The countdown to Tramlines 2012 is well underway and artists are gearing up to perform in every nook and cranny of Sheffield. The Hop Blues and Ale Trail takes over the Kelham Island area with R&B artists playing in some of Sheffield’s best real ale pubs over the whole festival.

Known as The Valley of Beer, the Blues & Ale venues offer music, good food, sunny beer gardens, riverside gardens and terraces and a vast array of quality ales including Tramlines Beer the official festival beer brewed by Bradfield Brewery. From sales of which the Blues and Ale Trail has been financed.

The Main Blues Stage is hosted at The Creative Arts Development Space (CADS) in Shalesmoor on Saturday 21 July and features live bands from 4pm until midnight, with a real ale bar, barbeque and vegetarian food in the courtyard.

The Blues Main Stage is compered by Billy Martin Junior. Headliners the Hummingbird Blues Band will be joined by the likes of Soulfaces, M&J Blues and many more.

Sarah Nulty, Tramlines Festival Director said: “The Hop Blues and Ale Trail is a key part of the festival featuring R&B artists playing live in some of Sheffield’s best real ale pubs, all of which have won numerous national, regional and local CAMRA awards. The trail is funded by Tramlines Ale sales. This year we held a competition and Bradfield Brewery beat of stiff competition to be crowned 2012 Tramlines Ale winners so hop on the Buskers’ Bus, get a Tramlines Ale and soak up the atmosphere down at Kelham Island and its surrounds.”

On Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July the trail is connected by the free Tramlines Buskers’ Bus which sets off from trail sponsors The Hop.

The Buskers’ Bus connects the peripheral venues with the city centre, making sure festival goers can take in the whole Tramlines site with national artists as well as home grown talent, secret sets, sing-alongs and much, much more.

Both buses run a 30-minute circuit starting at The Hop. Buses will be staggered so that one leaves every 15 minutes on Saturday and Sunday. One running midday until 10pm and the other running 2pm until midnight.

As with last year, there will be plenty of surprise guests and treats. Revellers will have to hope they are on the right service to catch intimate performances and once in a lifetime experiences.

Tramlines is a festival unlike any other. Entry is free and it delivers a line-up that would normally cost a packet. Giving festival-goers a chance to see established artists alongside up and coming acts, across four outdoor stages and over 70 venues.

This year’s line up includes Roots Manuva, We Are Scientists, Reverend and The Makers, Ms Dynamite, Field Music, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Aluna George, James Yorkston, 65 Days of Static, Future of the Left, Toddla Sound, Mr Scruff, Eugene McGuinness Rebel MC with Nancy & Phoebe, Roska, Keep Shelly In Athens, Grooverider and much more

The festival runs from Friday 20 – Sunday 22 July 2012 and covers all musical genres from indie, electronica and blues to world music, folk and everything in between.