Rock N Roll Circus 2025: A Statement Of Intent From Sheffield's New Ringmaster
- Matt Codd and Sophie Walker
- Sep 10, 2025
- 9 min read
The Circus was back in town recently, and boy did we all know about it. Rock N Roll Circus rolled into Sheffield for it's 3rd edition in the Steel City and it's safe to say that this year was a cut above not only previous versions of the festival, but arguably above any event put on in the city in recent memory. With a stacked musical lineup, supported by a talented set of circus performers, Rock N Roll Circus 2025 was unlike anything we've seen before. The festival took place over 5 bumper days, with us managing to get down for 3 of those and we had an absolute blast, full of wonder, vibes and a ton of Greggs.
Thursday
Kicking our weekend off on Thursday we caught one of our all-time favourites in Circa Waves opening the Electric Carousel Stage. It was the perfect way to start the weekend with the Liverpool quartet delivering something of a different set to what we expected, with more of their heavier rock cuts making the setlist in place of other bangers like 'Movies' and 'Sad Happy'. In their place fans were treated to a good helping of sophomore record Different Creatures, including a rare performance of 'Goodbye' which they introduced as "the biggest Queens of the Stone Age rip-off we've ever written". There was still place for the festival favourite 'T-Shirt Weather' before their set finished too, a brisk and breathless half an hour.
The heavens opened shortly after ironically but their have definitely been worst times to be stuck in a tent as we were treated to a stellar performance from Irish post-punk outfit The Murder Capital. We first saw them a couple of years ago headlining Float Along Festival at The Leadmill and they have only gotten better since. Already with three widely acclaimed albums under their belt, they looked at home on the Big Top stage with a set that was full of momentous energy and important messaging.
It was here that we made a rookie festival-goer error though after a visit to the Big Top Threads merch stand and seeing an limited edition poster for the day. Purchasing a paper poster is dangerous at the best of times but with the rain as it was we had to run home to preserve it, meaning we sadly missed the acclaimed Viagra Boys set. Of course, we returned for the main event ... And what an event it was.
Thursday's headliners, as it was on Wednesday too, were the legendary American rock band Queens of the Stone Age. We returned to find the Big Top heaving and fizzing with energy and anticipation, a feeling that was set to be well and truly elevated as the five-piece emerged from the wings to take the stage for what they announced was their final show of their ongoing European tour. What a fitting end it turned out to be.
There's a lot of talk about aura this year as a buzzword and if ever a show could simply described by that word, it was this one. From the very beginning, the band made the tent feel like the California desert. Whether that was down to the music emanating from them, or the ever-present dust present in the tent, something Josh Homme seemed to somewhat struggle with over the gig, we couldn't tell but we were loving being transported to their home ends. Every member swaggered through a blistering set and one that was vastly different in terms of content to their performance the previous evening, something that is rarely seen on a tour.
Their stage presence is truly unmatched too, of course a lot of discussion around QOTSA centres around Josh as the frontman but there is something magic about seeing the relationship and choreography between him, Troy Van Leeuwen and Mikey Shoes. It felt that everyone of them had their moment to shine and even as the three intertwined there were moments where Josh almost retreated and the other two advanced on the stage, emphasising that this was as much their moment and their music. It was truly a sight to behold and felt like a band that knew exactly where to be and what to do to have the crowd fully withing their grasp.
There were too many standout moments to name - the singalongs of 'No One Knows' and 'Make It Wit Chu', the haunting alternative intro given to the opening verse of 'Go With The Flow', Josh annointing the gig as the best of their whole tour before introducing the band and naming himself "Alex Turner", the chaos and humanity of 'Song For The Dead' which was paused so an audience member could receive treatment, even Josh not realising the crowd was chanting "Yorkshire" and instead thinking we were calling them "Dog-shit" as well as misremembering their last gig in Sheffield (it was 25 years ago to be fair, a lot has happened since then) - the evening is not one that we will forget for a long, long time.
Friday
How does a festival top something like that, well it doesn't but in Rock N Roll Circus' case it pivots and platforms even more excellence. Unsurprisingly most of our day was spent at the BBC Introducing Stage seeing some of our absolute brightest sparks on the local scene. It was kicked off with the always brilliant Alice Ede, the perfect vibe-setter to a day of music with a set showcasing her talent for crafting music and filled to the brim with potential. Next up for us on the same stage was a band filled with just as much potential in Sundress. One of our favourite newcomers of the year, Sundress have quickly become one of our most-talked about artists, and rightfully so. We cannot wait for the next Sundress fix, whether it be new music or the next gig.
The Crooks were up next for us again on the BBC Introducing Stage with a wonderfully energetic set, loaded with energy and the feeling we were seeing another class act in Sheffield's most illustrious genre. Following that we couldn't miss Melanie C in the Big Top. It was an excellent throwback set from Sporty Spice with a healthy dose of her solo work and the obligatory Spice Girls singalongs to finish. In a fantastically jarring change, we had to get over to the BBC Introducing Stage one more time for the headliner, FEMUR. Another of our latest obsessions, FEMUR delivered a furious and frenetic half hour ride of a set, blistering through their already excellent discography while barely taking a breath - Something their amps did not thank them for as they manage to blow one of them out before the end, truly living up to the festival's name. Finisher 'I Don't Like' is a highlight of any day you see it live with frontman Felix Renshaw jumping into the crowd and starting an incredible mosh pit to finish.
