Now a staple of the city’s live calendar, Rock N’ Roll Circus has quickly grown from a novel concept into a bank holiday tradition, drawing fans from across the UK for its blend of big-name acts and left-field entertainment. The 2026 edition promises to build on this reputation with upgraded production, expanded bar and food offerings, and more interactive spaces designed to keep the energy high from doors open to curfew. For Sheffield, it underlines Don Valley Bowl’s status as one of the north’s key outdoor music destinations.

What sets Rock N’ Roll Circus apart is the way it merges world-class performances with a visually striking circus atmosphere. Attendees can experience live music under a huge big top, surrounded by aerial performers, acrobats, fire-breathers and roaming street acts that transform the site into a surreal, immersive playground. Between sets, festival-goers can wander through installations, grab a drink at themed bars or catch pop-up performances, ensuring that there are no lulls in the day and that the spectacle extends far beyond the main stage.

As the ex-frontman of Britpop legends The Verve, Richard Ashcroft brings an iconic pedigree to the lineup. Best known for anthems like “Bittersweet Symphony” and “The Drugs Don’t Work,” his solo catalogue has cemented him as one of Britain’s most enduring songwriters, able to shift from widescreen euphoria to intimate confessionals with ease. His live shows are renowned for their emotional heft and rousing delivery, promising a headline set that weaves together Verve classics, solo staples and newer material for a multi-generational crowd.

The Fratellis will take the stage as main support, adding their vibrant indie-rock energy to the night. Celebrating 20 years of their debut album ‘Costello Music’, they’re primed for a set packed with festival-ready singalongs like “Chelsea Dagger” and “Henrietta,” the kind of choruses built for mass, beer-in-the-air catharsis.

Also on the bill, Cast keep the spirit of ’90s Britpop alive with favourites such as “Walkaway” and “Alright,” ensuring that long-time fans of the era are as well served as younger attendees discovering these songs for the first time.

The Don Valley Bowl will once again host the Circus, with clear instructions for customer entry, gate times and site layout to be provided ahead of the event. The festival maintains an all-ages policy, allowing under-14s to attend with an accompanying adult, while children under five can enter for free, reinforcing its reputation as a family-friendly weekender. Attendees are advised to plan travel carefully, as there is no parking on site, making public transport, walking, ride-shares or dedicated shuttle services the most practical options for getting to and from the Big Top in style.

Tickets go on sale this Friday. Presale sign up is available here.

Ashcroft, a two-time Ivor Novello winner, is expected to showcase his extensive body of work, including tracks from his latest album, ‘Acoustic Hymns‘ which reached No.2 in the UK Album Chart in 2022.The former Britpop sensation will not be alone on stage with special guests yet to be announced to join him for the evening. The event is scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm.

In addition to Richard Ashcroft, the 2024 lineup includes pop sensation Mika, set to headline on Tuesday, July 9, and Passenger to perform on Thursday, July 11. Following the success of their 2023 reunion tour, JLS will command the stage on Friday, July 12. The festival also offers ‘An Evening in Conversation with Monty Don’ on Monday, July 8, providing a unique blend of music and dialogue throughout the week.

Further acts for the 2024 edition, including headliners for Wednesday, July 10, and Saturday, July 13, are yet to be revealed.

Kew The Music, celebrated for its picturesque setting at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kew Gardens, has a rich history of hosting renowned artists as part of its Heritage Live concert series. Past performers to have graced the stage include The Human League, Van Morrison, Billy Ocean, and Mary J Blige.

The festival spans a week, featuring diverse picnic concerts designed to cater to a wide spectrum of musical tastes and interests. The festival organisers aim to create an immersive experience for attendees, combining music with the serene and iconic beauty of Kew Gardens. Guests are encouraged to bring their own food and drink to the event, making it a distinctive feature in the British festival calendar.

Alongside Kew The Music, Richard Ashcroft has announced his return to hometown Wigan, with a show scheduled for July 20 at Robin Park. This signifies his first hometown performance in over 25 years in the town where his illustrious career began.

For those eager to partake in the Kew The Music 2024 experience, tickets are currently on sale and are available for purchase here, and additional announcements are anticipated in the months leading up to the event. Stay tuned for further headliner updates on what promises to be a notable highlight in the summer music calendar.

Speaking on Exorcism of Youth, frontman Kyle Falconer said, “This is my baby.” The album delivers the classic indie-rock tracks that the band are known for but also promises to show off a “new-found maturity and darker undercurrent” as told in a press release.

