Rock N Roll Circus 2026 kicked off its four-day run at Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield, with Day 1 headlined by The Kooks and supported by Miles Kane and a rare hometown appearance from Milburn. Despite heavy rain that flooded the VIP area and forced its closure, the festival's carnival atmosphere, complete with circus performers, kept spirits high, and the evening's live sets reportedly won over the crowd.

Sheffield band Milburn delivered a lively, well-received set mixing older favourites with newer material, with frontman Joe Carnall praised for strong crowd engagement some twenty years after the band's initial rise. The Kooks then closed out the night to a large audience, defying somewhat mixed expectations of their live shows with an energetic, well-paced setlist blending hits and recent songs, while singer Luke Pritchard kept fans singing along throughout.