Tramlines Festival have begun their search for the UK's best breaking talent, and have opened the artist application process for the forthcoming festival, which is set to return for its eighth installment from 22 to 24 July.
Tramlines transforms Sheffield city centre into a huge festival site, taking the reins on four outdoor spaces and 15 venues with a bill which showcases a diverse range of established names and brand-new artists, and attracting approximately 100,000 people every year.
This year's bill delivers a genre-defying mix of talent, including Dizzee Rascal, Jurassic 5, Kelis, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Mystery Jets, Gaz Coombes, Dawn Penn, Field Music, Young Fathers, Toddla T, Goldie MBE, Little Simz, Norman Jay MBE, Hinds, My Nu Leng, C Duncan, Randall, Meilyr Jones, Skream, K.O.G and The Zongo Brigade, and many more.
Tramlines has a long history of showcasing breaking acts before they hit the big time, with Blossoms, Toddla T, The XX, George Ezra, Charli XCX and Alt-J just a few of the artists who’ve gone on from early shows at the festival to bag chart-topping singles and sell-out shows. Having played at some of the festival's smallest venues just a few short years ago, indie four-piece Catfish and the Bottlemen return for 2016 as Sunday night headliners on the huge outdoor Main Stage. As the band themselves said:
“We're absolutely buzzing to be headlining Tramlines this year. We remember it like it was yesterday. The last times, we were in Frog & Parrot with Little Comets or in Soyo with the Broken Hands lads watching Kieran Gallagher crowd-surfing and pulling the chandeliers down. It's a real honour to be headlining.”
The panel of judges selecting bands to play at Tramlines this year include, the festival’s Head of Programming, Kate Hewett and - ensuring that a wide portion of UK talent is represented - presenters from BBC Introducing Kent, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, York, and of course Sheffield.
Band applications are now open until Friday 29 April. Applicants should head to Gigmit.com to fill out an application using the following link https://www.gigmit.com/gigs/tramlines-festival-festival-in-tramlines-festival-sheffield-4289
Published on 05 April 2016 by Ben Robinson