VIVAS band excited ahead of the Tramlines Festival

Despite forming in 2022, Sheffield indie rock four-piece, the VIVAS are certainly garnering attention and plaudits in the Sheffield music scene, and even further afield.

The band have been turning heads with their performances and have recently gained a whole host of new fans after recently supporting Def Leppard and Mötley Crὕe at their Brammall Lane show in May, impressing those in attendance.

Frontman James Wilson, a quantity surveyor by day, admits he is still on a comedown from the gig. “It’s really humbling to be given that opportunity and we have grasped it and really appreciated it, I still can’t believe it happened,” Wilson said.

“I was terrified before we went on stage. I’m not the most confident of people, especially internally, with a lot of self-doubt.

“The big venue is easier as you haven’t got someone right in front of you staring. It doesn’t matter if it’s five people in a pub corner, or however many thousand people, as soon as you walk past that marker, you are in a bubble and there to do what you do best.”

The band are made up of James Wilson (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Tyler Savage (lead guitar/backing vocals), Kane Ibbertson (bass/backing Vocals) and Keaton Barker (drums).

Wilson regards The Beatles, Arctic Monkeys and Elton John as some of his own personal influences, where he played the piano growing up and then then the guitar a little later. It wasn’t until he moved to Sheffield from the Lake District in 2017 for university, when he started to take music a little more seriously.

It was when he moved to Sheffield that he discovered the Tramlines Festival and how special it is for the city. “I think the festival is amazing and I especially love the fringe in the city centre and coming across new bands and seeing our mates playing. In the back of our minds, we were all thinking that we would love to play in Hillsborough Park one day. This year is a big step up for us. We are buzzing for it because it is THE event in Sheffield,” Wilson admits.

The band head out on tour in September with some headline shows of their own, along with great support slots with fellow Sheffield indie band, Little Man Tate and Leeds five-piece Apollo Junction.

VIVAS play The Leadmill Stage on Saturday at 12.15pm. Further information on the festival can be found at www.tramlines.org.uk