‘Sheffield is the only city which could host a festival like Tramlines’: An interview with Sheffield’s Sgt. Pepper Project

Sheffield’s Sergeant Pepper Project, for those who don’t know, is a collaboration of 30 of Sheffield’s best musicians who have come together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatle’s iconic Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

We took five minutes out of our weekend to catch up with six of them about the project, their advice for students starting in September and the importance of Tramlines.

With there being 30 of you in total, is it difficult to arrange rehearsals?

Oh yes. Yes it is. It’s been complicated. I think today might be the first time where every single person has been here.

So with you all being from Sheffield, what’s your favourite thing about the city?

By a country mile, it has to be Tramlines, but also just the people. I don’t know how many cities you’d be able to do this in where it’s a bit like a big village and the musical community is really tight knit so you can just phone around and people are really up for playing music with each other, and that’s one of the wonderful things about the city.

What would be your advice to students who are coming to Sheffield in September?

Eat some good breakfasts, have some good coffee, go to the peak district, keep an open mind. If someone suggests doing something a bit left-wing, it might actually be awesome. You just don’t know. Walk outside the student areas as well. There’s so much going on in the city and you just need to walk around a bit, keep your eyes open, just explore, and speak to people because everyone’s really friendly.

The audience at their performance at The Folk Forest

How important do you think Tramlines is to the city?

Yes, there’s just so much on everywhere. Hopefully it’s going to be like this until the end of time, with bars giving up-and-coming artists a place to perform. The fringe of the festival has really picked up this year and the fringe is where the opportunities are for local bands. It’s just so nice when you walk up and down Division Street with music coming from everywhere you turn.

What does music mean to you as a band?

Like, life. Everything. It’s why I get out of bed in the morning. This project is what music is all about. Just people you know and love coming together and just playing music together. There’s something really, sort of, primal about it. This is a group of friends as well as a group of musicians that we’ve got, and that’s what music’s always been for me. It’s a social thing.

If you could take only one of the songs from the Sgt Pepper album, what song would it be and why?

What a question! It would probably have to be “She’s leaving home”. It’s just so lush and warm, and the story is so lovely. Or “Getting Better” as I think I’d need that motivation knowing I was going to die, alone, on a desert island.