Lightning Threads

Sheffield’s own soul-swaggering trio, Lightning Threads deal in grit, groove, and rhythm. At core, a band that lives for the push and pull of authentic live music: squeezed through valve amps and carried by raw collective moments.
Tom Jane (guitar/vocals) slinging riffs and licks which veer from melodic subtle moments to searing solos. Locking down the low-end groove is Sam Burgum (bass/vocals), providing the glue and the bounce all at once. Then Hugh Butler (drums/keys) shifts between thunderous backbeats and textured organ parts, creating a much bigger sound than you might expect.
You can hear the DNA straight away — the late ‘60s British blues explosion runs right through us. Bands like The Doors, Rory Gallagher, Santana, Cream, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Peter Green's Mac, Free — that raw, exploratory energy where blues met volume. But we’re just as shaped by the electric blues artists that came before them — B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sister Rosetta — who were the originators of that emotional weight and storytelling. And then there’s the modern torchbearers: SRV, Gary Clark Jr., Kingfish, Marcus King, Bonamassa, Samantha Fish, DeWolff, Fantastic Negrito — artists who’ve taken that tradition and kept it alive into the present day. Somewhere in the middle of all that is where we sit — we're not trying to recreate it, but to carry it forward, with our own stamp on it.
Established in 2019, the band cut their teeth on the Sheffield circuit, before headlining The Leadmill in 2023 to launch their debut record Off That Lonely Road. This wasn’t just a gig — it was a milestone. A custom Martin Bedford poster. A room full of people who’d followed the journey from the early shows, all packed into a venue that meant so much to the city. Now that The Leadmill has gone, it makes that night feels even more significant in hindsight. It was loud, emotional, and a proper moment.
Right now, everything is about the second album Trinkets: out now on vinyl, cd and streaming. A step up in every way, the songs are bigger, the sound is bolder. The band have just completed a full UK tour in May, but will be back out again on tour with the awesome Blue Nation from September, as well as two shows with Dom Martin in November. That’s where the songs really come alive — on stage, in front of people, changing a little bit every night.