It was day two of Rock N Roll Circus and to avoid the chaos of traffic (as always in “Sunny” Sheffield), I got down early.
I was greeted at the entrance by the whole circus troupe, including an elephant! which was a lovely surprise for punters to see, and just reminded me of why the festival is a special one.
The Rock N Roll Circus troupe greeting punters as the gates opened on day two at Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield
Photo Credit: Hayley Grice
After a quick nosey at the troupe and seeing some tricks, I mentally prepared for a packed day, with a mint headliner in the form of The Streets, but first we had plenty more to get stuck into.
Hak Baker opened up the Big Top stage for day two at Rock N Roll Circus 2026 in Sheffield – Photo Credit: Hayley Grice
I started my day off in the Big Top tent, with London’s Hak Baker.
Tell you what, he drew in an impressive crowd after being on not long after the gates opened, he spoke eloquently and openly about alot of the meaning of his songs, had some great chats and banter with the crowd and even some er, somewhat inappropriate heckles (if you know, you know!) – but overall, it was a bloody lovely start to the day, even if some of the song subjects were a bit heavy, but Hak’s music was thought-provoking, easy to listen to and just harmonious – a lovely set.
FIND OUR MORE ABOUT HAK BAKER HERE
Next up was another London artist, but flipping the genre to grime and rap now…
Casisdead on the Big Top stage of day two of Rock N Roll Circus in Sheffield 2026 – Photo Credit: Hayley Grice
Now I’ll be very honest, this isn’t my scene music wise at all, but to say it was an early start for them, CASisDead brought in an impressive crowd.
There was plenty of movement and good use of the stage, infact, they didn’t stay still! But regardless of whether this is your thing or not, I had to admire the passion, precision and smoothness of CASisDead’s performance, there was a fair bit of chanting and singing along from the crowd and towards the end, it was bouncing.
An enjoyable performance and certainly an energy boost!
CHECK OUT MORE FROM CASISDEAD HERE
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Yorkshire’s own Ellur on the second stage of Rock N Roll Circus 2026 in Sheffield – Photo Credit: Hayley Grice
I decided to head over to the second stage as I’d heard some amazing things about Ellur and had yet to witness it myself, and honestly?
I was blown away, and it wasn’t just her love of where she’s from, true Yorkshire grit or her ability to have fun on stage, her vocals are stunning and she interacted with the crowd just the right amount for me.
She came on in a floaty black outfit that Stevie Nicks would envy, giving little nuggets of wisdom about each track before her and her band kicked off each song, at one point, even starting a “YORKSHIRE, YORKSHIRE, YORKSHIRE” chant, which, instant approval from me.
Whilst I still need to brush up on the names of her tracks, it was a very fun, breezy and enjoyable set and I fully intend on adding some of her stuff to my playlist, what a lass.
FIND OUT WHAT ELLUR IS UP TO HERE
Next up was another London band (I sense there is an accidental theme here?) but one that needs limited introduction…
Babyshambles on stage at Rock N Roll Circus 2026 in Sheffield – Photo Credit: Hayley Grice
It was Babyshambles!
Earlier in the week, we’d lost the music legend that is Dolly Parton and frontman Pete Doherty stormed onto the stage with a huge smile of his face to the country legends hit “Jolene”, giving a cheeky little snippet of it himself whilst he and the band arranged themselves.
The band have had a busy year it seems, a couple of days after this, they were off down south to play a show in Margate and have got their album “Live At KoKo” being released in October 2026, so I was intrigued to see if they were going to switch up their setlist.
It was a longer set than I was expecting, with what I believe to be primarily their older, more recognisable hits, such as “F*ck Forever”, “Pipedown” and “Carry On Up The Morning” but also a couple of surprises in there, including an impressive cover snippet of “Waterfall” by the Stone Roses.
There does seem to have been a change in Pete Doherty since I saw him this time last year with Carl Barât and The Libertines, he seems more at ease, chatty and generally more confident, which was nice to see.
A good set, even though I’m not overly familiar with their song catalogue, I enjoyed it all the same.
SEE WHAT BABYSHAMBLES ARE UP TO HERE
After a quick meal break and wander around the grounds of Don Valley Bowl, it was soon time for the Friday headliner and the Big Top tent was packed, for The Streets…
Mike Skinner of The Streets, on stage performing at Rock N Roll Circus 2026 in Sheffield – Photo Credit: Hayley Grice
Now The Streets have been on tour this year, playing their 2004 album “A Grand Don’t Come For Free” in full, I had heard really good things and was intrigued.
The stage set alone was impressive, having a full on bus stop shelter there, just like the album cover, which would become paramount and heavily featured in the Streets performance.
Mike Skinner swaggered onto the stage through the back of the bus shelter, appearing in a full black Stone Island set (get the badge in!) with the band following suit around the bus stop.
It was a performance of two sets, with the first set being that infamous second studio album, kicking off with “It Was Supposed To Be Easy” which instantly had fans singing along and getting involved.
One thing we can all agree on, is that The Street have really captured the essence of a concept album, whilst highlighting the ups and downs of life, navigating alcholism, nights out, relationships, arguments and vandalism.
Even going as far as writing “You’re Not From New York, You’re From Rotherham” on the bus stop in white pen (if you know, then you know), and that only added to the overall feel of the set, making it an experience.
Of course, the big hitters got plenty of attention, with “Blinded By The Lights” and an emotional “Dry Your Eyes” really getting a huge reaction from the crowd, but the main highlight for me was “Fit But You Know It” – an anthem of the noughties and just amazing sing-along ability, it just went absolutely off, as you would expect it to!
Other highlights came from the second part of the set, including “Who’s Got The Bag” and “Has It Come To This?”, these were particularly excellent tracks, but they ended strong on “Take Me As I Am” and got an incredible reception.
It was a bloody incredible atmosphere to be a part of, I already knew it deep down but it’s evident that Mike Skinner is one of the best storytellers in the music industry, he has a way of connecting and telling how it is through his music and it has connected with fans and people from the early 00’s, right through to present day, as there was a real mix of age and background in the crowd.
It was a cracking set and an excellent choice for a headliner, definitely worth seeing if you get opportunity.
FIND ALL THINGS THE STREETS HERE
Well that concludes day two of Rock N Roll Circus at Sheffield, it was still a bit damp and overcast, but the drinks were flowing, the music was on point and everyone seemed to be having a mint time!
If you fancy hearing about the story of the Rock N Roll Circus, you can catch Managing Director Ali O’Reily chatting to Carl on the RGM Podcast, click below to watch it in full:
CHECK OUT RGM’S FESTIVAL COVERAGE HERE
FIND ALL THINGS ROCK N ROLL CIRCUS HERE