, and has ascended to becoming a LGBTQ+ icon.
She told Hits Radio ahead of her set: "It's been busy!
"There's a lot of creative stuff happening at the moment - I'm writing a musical, and I'm writing what I think now is my tenth album!
"And out of all of those tracks I've written, I'd love to have a collab with the rapper Chinchilla - I'm just absolutely obsessed.
"I've actually been in the writing room with her, once upon a time, and I always send her messages about how much I just love what she does!"
Lucy is one of the UK's most prominent openly LGBTQ+ singer-songwriters - and has long been a favourite at Pride events and LGBTQ+ festivals.
So, what would be her outfit of choice?
She said: "First of all, it means everything to represent the LGBTQ+ community, and it's a strange world at the moment, so it's just really important for everybody to be together, and be proud.
"We need to protect our trans brothers and sisters, too, and look after the whole community.
"You know, I haven't been to a Pride event as a punter for so, so long, just because I hate crowds and drinking - but if they have a sound bath pride, or meditation area, I'm very there for that!
"In Manchester, if I was to go out anywhere, I love Oscar's actually!
"They play old show tunes, and I love stuff like that - Chicago and Les Mis are the ones are just at the top of the list for me."
There's something special Lucy has at every single one of her gigs - and that's a BSL interpreter.
She told Hits Radio why: "I've recently taken up British Sign Language.
"I meet a lot of fans on the road who are deaf, and we've got an interpreter with us for the show today.
"I think it's really important to communicate to people, you know?"
"It's a breadcake - not a roll!"
Special guests the Everly Pregnant Brothers - of course - took to the Sarah Nulty Power of Music Main Stage on Saturday afternoon, and the crowds flocked for their now infamous selection of parody songs.
And, naturally, the set ended with a flurry of breadcakes (not rolls) being thrown about!
"They were very modular breadcakes this time," lead singer Kieran Wardle said.
"The cheap ones are always the best!
I happen to be a fan of the Morrisons ones because of their interjoining ligaments, if I'm going to be honest."
But what about the set?
Well, there was fun and frolics, and a surprise appearance by the Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra, who'll be joining the band later this year for a very special homecoming concert.
Pete McKee added: "We'll be doing a full set with the orchestra, and they're an absolute team of geniuses.
"There'll be highs and lows, and the whole idea of it is just so awesome.
"It was Tramlines which brought us all together two years ago, actually, when they played, and we were on-stage after them.
"So, this year, we've been brought back together and can't wait to do this full concert, which'll actually be featuring Laura McClure - John's wife, from Reverend and the Makers."
Kieran said: "It's another exciting year for us - but I'll be honest, after this, I'll be going back into hibernation again until next year's Tramlines!"
It all goes again next year!
Tramlines this year didn't stop at the music, as always, offering comedy acts, diverse food choices, and unique entertainment, whilst keeping to the namesake, the Supertram also got involved for 2026.
With the festival taking over the city for the weekend, like its namesake suggests, ‘Tramlines on Track’ treated passengers to a special set of performances on-board.
The whole thing comes around again in 2027 - and we're just days away from the first wave of pre-sale tickets going on sale.
There's only one way the 2026 edition can be described - and as they said on their socials, "That's how you do it, Sheffield!"