Download 2026- Festival Preview

Download Festival
Donnington Park, Derby
10th-14th June 2026

While the UK’s alternative festival offerings might be as strong as they ever have been, no festival’s name rings louder in the tinnitus-afflicted ears of metal fans than Download Festival. A staple of the rock and metal calendar, it’s an annual pilgrimage, not just for those of us in the UK, but from across the world. It’s a right of passage for many, and in just a few short weeks the gates will open for festival’s 23rd iteration. It seems this year the organisers are pulling out all the stops. And with the official clashfinder released earlier than usual, now’s the time to get planning.

For those arriving on Wednesday or Thursday, District X is offering up plenty to keep punters dancing, sweating and laughing from almost the word go. Comedy sets from the likes of Andrew O’Neill, workout classes from RockFit, not to mention evening sets from bands such as RXPTRS, Electric Six and Bat Sabbath being just the tip of the alternative iceberg, a small of glimpse of what’s to follow over the coming three days.

Indeed, Friday seems to be the designated party day, with Main Stage sets from the likes of Scene Queen, Hollywood Undead, and Pendulum proving that you won’t really need to move from the Apex if you don’t want to. Keeping the party vibe going, sandwiched between the aforementioned Pendulum as well as Cypress Hill, Electric Callboy are a stand-out for Friday afternoon. Having exploded into prominence in 2020 with single Hypa Hypa, before going from strength to strength in recent years, it’s the German band’s second appearance at Download. Having played a headline set to a capacity Avalanche Tent in 2023, they’ve clearly earned themselves a respectable third-from-top billing this year, setting the tone for the weekend.

Whilst Electric Callboy might well be one of the most anticipated Friday offerings, Limp Bizkit are finally stepping up to headline status. Having enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, their 2024 sub-headline has gone down in the history books, making that final step up all but inevitable.

For anyone who fancies their headliners a little less tongue in cheek, Pennsylvanian hard rock outfit Halestorm will be taking the top slot on the second stage for the second time in their careers. In their thirtieth year as a band, frontwoman Lzzy, drummer (and brother) Arejay and co. have perfected their shows and promise to deliver a set full of screaming guitars and earth-shattering vocals.

And of course, for those who prefer something a little heavier to end the night, the Dogtooth Stage has you covered with ex-Sepultura legends Max and Igor bringing Cavalera Conspiracy back to Download for the first time in over a decade with a special set celebrating Sepultura’s seminal 1993 album Chaos A.D.

Everyone knows how easy it is to get carried away on the first night of a festival proper, however should you manage an early start on Saturday, it would be remiss not to find yourself front of centre of Opus at 11am.

A late addition to the festival, British rock legends The Wildhearts casually self-announced their appearance via their social media almost exactly a month after the band put out a statement sharing that frontman Ginger Wildheart had been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, for which he will not be undergoing treatment. A band who have played the festival a handful of times over the years and need little introduction, it’s safe to say their appearance will be bittersweet, but for anyone unfamiliar with them, it’s worth going to see just why they’re members of British rock royalty.

Elsewhere. Making their Download Festival debut with an early-afternoon slot on the Apex Stage, Oxford’s South Arcade will bring what they describe as ‘Y2KCORE’ to Saturday’s early crowd; expect synthy, poppy fare with nu-metal riffs.

However, if ’90s-inspired grunge is more your thing, then a mid-afternoon visit to the Dogtooth stage to catch Los Angelean’s Return to Dust provides an opportunity to catch a band who seem on the cusp of a breakthrough. With recent chart success and mainstream radio airplay, not to mention a previous support tour with Yungblud in the States, it’s very clear that the buzz is only getting louder.

Elsewhere, Marmozets make their highly anticipated return to Donington, following their recent reformation, whilst Polish metal titans Behemoth promise to warm the crowd up suitably for Saturday night’s Opus headliner.

It’s been a hell of a three years for Brighton’s Architects, a band that embody British metalcore perfectly whilst showing no signs of slowing down their ascent to the top of the game. It’s been three years since they sub-headlined on the Apex Stage to Bring Me The Horizon. A slew of singles and a rock chart-topping album followed, as did some of the biggest headline shows of their career. Expect pits, growls, and anthemic choruses, and all without a 20-minute guitar solo in sight.

