Review: Rambunctious Queens of the Stone Age gig offers pageantry befitting of Sheffield's Rock N Roll Circus
With a captivating, rambunctious - and at points - electric performance, Queens of the Stone Age provided fans with the musical pageantry Sheffield’s Rock N Roll Circus deserves last night.
In the years it’s been going at Don Valley Bowl, the Rock N Roll Circus has done a good job of selecting acts that have broad appeal, helping the event to appeal to a wide audience.
From pop royalty such as Natalie Imbruglia and former Spice Girl Melanie C - who is set to take to the stage tonight (Friday, August 29, 2025) - to indie heroes like Noel Gallagher, Richard Hawley and Milburn, the festival has always managed to strike an interesting musical balance.
The fire- twirling circus performers who welcome you as you arrive and carry out breathtaking acrobatics above you in the Big Top tent has meant that the circus part of the annual event’s name has long been taken care of.
But last night, the thunderous performance from Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) meant that for the first time the Rock N Roll part has well and truly been lived up to.
With plenty of die-hard fans proudly donning their brand new merch as they got into position to see Queens in the Big Top tent, it was clear that last night was a performance many had been eagerly anticipating - and they absolutely delivered.
After coming on to Regular John, the band launched straight into what is arguably their biggest hit, No One Knows, resulting in a sea of headbanging, “sign of the horns” hand gestures and some frantic moshing at the front.
Their set was peppered with fan favourite hits, such as Little Sister and Make It Wit Chu, with an extended outro that featured a nod to the Rolling Stones, which seemed very fitting given the event’s name is taken from the band’s 1968 concert film.
QOTSA were incredibly tight, with the silky vocals of front man Josh Homme sounding better than ever, sonorous and incendiary guitar lines from Troy Van Leeuwen and the rollicking but precise Jon Theodore on drums.
Mexicola and Suture Up Your Future were also big highlights for me.
On the first night of their two-night stint, Homme delighted crowds in the Big Top tent as he announced he was going to run for Mayor of Sheffield.
The fact the vacancy has already been filled didn't stop festival-goers from reportedly lapping it up.
Last night, during their second and final Sheffield performance, Homme joked: “I’m Alex Turner,” which was met with cheers.
Given the picture of Alex taken outside the Broomhill Tavern in Sheffield earlier this week, I can’t have been the only one thinking he might have joined Queens for a song…but sadly it was not to be.
In the weeks leading up to the Rock N Roll Circus, Homme said he wanted to use his trip to Sheffield to dig into the roots, and childhoods, of his friends and collaborators, the Arctic Monkeys.
Speaking to Radio X earlier this month, he said: “I really just want to go to all the Arctic Monkeys guys’ childhood homes and take pictures and then send it to them,” Homme said. “So, that’s what I intend on doing. And it was like, ‘What’s the best way to do this?'”
He posted a tongue-in-cheek video of himself wandering around Sheffield, showing a window that Alex “dirtied as a child” before claiming the grand-looking City Hall is the childhood home of Matt Helders.
Homme's on-stage antics may previously have proven controversial, but last night's performance was a more restrained version of the raucous stage persona he has become known for.
He still proved to be good value though, joking that an audience member in Spiderman garb had “just got off work” as he swigged from a glass of red wine.
Homme also corrected his claim that Wednesday was the band’s first time in Sheffield, after a fan informed him they have performed here before, with records suggesting that their first Steel City outing was at The Leadmill a quarter of a century ago, in 2000.
Homme also made sure that the crowd parted for a fan who appeared to be having a seizure during A Song for the Dead so that they could be assisted.
Their Sheffield shows are amongst just a handful of European locations the band have selected for 2025.
It sometimes feels as though Sheffield punches below its weight when it comes to the types of musical acts the city attracts to its venues.
So it was nice to see Sheffield pull in one of rock’s biggest acts, who provided the city with not one, but two, fantastic shows.
I can’t wait to see what musical acts the festival manages to bag next year.