To finish Friday it was an honour to see one of the biggest artists in the world over the last 40 years take to the Big Top Stage as Bryan Adams proved once again why he is such a celebrated individual. Adams put on an incredible show, tearing through his extensive hit list with a youthfulness that belied his 65 years of age. The setlist married his biggest songs like 'Run To You', 'Summer of 69' and '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You' with brand new tracks from his latest album Roll With The Punches, released on the day of his performance.
It wasn't all about the storied discography though, Adams' and was incredible to witness, especially the awe-inspiring guitars of Keith Scott. Not to mention the appearance of flying inflatable boxing gloves and flying cars for a couple of numbers as well as guest appearances, including by Mel C for renditions of the Spice Girls hit 'Say You'll Be There' and their duet 'When You're Gone'. Adams also invited Cassyette back on to the stage to perform a cover of 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac too, with him and his band also taking on covers of 'Twist and Shout' and 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' too. The fact that Adams was able to sideline some of his own material to perform covers like this highlighted his prestigious showmanship for us as the crowd ate it up. It was a masterful display from a veteran still so clearly at the top of his game.
Saturday
Our final day at the Circus came on Saturday for the very special cause, to celebrate 20 years of Sheffield favourites Reverend And The Makers. Our first artist of the Saturday was another of Sheffield's most promising singer-songwriters in Harriet Rose. Hers is a reputation that continues to grow, not only in our region but wider afield too, and rightly so. Her set was reminiscent of those videos you see of global megastars just starting out and having already gotten the attention of the likes of The Lottery Winners, Pete Doherty and Rev, we can't wait to see that rise happen.
It was a day spent largely under the Big Top, in part because of the unrelenting rain but also the depth of quality to be found in there. The Lottery Winners were their ever-charismatic and brilliant selves and they have become well-suited to the biggest stages over the last few years having toured with the likes of Robbie Williams, they made the Big Top their own. They were followed by Pete Doherty and Carl Barat of The Libertines. It was a wholly enthralling and mesmerising acoustic set, with the duo performing some of their respective hits and combining to the delight of the crowd for some of the biggest Libertines tracks, producing some of the biggest singalongs of the weekend.
We decided to brave the rain after this though, firstly for the raucous indie punk of The Denabys, who performed with an irresistable energy drawing many out of the shelter of the Big Top for their furious performance. Contrastingly, over on the Electric Carousel stage there was the legendary parody band Everly Pregnant Brothers, featuring Pulp's own Nick Banks on drums. As expected they drew an even bigger amount out of the tent, and even had spectators lining that edge of the tent, hoping to get the best of both worlds - we wish we'd thought of that.
Back under the Big Top next was a DJ set by the iconic Groove Armada filled with incredible mashups and some of their biggest hits like 'Superstylin'. It was the perfect build up to the main event and there was very much a feeling within the tent afterwards that something monumental was coming. Following on outside we caught the beginning of Sheffield's Matilda Shakes on the BBC Introducing Stage with their signature brand of anthemic indie rock on full display. We then wandered back over to the Electric Carousel Stage for some wonderful soulful alt-pop by yet another hotly-tipped local artist in Precious Pepala. This set blew us away, with powerful lyrics tackling a host of themes and messages all interwoven beautifully over genre-hopping melodies and beats, all anchored by Pepala's powerful and distinctive voice, it was up there with one of our favourite performances of the weekend.
The main event though of course was a celebration of all things Reverend And The Makers and it became immediately apparent how special this performance would be as they were introduced passionately by Steve Bracknall, aka Chris McClure. The band came on along with flagbearers and jumped straight into 'Bassline' and from that point, there was nothing else happening in the world, it was all about these Sheffield icons. The pace and energy was absolutely relentless both from the band as well as within the crowd. The band rattled off banger after banger with a lot of love being shown to their debut The State Of Things right up to newest release 'Haircut'.
It was a wondrous display and they embraced the Circus like no other, their performance of ... had the and joined by pretty much all of the incredible circus acts within the tent as flamethrowers lit up the stage and high wire artists hovered above us. Both Jon and Chris McClure alluded to the emotion before and during the show and it was palpable throughout, with the brothers having lost their father earlier this year. The band must have felt how special this gig would be beforehand as the whole gig was recorded and is now available for purchase here should you want to experience it for the first time or relive it time and time again. We'd recommend it.
And as 'Silence Is Talking' blared out and stuck in our heads on our way home, we came to terms with the fact that this incredible weekend was now over. It was one of the best events we've experienced in this city in a good long while, with bucket list artists and local heroes galore. Rock n Roll Circus have truly outdone themselves with their 2025 offering and we're not sure how it can be topped. No doubt the organisers have something up their sleeves for when the circus rolls back into town from 4-6 September 2026, we already can't wait!
