Words: Anisa Bhana
On Friday night, the legendary rock icon Bryan Adams took to the main stage at Sheffield’s ‘Rock n Roll Circus’ for a show stopping performance following the release of his brand new album ‘Roll With The Punches’ which was released earlier that same day and has since accumulated thousands of streams. The Rock N Roll Circus show has famously sported major artists in previous years including artists such as Becky Hill, Noel Gallagher and Richard Hawley with Bryan Adams perfectly joining in with this incredible list.
Aside from music performances – circus performances are also generously included within the show (living up to its name combining both circus and music together) with aerialists and zip wire professionals performing dangerous yet enticing performances, constantly keeping the crowd engaged. Throughout the day leading up to the main act, countless outstanding artists took to the stage including former spice girl – Mel C, along with Newton Faulkner, Cassyette and Nell Mescal followed by many others whom all delivered electric performances appealing to all music tastes – building up the anticipation and atmosphere through the evening.
The set up of the festival itself proved to be perfectly calculated as nothing was too far away and everything was easily accessible with many members of staff onsite there to help.
Prior to Adams’ set, the Big Top tent which made performances feel much more intimate quickly filled up as eager fans waited with a vivacious buzz of enthusiasm to see the Canadian artist return to the UK for a second time this year, continuing his busy 2025. As soon as the shining lights dimmed and the performance intro began, the crowd erupted into cheers that only grew louder as the star took the stage, opening his set with his hit single ‘Kick Ass’ from his 2022 album ‘So Happy It Hurts’ which immediately set the feeling of the night as the crowd jumped whilst simultaneously shouting all of the lyrics passionately back to the artist. Adams’ consistently engaged with the crowd, making everyone feel seen and special whilst flawlessly moving through his set with ease and grace and performing fan favourites such as ‘Run to You’ and ‘Heaven’ which brought out all sorts of emotions in every single person, bringing everyone together to absorb the music and lyrics that resonate so deeply.
However, it wasn’t long until the spirits were raised by a surprise cover of Fleetwood Macs’ ‘The Chain’ with special guest Cassyette, who had performed earlier, who was brought out onto the stage. The combination of both of their unique voices made their rendition of the legendary song a powerful and memorable one – certainly doing the song justice which isn’t always easy to do. Fans at this show were certainly spoiled and incredibly lucky as Adams’ also performed covers of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, ‘Twist and Shout’ and ‘Can’t take my eyes off of you’ which are of course engraved in almost everyone’s memory, with the lyrics consistently being belted by the audience. Alongside this, another surprise guest, Melanie C, was generously brought out following her set prior to his and the two long time friends performed their song ‘When You’re Gone’ and Spice Girls hit ‘Say You’ll Be There’. The unfaltering chemistry between the two artists radiated in the dim tent as they completely captivated the crowd with their moving performance and Spice Girl fans around the room were most definitely pleased.
Towards the end of the set – bringing the unbelievable night to a close, Adams’ and his band performed hits ‘(Everything I do) I do It For You’ and ‘Summer of ‘69’ which even though they were first released decades ago, still weave their way into everyone’s playlist for a good throwback. Every minute perfectly encapsulated gig culture and how music can bring everyone together, also affirming that Bryan Adams is still at his best making each performance he carries a memorable one.
Taped Magazine 