If you like your music festival headliners with a side order of acrobatic virtuosity, look no further than Rock N Roll Circus. There are just 3 weeks to go until the circus rolls into Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield with a stellar musical line up.
After the success of last year’s inaugural event, the festival returns with more big names headlining across the weekend. In an upgrade to last year, there’s an additional stage – 3 in total – allowing for more up and coming acts to showcase their talent.
Opening on Thursday 29th August, the line up has been curated by headliner Richard Hawley. Proving that the event supports music royalty as well as emerging artists, Gilbert O’Sullivan, The Coral and The Divine Comedy will perform alongside acts such as Malah Palinka, Sonni Mills and Shanghai Treason
These local artists will provide a great mix of styles, so there will be something for everyone on Thursday. University of Sheffield alumni Malah Palinka are an 8-piece ensemble who offer funk, jazz and neo-soul inspired tunes, while Mills’ alternative indie charm helps deliver poetic lyrics. Shanghai Treason are described as flat cap banjo punks that are going from strength to strength.
On Friday, dance music giants Becky Hill and Joel Corry will grace the main stage alongside Issey Cross and Cian Ducrot. On the other stages, you’ll find Ben Ellis who has a fast-growing fan base and is becoming one of the UK’s most exciting artists. Rainbow Frog Biscuits, whose real name is Amber, is a singer-songwriter influenced by the likes of dodie, Kate Bush and The Divine Comedy. Look out for some lyrical storytelling and quirky instrumentation from her.
The final day brings more local talent, from the well known to the new and rising. Headlining the Main Stage will be local legends Milburn who have handpicked a great line up for the rest of the day. They’ve described it as “a real honour” to have Libertines front man Peter Doherty supporting them. Jake Bugg will also feature, ahead of the release of his new album next month and the exciting St. Helen’s outfit The K’s will bring their infectious melodies and rock n roll attitude.
South Yorkshire’s own City Parking and Harriet Rose are on the bill, the latter having headlined the legendary Leadmill earlier in the year. Gia Ford returns having played on the new music stage last year, and Seb Lowe, fresh from packing out festival tents already this summer, will bring his witty Gen Z tunes to the Circus.
If that’s not enough for you, Rock N Roll Circus is a feast for the senses. Alongside this brilliant, three-day programme of live music over three stages, the Big Top offers an immersive experience that includes all the fun of a festival-style travelling circus.
This year’s event will feature some of the finest aerialists, jugglers and fire performers on the planet. This includes the aerialist, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, whose most recent work has included working on swinging trapeze in the Netflix Original film – Enola Holmes 2 – as well as performing on the Royal Albert Hall’s stage as part of the One Young World Summit.
Juggling sensation Farqward Presto will be at Don Valley this summer as well as Gem Vaudeville, the Fire Queen. Mother of dragons, extravagant costume designer, expert stilt and character artist and absolute pyromaniac, Gemma works with many incredible circus companies and has worked alongside many talented celebrities including The Libertines, Paloma Faith, and Jimmy Carr.
All in all, it’s an event not to be missed. We were there last year, and it was outstanding. No doubt, this year’s event – and its high flying aerialists – will take it to even dizzier heights.
Tickets are available and you’ll find all the info on https://www.rocknrollcircus.co.uk/info-2024