The album has already garnered glowing reviews, with The Daily Star writing “The indie veterans managed to get the chemistry cracking back in the studio after years apart. Calm ballads and energetic synthpop show they’ve learned new tricks… they’re still capable of delivering a knockout blow.”

Similarly, Northern Exposure wrote, “Their most vulnerable album yet… Every listen will uncover fresh little gems.”

The album includes their latest single, “Black Mirror,” with frontman Kyle Falconer explaining in a press release that the tone of the song is closer to revenge than romance.

Falconer shared, “‘Black Mirror’ isn’t a love song as it may appear on the surface, it’s an anti-hero escape into the consciousness of a person grappling with dark feelings in the early hours of a break-up. It’s schadenfreude, it’s about relishing in someone else’s misery when they have watched your demise. Basically looking at how people can be too afraid nowadays to feel those ugly emotions and just white wash them away but it’s okay to feel that sometimes, but it’s how you act on it that counts.”

The View worked with Grammy-award winning producer, Youth to create Exorcism of Youth, known for his work with The Verve, The Charlatans and Jesus & Mary Chain.

The band’s reunion follows a tumultuous period for the band, during which an on-stage fight took place during a show, leading them to cancel subsequent shows. Speaking on the fight, Falconer said, “It was just personal stuff. We’ve made up about it now. It’s too deep to explain. It’s all good again. I think we’re better for it. We’re all best pals again now.”

He continued, “These things have happened numerous times in every country in the world. Being in The View can be volatile sometimes because everyone’s got their own ideas. But we’ve been through worse than that. We’ve both apologised and it’s fine – if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t still be in a band.”

Despite their self-proclaimed short tempers and ability to clash, The View are quickly approaching their 20th anniversary as a band and are keen to keep going strong.

The View are set to embark on a UK tour across November and December. Tickets are available to purchase here.

02/11/23 – Rescue Rooms – Nottingham

03/11/23 – O2 Academy 2 – Liverpool

04/11/23 – O2 Academy 2 – Manchester

10/11/23 – Waterfront – Norwich

15/11/23 – Junction – Cambridge

16/11/23 – Marble Factory – Bristol

18/11/23 – Concorde 2 – Brighton

22/11/23 – Old Fire Station – Carlisle

23/11/23 – Tramshed – Cardiff

24/11/23 – Warehouse – Leeds

25/11/23 – University – Keele

29/11/23 – Engine Rooms – Southampton

30/11/23 – The Mill – Birmingham

01/12/23 – Foundry – Sheffield

02/12/23 – University – Newcastle

07/12/23 – Scala – London

13/12/23 – O2 Academy – Edinburgh

14/12/23 – Grand Hall – Kilmarnock

16/12/23 – P&J Live – Hall C – Aberdeen

17/12/23 – Caird Hall – Dundee

18/12/23 – Caird Hall – Dundee

Exorcism of Youth is out now. Purchase here.

See yous on the road

Pre-order our new album ‘Exorcism of Youth’ from the official store to get pre-sale access to tickets: https://t.co/SfdoXV05dp

General sale begins Friday 5th May at 9am. pic.twitter.com/aYPHXenjBQ

— The View (@viewofficial) April 28, 2023

Fans of The View who have pre-ordered the upcoming album of theirs, Exorcism Of Youth will receive access to a ticket pre-sale, which will open on Wednesday 3 May. Pre-sale availability will still remain live until the tickets go on a general sale on Friday 5 May at 9 am. For more information, it will be on the band’s website through here. Tickets will be available on the Ticketmaster page through here.

It has also been confirmed that The View will perform at other live shows. Intimate headline gigs at Manchester’s Deaf Institute (May 10) and London Oslo (May 11) are already sold out. Numerous festivals are scheduled along the way. Calling at: Neighbourhood Weekender (May 27), Darwen Live (May 27-28), TRNSMT (July 7), Greenwich Royal Naval College (July 8 plus Kaiser Chiefs as special guests), The Mighty Boof (August 18-19), Victorious (August 25) and Shiiine (November 19)

After five years of inactivity within the band and the band reconvened, the three old friends came to a realisation of the fact of how much they have missed everything during their time as a band, the rush of the sight of an audience’s reaction to their performances, the thought of staying close together and a simple jam idea evolving into a song within a second.

