9 Comments

Anyone would think there aren't any breweries in Sheffield who could be supplying beer. At Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park they had a number of local London breweries selling their beers. Don't see why tramlines couldn't have done the same.

Expand full comment
Jul 19, 2023·edited Jul 19, 2023

Tramlines is great even allowing for absence of new exciting music. If we can get the fringe off the ground then sheff really would have best of both worlds and something to shout about. Also I'm pretty sure they sold jaipur last year.

Expand full comment

Good read as always on Tramlines. I go to a lot of gigs, mainly younger artists (End of the Road near Salisbury is my annual festival). I've no interest in the largely middle-aged, middle-of-the-road line-up at Tramlines, though my wife loved it in 2021.

BUT I have been impressed with the growing multi-genre live music scene in Sheffield, and seen a lot of young bands at Yellow Arch and Lughole (as well as the Washington this week), I've particularly enjoyed a couple of multi-venue fests this last year (Float Along and the Kelham Get Together, where the real ale was £3.60 a pint).

The Tramlines fringe will be great; see you at Heeley for Henge.

Expand full comment

Tramlines: it's an unspeakable liberty to keep people effectively locked in, in order to sell overpriced stuff. I don't buy the company's line about litter and disorder: the problems might exist, but it's a remarkable coincidence that everybody's interests should thus coincide, isn't it 😁 Punters should walk out en masse at some point, and be prepared to stay out. Then no food and drinks at all would get sold. That'll bring these profiteers to their senses.

Expand full comment

"Miss Saigon" - good review in Saturday's "Times." Regrettably I can't send it: it's behind Rupert Murdoch's paywall. Find someone who subscribes or who has an actual newspaper. Sorry.

Expand full comment

Brewdog are the official beer sponsor for tramlines, for me that says it all really.

Expand full comment

Tim - please fill me in with what's wrong with Brewdog. Thank you.

Expand full comment

Hi Ruth. When they started they did a lot for the craft beer seen in the UK. Lately there business practices have been shown to be discriminatory and bullying to staff. I no longer by there products. This article is a good introduction to thei toxic culture. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/21/brewdog-boss-accused-of-trying-to-intimidate-ex-staff-over-tv-expose

Expand full comment

Thank you, Tim, for your prompt and helpful reply. And that was a good article.

This is an example of what I call the "Reading Gaol" effect: "Each man kills the thing he loves." It's all around us. It's Brewdog. It's Tramlines. It happens to jolly areas of cities - the people who've made a place good to inhabit have made it so desirable that everyone with money thinks that they'll have a piece of it. Then ten years later they wonder why the buzz has gone.

So once more, thank you, Oscar Wilde. His martyrdom gave us that immortal line.

Expand full comment