Photo: Leora Bermeister
The dust has settled on Download 2026 after thousands upon thousands of metalheads from all walks of life descended upon the promised land of Donington Park to soak up the best acts the world of heavy music has to offer.
Whether your highlight was Slash shredding into the night sky during Guns N’ Roses’ headline set, the bloody antics of Art the Clown during Ice Nine Kills’ cinematic performance or raving into the night with Scooter, the post-festival blues will likely now be in full swing. All we can do now is ice the bruises and dose ourselves up on Ibuprofen while we reminisce upon the sets that truly made Download 2026 one for the books. Until next year, right?
Best Headliners: Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit are a band who know exactly what the crowd want. This turbulent set felt less like a headline slot at the UK’s premier metal festival, and more a giant house party. From the moment Fred Durst strutted on stage under the backdrop of a giant boombox, sporting a cartoonish wig, there was a deeply unserious tone. Unashamedly offering a double dose of Break Stuff, the crowd lost their minds both times, tapping into the pent-up rage that the band represents and getting it out of their systems before work on Monday. A perfect Friday night.
Photo: Todd Owyoung
Fresh Blood: Silly Goose
One of our favourite pastimes at any festival is stumbling across a band that immediately becomes a fixture of our Spotify playlists. It was fitting that Silly Goose took to the stage on the same day as Limp Bizkit, delivering the past and future of nu-metal as folks in red Fred Durst hats made a beeline to the merch stand for Silly Goose T-shirts post-pit. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, this band are living proof that the once-derided genre isn’t going away any time soon. Unhinged and seething with angst, they make you want to steal a car and indulge in an afternoon of light arson.
Most Rampageous Set: Skindred
Look, there were some gnarly breakdowns scattered across the weekend. Texan metalcore kings Kublai Khan were brutal for a Sunday morning and Architects having to stop three times because of the crowd getting out of hand is one for the books. But if you’ve never experienced a Newport helicopter then you truly haven’t lived. The Dogtooth stage overflowed on Sunday afternoon with punters trying to get a glimpse of Skindred’s secret set. The band weren’t shy about mentioning their recent number one album ‘You Got This’ and we doubt they could have celebrated it better than with a big crowd at a fest that has always shown them the love they’ve deserved. When you weren’t getting booted in the head from a crowd surfer, or wringing the sweat from your shirt, you were succumbing to the workings of wildly enigmatic frontman Benji Webbe, who demanded chaos and got it.
Photo: Carolina Faruolo
Future Headliner: Electric Callboy
Mosh, body-pop or disco fingers, the choice is yours. Not only are these German techno-metal sensations a tremendous live band to witness, they possess the addictive energy of a subterranean dance club at 4am. Walking through the festival site from Wednesday, anytime a merch stand or beer tent blasted Electric Callboy on a speaker, a pocket rave erupted. The demand is there and the band weren’t afraid to put on a spectacle for the massive crowd that flocked to the Apex stage on Friday. There’s also a surreal beauty witnessing a mid-set costume change into vibrant Lycra short-shorts in front of a crowd wearing exclusively black leather and denim. Our only complaint is that we need to see this act under the cover of darkness as an extravagant light show is the only missing ingredient. Get it booked, Download.
The Spirit of Download: A Day To Remember
Shortly before headliners Linkin Park took to the stage, a lot of people risked giving up prime spots to check out pop-punk legends A Day To Remember. Anthem after anthem saw a thousand hearts stitched together as one as the sun started to set on another glorious Download. With T-shirt cannons, flamethrowers and a bucketload of emo anthems, the band pulled out all the stops to keep the Sunday scaries at bay. As All My Friends blasted out across the fields, it was a fitting signal for the end of the festival. Beyond all the bands, beer and mosh pits, Download is about the weird and wonderful coming together in an exuberant display of community and friendship. Whether that’s for life, just for the night, or for the split second you collide in a wall of death, it doesn’t matter.
Download Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed June 09 2027 - DERBY Donnington Park
Thu June 10 2027 - DERBY Donnington Park
Fri June 11 2027 - DERBY Donnington Park
Sat June 12 2027 - DERBY Donnington Park
Sun June 13 2027 - DERBY Donnington Park
Compare & Buy Download Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Let Us Know Your Thoughts
Related News |