Their connection gathered place in Granada Spain as they focused on new material with the Grammy Award winning producer, Youth (The Verve, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Charlatans). This resulted in their latest upcoming album, Exorcism Of Youth and it weaves natural-sounding sonic elements into their renowned rock ‘n’ roll feel in the album. Their first new track in 8 years, “Just Like”, gained attention from Jo Whiley at Radio 2 and received a very positive reaction. This was also followed by being named Track of the Week at Amazing Radio. The return of The View continued to gain traction with the follow-up of their song in the album, “Neon Lights”.

UK TOUR DATES:

November

02/11/2023 – Rescue Rooms – Nottingham

03/11 – 02 Academy 2 – Liverpool

04/11 – 02 Academy 2 – Manchester

10/11 – Waterfront – Norwich

15/11 – Cambridge Junction – Cambridge

16/11 – Marble Factory – Bristol

18/11 – Concorde 2 – Brighton

22/11 – Old Fire Station – Carlisle

23/11 – Tramshed – Cardiff

24/11 – Leeds Warehouse – Leeds

25/11 – Keele University – Keele

29/11 – Engine Rooms – Southampton

30/11 – The Mill – Birmingham

December

01/12 – Foundry – Sheffield

02/12 – Newcastle University – Newcastle

07/12 – Scala – London

Richard announces new October headline shows in Manchester and Brighton
Tickets go on general sale 9:30am Friday from https://t.co/CDauzTJiPv
But Fans can get presale ticket access from 9:30am Thursday via https://t.co/QiZy3QVb8Q pic.twitter.com/oTwoqSMBjA

— Richard Ashcroft (@richardashcroft) March 22, 2022

The tour promises to have a number of Ashcroft’s old The Verve hits, as well as some new tracks, such as from his latest album, Acoustic Hymns Vol.1. Released in October last year, the album seemed to please fans, reaching no. 2 on the UK Official Albums Chart and featuring Ashcroft reimagining “some of his biggest shows“. It even featured another star of the nineties, Liam Gallagher, on the album’s track “C’Mon People (We’re Making it Now)“, a remix of which was released in January.

Some other things Ashcroft’s got coming up include a part in Edinburgh’s The Big Top concert series, occurring on 17^th June at the Royal Highland Centre. The festival has managed to attract a number of big names, with the likes of Madness, Biffy Clyro and Fatboy Slim also due to headline.

Then there’s news of an all-day special performance in London’s Crystal Palace Bowl, joining in a series of gigs by South Facing Festival, which is still to announce some of the other performers joining its stage in the near future.

It’s good to see him back in action, especially after pulling out of last year’s Tramlines Festival in Sheffield, not feeling comfortable with it being used by the government as a “testing programme“ for COVID-19’s transmissibility. He said at the time “Apologies to my fans for any disappointment but the festival was informed over 10 days ago that I wouldn’t be playing once it had become part of a government testing programme. I had informed my agent months ago I wouldn’t be playing concerts with restrictions. The status of the festival was one thing when I signed up for it, but, sadly was forced to become something else. “

If you want to order Ashcroft’s latest album, you can look here. His upcoming tour dates can be seen below. As for future endeavours, Ashcroft’s not shy about who he’d like to work with, recently talking of his hopes to write hits for Rihanna, arguing that his “big melodies and big choruses“ could be a good match for the pop star.

Richard Ashcroft UK Tour Dates

12-14/05/2022 – Highest Point Festival – Lancaster
17/06 – Royal Highland Centre – Edinburgh
16/07 – Millennium Square – Leeds
22-24/07 – CarFest North – Chester
23/07 – Wollaton Park – Nottingham
24/07 – Splendour in Nottingham – Nottingham
06/08 – Crystal Palace Bowl – Bromley
06/08 – Crystal Palace Bowl – Bromley
14/10 – AO Arena – Manchester
15/10 – Brighton Centre- Brighton

The Verve’s former frontman has also released a new music video to accompany his reworking of a 2010 single. The original track has been stripped of its heavy but steady hip-hop-influenced beats and has been given a somewhat softer side. Ashcroft’s new re-working replaces electric guitar embellishments with light acoustic lines whilst retaining the song’s core melodies and harmonies. The video itself is paired with an imaginary performance by Ashcroft filmed at Richmond Theatre and footage of the singer’s life and childhood.

The original release of “This Thing Called Life” was taken from the singer’s album United Nations of Sound and featured legendary producer and artist No I.D. The album was released on 19th July 2010 via record label Parlophone and music company Razor & Tie. The album was released under the artist’s name but was recorded with the British alternative rock group RPA & The United Nations of Sound, a musical project by Ashcroft. The 12-track release debuted at number 20 within the UK album charts and sired two singles.

