It doesn’t feel all that long ago that Junk was making waves across Sheffield’s grassroots venues. Fast forward just over a year and the four-piece are preparing to step onto the Leadmill Stage at Tramlines – a pretty remarkable rise for one of the city’s most exciting young bands. We caught up with Leo, Hannah, Evelyn and Fenella to talk hometown festivals, finding their audience and life beyond Tramlines.
Hey guys, Tramlines’ Leadmill stage this year. How does that feel?
L: It is sensational really, after just over a year now as a band it feels like a huge step
What does it mean to you as a festival?
L: For us, it has always been pretty grassroots, having played at and watched gigs at the numerous Tramlines Fringe venues. Now though, we get to see what all the fuss is about with the actual festival.
E: Yeah, the fringe is an amazing grassroots alternative. It feels like an exciting but organic step for us.
H: It’s also really cool to be playing the same Tramlines stage Lime Garden played in 2024. They’re a band that we really look up to so it’s a bit surreal to get to play on the same stage they did!
Can we catch you anywhere else over the Tramlines weekend?
E: Now that Tramlines Festival is officially sold out, we can reveal that we may be making an appearance elsewhere amongst the Fringe in-keeping with our home in the grassroots, of course.
Who’s one artist on the lineup you’ll be making time to watch?
F: Obviously Wolf Alice, but another band on our day we are looking forward to checking out is Bleech 9:3.
For anyone who hasn’t caught you live yet, what can they expect from your set?
F: A few high kicks from Leo, nice harmonies, plenty guitar pedals and sick beats.
How did Junk come together?
L: We met in a number of roundabout ways. Me and Fenella probably met ages ago but didn’t know it cause I’ve been to Whit Friday before and she always takes part in the marches. She’s in Hepworth Brass Band.
E: Ultimately, it was pure luck: band shirts, emails, girlfriends, it was just one of those things which was always going to happen for us. We were all drawn to each other’s individual work and interests in some way.
You’ve been building a real following in Sheffield. What do you think it is about Junk that’s connecting with people?
H: Because we all come from such different musical backgrounds, there’s probably something in there for everyone. That could be what draws people to us?
E: It also helps that we’re all friends and everybody knows, gang mentality. We hang out a lot doing other things and I think that can resonate with people.
What’s next for Junk after Tramlines? Any new music or plans on the horizon?
F: We’ll be recording a couple of tracks in London and then will be carrying on with the rest of our tour which I’m super excited for. It’s going to feel like a holiday really getting to play with my mates in such cool venues and in cities I’ve never been to before like Nottingham and Brighton.
L: Tramlines is a stop right in the middle of the tour. As well as Evelyn, Hannah and myself graduating from uni, which is pretty cool.
E: We’ve got a journalist friend coming along to all our tour stops too and making a little video for us about it all, a Junk documentary. So, you can watch that if you’re interested in seeing what we’ll be getting up to!
