Doncaster Music Festival 2025: Thousands enjoy spectacular stadium concert

The home of Doncaster Rovers staged the event – formerly known as Askern Music Festival – for the first time, with a host of star names from the world of music performing for fans at Saturday’s all-day spectacular.

Singer-songwriter James Bay topped the bill on the Main Stage inside the stadium and was joined by the likes of M-People singer Heather Small and former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan, while in a special arena outside the stadium, Simon and Oscar from Ocean Colour Scene drew a large crowd to the acoustic tent.

A busker stage, paying tribute to the festival’s late photographer Mark Loraine and allowing upcoming singer songwriters to showcase their talents, completed the line-up.

The musical spectacular had been held at Askern Cricket Club until 2022, but with the calibre of band and the number of fans increasing year on year, in 2023, the concert moved to Thornhurst Manor.

That year’s event was marred by long queues, traffic issues and bad weather, and after the 2024 event had to be cancelled over licensing and safety issues, the difficult decision was taken to uproot the festival from its grassroots and move to the stadium.

But at the weekend, music fans from across Britain flocked to the stadium to enjoy a string of top-notch performances – with forecast thundery showers failing to materialise and ensuring spirits weren’t dampened.

Getting under way at 11am, early arrivals were treated to sets on the Main Stage from The Denabys, Idle Noise, The Rosadocs and The UTI, ensuring the festival got off to a spirited start with some lively rock and roll.

Manchester band Afflecks Palace, named after the city shopping emporium of the same name got the main part of the day up and running, evoking 90s memories with a fresh set of jingly-jangly guitar anthems packed with attitude – a perfect way to kick start the day on the pitch.

It was then the turn of 1990s indie popsters The Farm to take to the stage.

"We love your Yungblud, but we hate your Jeremy Clarkson!,” opined lead singer Peter Hooton as he reeled off a few words on Doncaster’s famous sons, before leading the band on a hit-packed set that took us down memory lane with favourites such as Groovy Train, Mind, Love See No Colour and of course, All Together Now, which sparked the first big singalong of the day.

Birmingham guitar heroes The Twang were the next up and delivered a steady and solid set of brash guitar led anthems including hits such as Either Way, the epic Cloudy Room and a cover of Bran Van 3000’s Drinking In LA.

It was up to M-People lead singer Heather Small to take things in a different direction, adding a sprinkle of glitz and glamour to proceedings, as she led the crowd on one singalong after another with a set that was bristling with pop gems from start to finish.

The songs on offer matched her sparkly outfit – opening with 90s dance classic Renaissance, and thoroughly trawling the dance-pop archives with huge smash hits such as Sight For Sore Eyes, Search For The Hero and One Night In Heaven.

The stage was set for the return of former Kasabian lead singer Tom Meighan, who proved a big hit at the 2023 festival, with organsiers eager to secure his return.

Spirited, outspoken and with the volume and bass cranked up to the max, it was hands aloft throughout as he led his band through a mix of his own solo cuts as well as plenty of Kasabian favourites.

So of course, Empire, Shoot The Runner, Club Foot, Underdog and Fire saw the stadium bouncing in a set that could easily have been a headline one.

That task actually fell to hat-wearing troubadour James Bay best known for his huge globalr smash hit, Hold Back The River.

Seemingly out of nowhere, his set drew in a hardcore group of dedicated screaming fans, clutching ‘we love you” posters, as he took his supporters on a trip down memory lane with some of his biggest and best-loved tracks as well as sprinkling of new songs that will soon be part of the James Bay songbook.

Earlier, Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison had drawn a sizeable crowd to the acoustic stage, leading singalongs as the pair drew on their Ocean Colour Scene back catalogue for some throaty singalongs.

And it was a family affair for the Bay family as Alex Francis, brother of headliner James, also drew a large crowd early on on the acoustic stage.

Of course, the day was fuelled by plenty of food and booze, with a wide selection of tasty and tempting treats on offer inside and outside the stadium.

Organisers had clearly learned the lessons of the lengthy beer queues which dogged the 2023 festival, with no problems this time round – and no complaints about that perennial festival favourite – toilets – either.

While some fans may have shed a tear at the festival moving on from its village roots in Askern, this year’s line-up and facilities were top notch – and it was great to see so many people enjoying some genuinely big names from the world of music right here on our doorstep in Doncaster.

Organisers realised that festival had outgrown Askern – and for it to flourish and grow, needed to embrace and accept change inside the confines of the Eco Power Stadium.

Early bird tickets for the 2026 gathering have already gone on sale – and if music lovers support Doncaster Music Festival, there’s no reason why it can’t go from strength to strength in its new home.

And supporters certainly seem to have embraced the changes too.

One said: “It was excellent, the organisers did a great job on putting on a great event. No queues for the bars and great facilities such as proper toilets. Great food and drink options too.

“The crowd wasn’t as big as it should have been so hopefully next year the town gets behind it because we’re lucky to have top acts in our town for a very reasonable ticket price compared to other events. More people will add to the atmosphere and make it even better.”

Another said: “It was a great day. Well organised. Lots of choice of food. Kids loved the fairground rides. No massive queues at the bars. Felt really safe for the kids. Great bands and a great atmosphere. Hopefully it will continue to grow as an event and be even better next year.”

And another enthused: “Fantastic day out. So much better organised and the facilities were great.

“Top acts of the day - The Twang were fab, Simon and Oscar, phenomenal, Tom Meighan was banging, and that bass. Wow!

“And James Bay rounded off the night with a cracking set.

“Well done all at Doncaster Music Festival for a fantastic event.”

Early bird tickets for the 2026 Festival are already on sale HERE