The singer took to his Instagram to announce the track’s release.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Richard Ashcroft (@richardashcroftofficial)

Ashcroft’s new acoustic re-mix is not the first song to be released from the singer’s next album, a re-recorded version of the 1997 mega-hit “Bittersweet Symphony” was released earlier in the month. Ashcroft began working on the revised recording in 2019 and has since gained some rights to his former band’s release. The song famously features a sample taken from the Rolling Stone’s track “The Last Time”, due to the sample’s inclusion the band were not privy to the track’s musical rights. However, since a direct appeal was sent to Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards some legalities over the track were reportedly re-visited.

Ashcroft’s sixth solo release was recorded at the iconic London Abbey Road Studios and is co-produced by Richard and Chris Potter, the former being a long-time collaborator and producer with the singer and The Verve. Potter won the 1998 Best Producer Brit Award for his work on The Verve’s third studio album Urban Hymns released in 1997. The album became the band’s most loved and best-selling album, boasting such singles as “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and the anthem “The Drugs Don’t Work”. Potter brings an instrumental influence on the new release with a live band featuring string arrangements played by Will Malone, Brass sections by Roddy Bloomfield, Acoustic guitar and backing vocals by Steve Wyreman and piano played by Chuck Leavell.

The upcoming album will feature acoustic versions of tracks from Ashcroft’s solo career as well as a collection of classics taken from The Verve’s repertory. The 12-track album will also include a collaboration with fellow 90’s music icon, Liam Gallagher, the pair’s version of “C’mon People (We’re Making it Now)” is included within the album. The original single was released in 2000 and is taken from Ashcroft’s debut solo album Alone With Everybody. A press release describes how the track became one of the duo’s favourites, stating that Ashcroft “ “originally played it to Liam on piano somewhere in Majorca in 1998”.

Ashcroft will be hitting the road next month with a series of live performances, the artist’s upcoming shows will feature acoustic versions of his best-loved tracks.

Click here to pre-order Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1

Richard Ashcroft UK Tour Dates

16/10/2021 – The London Palladium  – London
17/10 – The London Palladium – London
29/10 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool01/11 – Royal Albert Hall – London
23/07/2022 – Wollaton Park – Nottingham

Pleased to announce that Richard will be releasing the new album ‘Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1’ Oct 29th. Featuring 12 newly recorded acoustic versions of classic songs from his back catalogue spanning both his solo career and his time with The Verve. https://t.co/z9vdkdFrHy pic.twitter.com/kthcQnDqvw

— Richard Ashcroft (@richardashcroft) September 8, 2021

Ashcroft has been an active musician since 1990 and boasts an impressive discography, having released five solo albums between 2000 and 2018, four full-length albums and one E.P. with The Verve between 1992 and 2008, and one album with side project RPA & The United Nations in 2010. The Verve first tasted critical success in 1992 after the release of their E.P. Verve, which featured songs such as All In The Mind, Gravity Grave and the UK Top 75 Singles charting tune She’s A Superstar.

Acoustic Hymns Vol.1 is set to be released on October 29^th through Ashcroft’s record label RPA, via BMG, and is presently available for pre-order. Doing so will allow fans to treat their ears to the first of the twelve tracks; an acoustic rendition of The Verve’s seminal hit Bitter Sweet Symphony, a song renowned for its poignant lyrics and soaring emotional string sample from The Andrew Oldham Orchestra’s cover of The Last Time by The Rolling Stones, the latter being something that thrust the group into a lengthy legal controversy with Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein.

Former Oasis member Liam Gallagher also appears on the fourth track of the upcoming album; C’mon People (We’re Making It Now), a song originally released in 2000 ahead of Ashcroft’s first solo album, entitled Alone With Everybody.

The track list of the album is as follows:

1. Bitter Sweet Symphony
2. A Song For Lovers
3. Sonnet
4. C’mon People (We’re Making it Now)
5. Weeping Willow
6. Lucky Man
7. This Thing Called Life
8. Space & Time
9. Velvet Morning
10. Break The Night With Colour
11. One Day
12. The Drugs Don’t Work

Slowthai is fresh from the release of his sophomore album, ‘Tyron’, which has been met with acclaim from fans and critics alike. He’s got a massive arena tour on the way and is right at the peak of his powers. This week, Thai popped down to Radio 1’s legendary Live Lounge.

