I’m very fortunate to live and work in the city of Sheffield. Not only is it one of the greenest (and hilliest) cities in the country, with the beautiful Peak District on the doorstep, it’s a very vibrant place to live with lots of things going on.

Sheffield has always had a fantastic musical heritage – from ABC, Human League, Heaven 17, Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, The Crookes, Def Leppard (okay, maybe not always so fantastic) and there’s a very active music scene in the city. Which meant I didn’t have to travel far to go to one of the most eclectic music festivals this summer, Tramlines.

As I slide towards middle age (yikes!) I don’t go to as many gigs as I used to, and they tend to be in smaller venues. This is great for getting that “intimate” feel, but not so great for my hearing – the last couple of bands I’ve seen left me with a high pitched squeal stuck in my head. Fortunately, after a decent night’s sleep the squeal disappeared, but I made a vow to be more careful in future!

So, I armed myself with a pair of ER-20 Musicians Earplugs from the BTA shop and set out on a beautiful sunny Saturday to put them to the test. And test them I did – from ethereal synth pop to a ukulele orchestra to post-hardcore noise, I experienced it all! Some bands I enjoyed more than others, naturally, but it was a great day out with a very friendly crowd and a nice relaxed vibe. After wandering around the various venues, I ended up at the New Music stage, sitting in the sun on the City Hall steps with my picnic, and taking it all in. I was glad I had my earplugs though, as it was pretty loud! They were unobtrusive when in, and pretty comfortable. And as claimed, the earplugs didn’t muffle the sound, just dropped the volume across all frequencies so the music reached my ears just as the bands intended. And because my ears felt fine, I stayed longer and saw more bands than I’d planned. My Amazon wishlist has grown somewhat!

The following day was more of the same – this time though, I installed myself in the “Unannounced” marquee – well, it was in the shade, and it had sofas! I did say I was sliding into middle age… Even in this smaller space, I found the earplugs useful, just to take down the volume a little. What I really liked about this stage was the serendipitous aspect of it – everything was a surprise, and I got to hear bands and musicians I perhaps wouldn’t have thought of going to see.

Tramlines sums up much of what is great about Sheffield – vibrant, unpretentious, accessible, affordable. And now I know I can spend two full days listening to great live music and not damage my hearing (or have to brave mud and festival loos) I can’t wait for next year’s!