Courteeners will headline Rock N Roll Circus in Sheffield on Saturday 28 August 2027, their only Sheffield show of the year, as the festival returns to Don Valley Bowl for a fifth edition.
The Vaccines and The Lathums lead the first wave of support beneath the Big Top, with three further headliners still to come across the four-day August Bank Holiday weekend.
Rock N Roll Circus runs from Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 August 2027. Courteeners take Saturday, bringing the God Bless The Band era to the Steel City after a nationwide tour.
General sale opens at 10am on Friday 6 November. Before that, O2 Priority presale starts at 10am on Wednesday 4 November, with ticketing platform, promoter and local presales at 10am on Thursday 5 November. The line-up was announced at 5pm on Monday 2 November. Tickets and further information are at rocknrollcircus.co.uk.
Also on the Big Top Stage are The Guest List, Girl In The Year Above and Little Grandad. Stage 2 hosts Cowboy Hunters, Cherryholt, Saint Clair, Ist Ist, Yorkshire’s Slates and south coast band Crystal Tides.
Festival director Ali O’Reilly said anyone who saw Courteeners at Tramlines last year knows what Sheffield means to the band. “They absolutely blew the doors off the place, and there’s something about the connection between Liam and a Sheffield crowd that makes every show feel like a homecoming.”
He called The Vaccines and The Lathums “a huge statement”, and said bands such as Cherryholt, Cowboy Hunters and Ist Ist are why the festival builds these line-ups. “There’s something brilliant about watching a new band in an intimate setting and then heading into the Big Top for one of the biggest acts in the country.”
On the milestone, he added: “2027 marks our fifth year in Sheffield, which is a real milestone for us. We’ve grown with the city, the audiences have been incredible and we’re proud of what Rock N Roll Circus has become. And this is just the start. We’ve still got three more headliners and plenty of surprises to come.”
Led by Liam Fray, Courteeners broke through with debut album St. Jude in 2008. Singalong staples include Not Nineteen Forever, What Took You So Long?, Are You in Love with a Notion? and Take Over the World. They have headlined major UK festivals before, including a Saturday headline slot at Y Not Festival in 2025 and a Friday at Rock N Roll Circus Norwich.
The Vaccines arrive with festival favourites including If You Wanna, Wetsuit, Teenage Icon and I Always Knew, from a catalogue that began with debut album What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?. Wigan’s The Lathums, who previously announced a major Yorkshire outdoor show in Leeds, bring chart-topping albums and a reputation for emotionally charged live sets.
Previous Sheffield editions at Don Valley Bowl have hosted Queens of the Stone Age, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Kooks, Wunderhorse and Self Esteem. Queens of the Stone Age opened the 2025 Sheffield edition on Wednesday 27 August.
The festival has been shortlisted for Best Programming and Best Visitor Experience at the Access All Areas Awards 2026, and nominated for Best Small Festival at the UK Festival Awards 2026 and the European Festival Awards 2026.
Rock N Roll Circus began in Newcastle before expanding to Sheffield and Norwich. A London debut at Gunnersbury Park is also confirmed for July 2027. Further headline artists, supporting acts and circus entertainment will be announced in the coming months.
Saturday 28 August 2027
Big Top Stage
- Courteeners
- The Vaccines
- The Lathums
- The Guest List
- Girl In The Year Above
- Little Grandad
Stage 2
- Cowboy Hunters
- Cherryholt
- Saint Clair
- Ist Ist
- Slates
- Crystal Tides
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