Big Smoke Phase one lineup

My only UK live solo performance of 2025, ft. Grime MC FM B2B The Den, Chip, Chy Cartier, Skyla Tylaa, Jordss, Bxks & more to be announced

Final tickets drop this Friday at 10am, sign up now https://t.co/ghFoHyfPLQ pic.twitter.com/mSdykYFbg1

— Big Smoke – (@Skepta) March 4, 2025

Skepta has confirmed the first round of acts for its opening day on August 9. The ‘Shutdown’ hitmaker himself will headline on the Saturday, joined by a handful of exciting names.

JME and Frisco will present a b2b set – a collaboration between their collective sets “Grime MC FM” and “The Den”. The previous performances from each set has hosted heavyweight lineups of emcee’s, including Jammer, Novelist, Lethal Bizzle and Manga Saint Hilaire to name a few. Both JME and Frisco performed at last year’s Big Smoke Festival.

Also joining the bill are the alt-trap newcomer Chy Cartier and grime icon Chip, whose new album ‘Grime Scene Saviour’ is dropping next month. Skepta recently joined Chip onstage for a ‘Grime Scene Saviours Set’ at Outernet, featuring a stacked lineup full of grime royalty.

On the Sunday (August 10), Skepta’s dance label Más Tiempo will be taking over, with the rapper himself providing a DJ set. He originally got his start in music as a DJ, and in recent years has ventured into house music, spinning the decks at clubs in Miama and Ibiza, and releasing a popular house remix sampling Amy Winehouse called “Can’t Play Myself”.

In a press release, Skepta shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming event, saying: “Big Smoke is a festival in London, for London and I can’t wait for fans to see what we’ve got planned for this year’s edition. We continue to think of new ways to do things differently, so I’m excited to release the full line-up. See you at the Bowl in August- greaze!”

Tickets for Saturday go on general sale this Friday (March 7) at 10am. A pre-sale for Sunday is scheduled to go live at the same time – you can sign up for that here. Tickets for the Sunday are expected to go on general sale at the end of this month.

Fans of the quintessential grime artist have been waiting a while for new music – he announced his sixth album, ‘Knife and Fork’, at the start of 2024. Since then, he’s released two singles, ‘Gas Me Up (Dilligent)’ and ‘Alpha/Omega’, the latter of which was produced by legendary trap producer Lex Luger.

He also collaborated with Flo Milli for a smooth grime/R&B track “Why Lie?” last October. We can only wonder if after announcing the Big Smoke Festival line-up he’ll be dropping some new material soon.

Launched in 2022, the Rock N’ Roll Circus is expanding with events in both Norwich and Sheffield this year, though due to other touring commitments, Queens of the Stone Age will only be playing the Sheffield leg of the festival. Their venue, the Don Valley Bowl, has a capacity of 7500, and will be the third time the venue has hosted the festival in as many years.

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A post shared by QOTSA (@queensofthestoneage)

Announcing the second night on their Instagram page, Queens of the Stone Age shared an updated poster which said, “new date added due to phenomenal demand,” as well as listing their support acts across both nights. They will be joined by Viagra Boys, Jehnny Beth, Big Freedia and more across both nights, with Shame and The Murder Capital as two new acts joining them on their second date.  

Festival director Ali O’Reilly said: “The response to Queens of the Stone Age’s first show was incredible. Tickets flew out in record time, and we are excited to give fans another chance to get tickets to see this huge show. It’s an honour to bring one of the greatest rock bands of our generation to Sheffield for not just one, but two nights at Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus. With support from Viagra Boys and The Murder Capital, these shows are going to be something truly special.”

This is going to be insane. Need to get to this. — Andy McElwaine (@andymcelwaine) February 21, 2025

 Queens of the Stone Age have only played in Sheffield once before, visiting the South Yorkshire city to play the Leadmill in 2000. Their return comes as part of a wider European tour, which kicks off 12 July in Slovakia. Their Rock N’ Roll Circus appearance will be the last in the continent before they return to their native US.

The band hasn’t played live since July 2024, though they haven’t released any new music in that time either. Their 2024 setlists comprised mostly of material from three albums: 2023’s ‘In Times New Roman…’, and more classic albums ‘Songs for the Dead’ and ‘…Like Clockwork’. Fans shouldn’t expect any major changes to the setlist; however the circus atmosphere and the intimacy of the venue will make it an unmissable night still.

Though the band hasn’t played in the UK since a Download Festival appearance in June 2024, founder and frontman Josh Homme was one of many musical figures who came together in December to celebrate the life of Mark Lanegen. Lanegan played with QotSA between 2001 and 2005, and introducing the evening, Homme said, “Mark would have pretended to hate this, but he would have loved to see you all here tonight.”

Despite being a relative newcomer to the festival circuit, Rock N’ Roll Circus has drawn some major headline acts in its short history. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds headlined in 2022 and 2023, and the festival has attracted the likes of the Libertines, Natalie Imbruglia, and Gilbert O’Sullivan, as well as one of Sheffield’s finest exports, Richard Hawley, as support acts.

With its eclectic mix of live music and circus performances, Rock N’ Roll Circus has established itself as one of the most unique festivals in the UK. With their first performance selling out in record time and a festival like no other, fans wanting to see Queens of the Stone Age on their second date should act fast. Tickets can be found here.