Rock N Roll Circus 2026 Comes to a Thundery Close

Rock N Roll Circus 2026 review by Rob Johnson and photography by Gary Mather

In the three years since its inception in 2023, Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus has expanded from Sheffield to a second site in Norwich and has also gone from strength to strength in terms of lineup to the extent that it has now arguably eclipsed Tramlines as the best musical festival in Sheffield. Let’s dive in…

Miles Kane kicks things off on the Thursday with a typically assured performance featuring classic tracks like ‘Come Closer’ and ‘Inhaler’ getting the crowd in the mood but it is a triumphant run through of ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ that proves to be the set highlight.

Cruz Beckham & the Breakers are up next and while he’s a fairly competent guitar player, it’s almost impossible not to argue that this slot could and should have been filled by a ‘proper’ band and not some multi-millionaire’s plaything. The songs are forgettable, Beckham is a distinctly average singer and frontman, and by the time he almost apologetically delivers a cover of the Beatles’ classic ‘Let It Be’, most of the audience have lost interest.

Photo Copyright © Gary Mather
Day One

Anyway, let’s forget about that and turn our attention to Milburn. The Sheffield band are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their beloved debut album Well Well Well in 2026 and so the adoring crowd are treated to the album in full from start to finish. It’s a life affirming, unforgettable set in which lesser played songs like ‘Last Bus’ and ‘Brewster’ are just as rapturously received as fan favourites ‘Send in the Boys’ and ‘Roll Out the Barrel’. For this audience, with this band, in this city, everyone knows every word to every song. It’s an almost overwhelming experience. Traditional set closer ‘What You Could’ve Won’ is even more prescient in the context of it being 20 years since its original release and here it’s followed by a victory lap of ‘Midnight Control’, the only representative of their 2017 comeback album Time; ‘Lo and Behold’, the opening track from their second record; and finally, ‘What Will You Do (When the Money Goes)?, the latter of which is given a fresh lease of life as a set closer. It’s a fitting end to another stellar Sheffield performance from some of their favourite sons.

Photo Copyright © Gary Mather
Day Two

Milburn in their home town was always going to be a tough act to follow and The Kooks don’t really have enough great songs to justify their headline slot. ‘Sofa Song’ and ‘Always Where I Need to Be’ make for a great start; the latter song, possibly the band’s finest hour, perhaps appears a little early in the set, however. ‘She Moves in Her Own Way’ receives a strong crowd reaction and still sounds as exuberant as ever but the set sags badly in the middle, with much of the already thin crowd lacking much enthusiasm. While they finish strongly with ‘You Don’t Love Me’ (a truly great song), ‘Ooh La’ and ‘Naive’, the latter of which does provide a true collective moment of joy, there is a nagging feeling that we are possibly witnessing the end of The Kooks as a festival headliner.

Photo Copyright © Gary Mather
Day Three

If day one of Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus was all about looking back, day three showcases the future of UK alternative music. Basht, one of our four Irish bands on the bill, come bursting out of the traps with ‘Keira Knightley’ before tearing through future classics such as ‘Vain’ and ‘Gone Girl’, finishing on a clattering rendition of ‘Wild Horses’. Limerick band THEATRE wow the second stage with Maeve O’Shea’s soaring vocals cutting through the wind and rain on tracks such as ‘You Are’ and ‘The Fall’ before Gurriers, yet another Irish band, tear up the Main Stage. Judging by the intensity of the crowd reaction, this is a band that is going places. A punishing ‘Nobody’s Coming to Save You’ sets the tone for a genuinely fantastic set. Frontman Dan Hoff prowls the stage like a demented circus master while his band bash out frantic post-punk that is impossible to ignore. The crowd is swept along on a wave of noise and set closer ‘Crybaby’ closes things out in style.

After such a sonic assault across two stages, Westside Cowboy, a late replacement for English Teacher, are a little underwhelming, although ‘Pin Up Boys’ has everyone moving, but that is nothing compared to the fanatical reaction received by Fat Dog. If a band takes to the stage with a violinist and sax player before proceeding to play some of the most brutal indie dance music since The Prodigy were riding high, you know that they mean business. And Fat Dog mean business. Songs like ‘King of the Slugs’ and ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ confirm the band’s status as one of the UK’s foremost live acts and ‘Running’, surely one of the most vital songs of the decade so far, sees everyone go apeshit, both on and off stage.

Photo Copyright © Gary Mather
Day Four

Bleech 9:3 play to an absolutely massive crowd on the second stage; we try to slip in around the side but end up wedged between a bunch of teenagers with phones held aloft and it is clear from their reaction to songs such as ‘Figure 8’ and ‘Ceiling’ that these songs already mean a lot to people. The kids are alright. The fact that The Molotovs, a trio of posers performing a bad cover version of The Jam and Paul Weller, play to a much smaller crowd on the same stage despite being higher on the bill only confirms this.

And so, to the main event. I knew Wunderhorse were massive; this was my fourth time seeing them, but I didn’t know they had become this massive. I’ve been going to Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus since its inception and I’ve never seen a crowd reaction like this. Not from Noel Gallagher. Not from Queens of the Stone Age. This is next level stuff. From the first seconds of ‘Midas’ to the final haunting moments of ‘Rain’, the crowd sing along to every single word. It’s one of the most powerful moments of audience-performer symbiosis I’ve ever seen. While it is slightly disappointing to see the band’s incredible debut album only represented by three songs (‘Butterflies’, ‘Girl Behind the Glass’ and ‘Teal’ – the latter of which gets a bigger response than any other song across the entire weekend), the young crowd have clearly taken Wunderhorse to their hearts and it’s heartening to see. Based on this set, the only way is up for Jacob Slater and his band.

That’s a wrap on Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus for 2026, a festival that is fast becoming the highlight of the summer season. I’m already planning for next year.