He took on The Verve’s legendary Britpop hit, ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ – an interesting choice to say the least. Slowthai moved away from his usual grimey, venomous delivery and exercised his pipes somewhat. There are moments on the new album, ‘Tyron’, where Thai softens up somewhat and Slowthai gives himself the chance to be more vulnerable and intimate.

The cover version, then, is pretty decent – although it’s split fans. Slowthai has a clearly talented band behind him who pull the strings and sound pitch perfect. Thai faces his band as he delivers Ashcroft’s lyrics in his unique style, they rattle through the track without a hitch – the backing band gives Slowthai enough space to do his thing and deliver the lines as he choses. The version is beautifully chilled and atmospheric. There’s a haunting quality to the instrumentals that make the track glimmer and shine

Thai also played a live version of album track ‘i tried’ – one of the softer and more intimate cuts from ‘Tyron’. Slowthai has quite a tour lined up, playing a series of intimate, low capacity shows before looking to tear up arenas at the start of 2022.

You can see Thai’s cover below, he also played a Live Lounge version of ‘i tried’ from second studio LP, ‘Tyron’.

In 1997, the Rolling Stones won the publishing rights to ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’, as the late Allen Klein, who was in charge of the Stones’ work between 1963 to 1971, sued them over the use of the Andrew Loog Oldham orchestral recording. The sample had come from 1965’s ‘The Last Time’, included on the album, ‘The Rolling Stones’ Songbook’.

It is believed that the band were permitted to use the four second sample from the Andrew Loog Oldham recording. The sample was obtained through Decca Records, however the publishing rights of the composition by The Stones’, had not been secured.

In the present day, Richard Ashcroft has only received $1,000, helmed from the settlement deal, out of an estimated, and staggering, $5 million, in publishing revenues. John Kennedy called it “one of the toughest deals in music history”.

It was last chance saloon for Steve Kutner as he approached the late Allen Klein’s son, Jody Klein at ABKCO, his father’s company, who died in 2009. The two parties at last met, and the meeting led Kennedy to meet with Joyce Smith, the manager of the Rolling Stones, detailing Ashcroft’s thoughts.

Smyth would soon after speak to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. They agreed with Ashcroft and signed their shares of songwriter’s royalties to its composer. Further they said they would relinquish writing credits on the track.

At the Ivor Novello Awards on May 23, Ashcroft heralded the development in the story a “remarkable and life-affirming turn of events”, and that it was, “made possible by a kind and magnanimous gesture from Mick and Keith.”

ABKCO does still remain the one and only publisher of ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’. Kennedy and Kutner remain confident this can be changed too, as it seems the tide is beginning to turn in their favour.

“The most important thing is that Richard’s song is back with him,” Kennedy declared, adding. “He’ll get some money from it now, but of greater importance is that he gets the full recognition that this masterpiece was truly his song.”

The Verve are responsible for other hits including ‘Lucky Man’, and the UK number one ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’.

Fans who pre-order the album from the official store before or during the pre-release period will receive exclusive pre-sale access to the UK tour dates, which are available from October 10.

Natural Rebel will be released on October 19, and the tracklist reads like that:

1. ‘All My Dreams’
2. ‘Birds Fly’
3. ‘Surprised By The Joy’
4. ‘That’s How Strong’
5. ‘Born To Be Strangers’
6. ‘That’s When I Feel It’
7. ‘We All Bleed’
8. ‘A Man in Motion’
9. ‘Streets of Amsterdam’
10. ‘Money Money’

Ashcroft recently dropped a surprise new single called ‘Hey Colombo’, which seemed to be a response to the internet’s reaction to a bizarre incident when Ashcroft was making a guest appearance on Soccer AM. During his time on the Saturday morning TV show, fans noticed something strange fall from Ashcrofts clothing, before he swiftly picked it up. Many fans speculated that it looked like a bag of drugs, which Ashcroft has vehemently denied, and seems to have sparked the release of ‘Hey Colombo.’

Guessing the drugs still don't work? #SoccerAm pic.twitter.com/B7re0y1sxr

— Drew (@DrewWoodburn) September 22, 2018

19/04/2019- Guildhall- Portsmouth

20/04- Motorpoint Arena- Cardiff

22/04- O2 Academy- Newcastle

23/04- Usher Hall- Edinburgh

25/04- Bonus Arena- Hull

27/04- O2 Academy- Birmingham

29/04- Olympia- Dublin

01/05- Dome- Doncaster

03/05- De Montfort University- Leicester

04/05- Olympia- London