News: Rock N Roll Circus' Big Top just got bigger

Just when you thought the ink had dried on the poster, Rock N Roll Circus Sheffield has pulled the rug in the best possible way. 2026 just got bigger, brasher and decidedly more Bank Holiday, with organisers stretching the party into a four-day sprawl at Don Valley Bowl from Thursday 27 August.

The new opening salvo is hardly a gentle warm-up. The Kooks top Thursday with a full run-through of their 2006 debut album Inside In / Inside Out, two decades on from the record that injected Naïve and She Moves In Her Own Way into the national bloodstream. It’s the kind of anniversary set that trades in collective memory – sweat, cheap lager and the first time those riffs meant propelled us on to a nightclub dancefloor.

They’re joined by hometown romantics Milburn, celebrating 20 years of Well Well Well, and the legend that is Miles Kane, fresh from his own UK tour. It’s a Thursday that feels like a tribute to Sheffield’s guitar lineage.

Friday finds The Streets performing A Grand Don’t Come for Free in full; Saturday hands the reins to Wunderhorse with support from Baxter Dury, English Teacher and Fat Dog; and Sunday closes in rousing fashion with Richard Ashcroft, alongside The Fratellis and Cast.

Festival Director Ali O’Reilly said: “Opening the weekend with The Kooks performing Inside In / Inside Out in full, Milburn returning home and Miles Kane joining the bill feels like a statement night for Sheffield.

“What makes Rock N Roll Circus special is that we can celebrate iconic albums and artists that shaped a generation, while also giving space to the next wave of talent coming through. That mix of heritage and hometown pride is exactly what this festival is about.

“Sheffield has always brought an incredible atmosphere to Don Valley Bowl, and expanding the programme this way gives us even more room to create something memorable for the Bank Holiday weekend.”