Sheffield’s inner-city festival Tramlines is calling out for undiscovered bands to take to the stage at this year’s event, which takes place from 25 – 27 July.
This year, the festival’s application process has been made easier than ever thanks to the launch of an Apply To Play tab on its Facebook page. The Tramlines team have also added some real weight to the selection process, with hopefuls being chosen to play by Tramlines’ headline artists, booking team and unsigned music industry experts from BBC Introducing. With only a few days left to enter, applicants must get their application in by 1800h GMT on Friday 16 May at www.facebook.com/tramlines
Best known for its diverse music offering, and for giving leg-ups to now established acts such as Alt-J, The xx, Drenge, Toddla T, Catfish and the Bottlemen and many more, Tramlines is a place to discover music from a wide range of genres. This year, unsigned bands can look forward to joining a bill that already includes the likes of Katy B, The Cribs, Public Enemy, Ms Dynamite and many more.
To enter, bands should head to the Apply To Play tab on the Tramlines Facebook page to put themselves forward. It’s free to enter and with the app being in an open space, bands and festival-goers alike can explore every entry. There is also an option for the public to request bands that they’d like to see play at the festival.
More than just a place to apply to play, the app also serves as a place for the public to discover new music, thanks to the app’s ‘Explore’ function. Through this process, bands signing up have the opportunity to have their music exposed to a community of over 30,000 music lovers.
The selection process this year has gone up a notch as five of the headline acts (TBA) will select their favourites to play the festival. A variety of new music experts will also be selecting another five acts that they think deserve a spot at the festival. These will include Christian Carlisle from BBC Introducing Sheffield, Jericho Keys from BBC Introducing York, Michelle Hussey and Natalie Williams from BBC Introducing Manchester, and Alan Raw from BBC Introducing Leeds. Finally, three slots will be chosen by the festival’s booking teams.
With only a short time left until applications close on Friday 16 May, entrants should waste no time and head over to Facebook now – good luck!
