Photo Credit: Joe Oates
For its fourth year, the annual GET TOGETHER celebration returned to kick off the festival season, taking over Sheffield’s ever-expanding Kelham Island location in the steel city. The all-day event takes place on seven scattered stages that are all within 300 metres. Peddler Warehouse served as the main stage, whilst Church – Temple of Fun is the perfect hub for music, gaming and food, Neepsend Social Club adds to that, whilst the intimate setting of Adler served as the perfect half way point across the festival site, Heist Brew Co. hosted the BBC Music Introducing stage, and the popular music venue Yellow Arch Studios were among the local establishments that featured acts during a scorching Saturday in Sheffield.
SHELLEY BYRON opened the BBC Music Introducing stage at the Heist Brew Co building. A more relaxed performance with a great turnout early in the day. The live renditions of the songs ‘I Hope You Die‘ and ‘Isabel (Just Start A Band)‘ from the more recent EP ‘Mad Again‘ were excellent additions to the set. Throughout the whole opening performance, the keytar truly stole the show, with each band member offering a unique piece to create a touching display.
Following a short stroll, VICTORY LAP arrived at Yellow Arch’s emporium room to find the space fully packed. Their set consisted of tracks that progressively intensified until transitioning into a soothing, pleasant change of pace. Their new single ‘Jealousy‘ is a little bit melancholic but also euphoric, and frontman Tom Ponting’s vocals are extremely similar to Ian Curtis’s or Alex Turner’s more contemporary style.
Singer-songwriter FIONA-LEE followed up next at the emporium. With such a strong voice, the young singer/songwriter made you feel the words all throughout your body. For a solo artist, the set gripped you so easily with her meaningful songs, which were complimented by her guitar’s lovely, relaxing tones. ‘Mother‘ did a fantastic job capturing this; you could sense the raw emotion in her voice while the attendees looked on in complete amazement.
Photo Credit: Joe Oates
GETDOWN SERVICES were scheduled to end the Alder stage, but a last-minute lineup change allowed them to double their offering with a performance at Yellow Arch’s main room. The Bristol-based pair relishes interacting with the crowd, and the fact that the space was filled last minute, demonstrates how much interest there was in seeing them that day. Despite their songs were humorous and not meant to be taken too seriously, the audience was still having fun, as seen by the people in the front leaping along and the sweaty vocalist Josh Law ensured that everybody was having a good time.
Photo Credit: Joe Oates
The Peddler Warehouse stage was one of the hardest to enter. The packed out room for THE BUG CLUB reached full capacity very quickly, despite being the biggest venue on the across the site. The trio were clearly having a blast, and their short, fast-paced songs combined with a high energetic performance offered them the perfect opportunity to play through a large portion of their catalogue, all whilst putting on a show to remember. The full-tilt ‘Quality Pints’, with a frantic but qwerky guitar solo, came after the toe-tapping ‘Cheap Linen’. In contrast, ‘Short and Round’ adopts a completely opposite strategy but still had the crowds full attention throughout.
Gracing the intimate BBC Music Introducing stage was none other than West Yorkshire’s ELLUR. Accompanied by an entire band, it was her keyboardist who provided exquisite supporting vocals that wonderfully complemented ELLUR‘s. The songs from the recorded versions are much improved by the live performance. Calm tunes gave way to a strong, distinctive voice accompanied by hand gestures that enhanced the performance and a supporting soundtrack of ambient music. Her most recent single, ‘Boys’, the moving tune ‘Now I’m Alone’, and the unreleased song ‘Loser’, which is sure to become one of her most beloved songs to date, were standout tracks from the set.
It was time for CMAT to take the stage in front of a packed Peddler Warehouse for the main event. The audience roared as she made her grand entrance and opened her headline performance with ‘Nashville’, as fans lined along the street to get a look of the main act. Having returned from the 2023 line-up, she now had ninety minutes to deliver a set that was sure to be full with hits, and that’s precisely what it was. Virtually everyone in the room was singing along to ‘California’ and ‘Whatever’s Convenient’, and a rendition of Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ could quite easily pass for CMAT‘s own given how she perfectly portrayed it. It was better late than never, but the Yorkshire chants came flooding in to her enjoyment, so much so that she allowed the Sheffield to let it all out before continuing. ‘Stay for Something’ served as the finale, capping off an engrossing performance and yet another excellent GET TOGETHER in Sheffield to kick off the 2024 festival season.
Taped Magazine 