Of course, there’s every chance that 20-minute guitar solos are right up your street, and if that’s the case, you’ll no doubt be all too aware that rock legends Guns N’ Roses will be taking to the Apex Stage on Saturday night for a mammoth plus-three hour career-spanning set.

While such a set is likely to divide opinion, it’s the rock gods’ first trip back to Donington since 2018, and with recent reports suggesting the band is back on form, it’s arguably the perfect time for them to return. And whilst the weightier likes of Architects or the more progressive offerings of Blood Incantation might well appeal more, the length of Guns N’ Roses’ set means it’s likely you can catch any of the other headliners and still make it in time to bust out your air guitar for Sweet Child O’ Mine or November Rain anyway.

Inevitably, Sunday will roll around, and though brains and bodies will likely be aching at this point, there’s still plenty worth getting excited about. So crunch down on a Berocca, have a beer, and put your grown-up pants on, as it’s straight to the Apex Stage for rising British rockers unpeople. A band who’ve risen steadily since their inception a few years ago, a smattering of singles has resulted in them being hotly tipped by tastemakers across the UK. Alternative whilst still harbouring pop sensibilities, their tracks are big, brash and bold, and likely to shake off any cobwebs, setting you up for the day perfectly.

Indeed, if cobwebs remain, the roof-raising hardcore of Kublai Khan TX, or the genre-bending nu-metal of Bloodywood will finish the job. Having caught both bands in previous years, it’s well worth lingering on the Apex to check either of them out.

Elsewhere, returning to the Avalanche Stage are the divisive TX2. As well known for their social media antics as their ‘00s emo/ pop-punk offerings, whether you love them or love to hate them, we predict a mid-afternoon tent-filler and perhaps even a surprise guest or two. After all, they have collabs with Magnolia Park who take to the stage right after them, and Ice Nine Kills, who are scheduled for the Apex Stage later that day.

Staying at the Avalanche Stage, if you’ve seen letlive. live before then chances are you’re as thrilled as we are that they decided not to call it a day at the end of last year as planned. If you haven’t, then this is an opportunity not to be missed. Bringers of chaotic yet considered post-hardcore and raw, frantic performances that leave you out of breath just from watching, we don’t think frontman Jason Alon Butler has ever met an amp he didn’t want to jump off or piece of rigging he wasn’t compelled to climb. A stellar booking and a band truly not to be missed, although, the complete clash with Bad Omens is a nasty one.

After having to pull out of the festival in 2024, giving up their Opus Stage headline slot, Bad Omens are back to reclaim their space in the upper echelons of this year’s lineup. They’ve been busy this past year, making the leap from headlining rooms like The Dome in London to coming close to selling out the Co-op Live in Manchester in November 2025, and with four singles currently released from a presumably as-yet unannounced album, the buzz surrounding the Virginian metalcore outfit seems only to be continuing in one direction. With Download’s main stage production capabilities, we expect this set to suck us in and leave us well and truly hyped for weekend closers Linkin Park.

Arguably one of the more polarising reformations in rock in recent years, Linkin Park’s decision to return in 2023 with new singer Emily Armstrong left a lot of fans contested. For many of us, Linkin Park were the gateway to the world of rock and metal, and the death of frontman Chester Bennington back in 2017 shook the scene to its core. However, the release of new material silenced many of the naysayers. Whilst there’ll still be a few that won’t watch them out of principle, it’s safe to say that Linkin Park’s return to Download is one of the most highly anticipated sets of the weekend and long overdue.

And that’s just scratching the surface of what’s on offer across Download ’26. From the pulverising sounds of blackened death metal, the emotional catharsis of pop-punk, secret acoustic sets, podcasts and just about everything else one can think of, it’s easy to see why Download is still the premier rock and metal festival in the UK.

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Tickets and further information can be found on their website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Dave Beech is a music writer based out of Manchester. He writes and edits for a number of different websites and links to his work can be found over at his blog, Life’s A Beech, as well as his Louder Than War author’s archive. He also tweets as @Dave__Beech.