It may never rain but pour.

But not even the biggest deluges could dampen the festival spirit at Tramlines in Sheffield, which bounced back into action for its sixth year.

Inspired by the city’s tram network, it brought communities from all walks of life together over a three day music and arts spectacular which enveloped the city centre and some of its main parks.

And it was not just the impressive headliner bill of The Charlatans, Basement Jaxx and late replacements De La Soul that got music lovers to brave the rain but the hundreds of acts nestled in every nook and cranny in bars, clubs , galleries and the cathedral that brought Steel City alive.

I arrived on Saturday to throngs of singing and dancing revellers who had transformed the normal prosaic main shopping streets into a music maelstrom.

For this weekend, the roads were not choked with traffic or street wardens but buskers, circus performers and weird and wonderful street theatre.

Martha Reeves was the first act of my day in the festival’s new main arena in Ponderosa Park.

She may no longer be able to hit the high notes but the telltale beats of her classic floor sliders were enough to get me twisting– not a bad response to a performer in her 74th year.

The soundtrack to my early teens, Basement Jaxx brought ballet, catwalk couture and surrealism to a set that became for the most part a giant sing-a-long.

One of the highlights of the day was Leeds-based Submotion Orchestra, whose lead singer Ruby Wood hails from Paddock, who took over Sheffield University’s Octagon stage.

A seven piece act, they created an incredible trip-hop, ambient and dub step heavy set with live guitars, drums and trumpets whose build ups and base drops were just simply hypnotising in their artistry.

It was the pounding rain on the windows that woke us up on the Sunday.

However, being able to stay in a friend’s house rather than a tent was one of the festival’s benefits by allowing to people to find respite from 72 hours straight outside in the unruly Pennine weather.

A slippy downhill stomp to the other side of the city led to Endcliffe Park’s Folk Forest, where, slightly sheltered by the trees we watched several uplifting acts.

London’s Furs brought psychedelic-pop tinged melodies to the peaceful glade, while Scarborough’s Buffalo beat-pop and strong lyrics got us dancing in the mud puddles.

Crowds at the Ponderosa main stage at Tramlines in Sheffield

The moment the rain got heavier indicated it was our time to head back out into the full force of the elements at the main stage.

I think it was only the anticipation of seeing performance poet Kate Tempest for the first time that drove us away from the warmth of Eccleshall Road’s endless bars and pizza places.

Attracting a substantial, amphibious crowd, her full force launch into her thought-provoking performance pushed all thoughts of the weather into oblivion.

A voice of our young generation, her powerful, intricate and rhythmic verses tackled the impact of the recession while at the same time invigorating the audience with their focus on how to protest the situation and regain some element of control.

Much of her set was taken from her album everybody Down, a sprawling Shakespearian narrative about three people in a love triangle that talks about their lines of work which are destroying their lives.

Enlivening, cathartic, incredible– she was by far my favourite act of the entire festival and is just the type of dissenting voice that needs to be heard more often.

The night ended with a trip to see Sheffield electro outfit Blossomer, whose driving, atmospheric beats raised the rafters of the iconic cathedral venue, and a finale sing-a-long with the outspoken Billy Bragg.

Although not always so nuanced, his topical songs about the politics of hope, along with his many supportive references to Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn’s socially-progressive and democratic party leadership campaign left the audience re-energized with hope and zest for a fight to create a fairer and brighter future for all.