LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2026

When it comes to catering for all the flavours of rock fan, Download Festival certainly has it down. Returning to Donington race track for the 2026 edition of the legendary music festival, the event felt even more diverse, even more exciting and just as special as ever. With a bit of an arena rejig, now featuring a food stage and an increase in size of the main stage ‘Apex’, which is now one of the biggest rock stages in the UK.

First off the blocks on Friday, Native James brought out some special guests at the end of a powerful set at the Avalanche stage. For the grime rocker’s first ever outing at Download he was gracious and appreciative of everyone that made it down to his set, declaring;

“You know how special you guys are making me feel now. I've got some special guests for you." treating the crowd to an unrealised song ‘Never Been Scared' with Frisco and ‘Block’ with Professor Green.

“Happy pride month!” Scene Queen declared over on Apex stage. “We come from the US where a whole load of fucked shit is happening.” She continued, touching on the politics she is never afraid to address.

Bringing her unique brand of controversial Bimbo-rock she ended with ‘18+’, Pink cowboy boots with tassels clopping all over the stage.

Hollywood Undead brought the perfect sunny vibes as the skies cleared from the previous few days of dismal rain, and around the festival- the Friday crowd featured a weird split between tracksuits for Electric Callboy and red hats for Limp Bizkit, a slightly odd but entertaining break from the traditional black attire.

Continuing the diverse mix of genres, country rock duo Lakeview stormed through a set of southern inspired songs reminding fans that they- “Came all the way across the pond to be here today.”

The Download crowd certainly made that journey worth it with a stonking response.

As the opening notes of ‘Propane Nightmares’, rang out and people converged on Apex stage from all angles, Pendulum began their set, the vibes immaculate in the sun. 

In a set of songs, many of which originally featured collaborations with big rock acts, such a ‘Cannibal’ with Wargasm and ‘Halo’ with Bullet for my Valentine, the big, real time feature was Rou Reynolds from Enter Shikari coming out for their rare remix of ‘Sorry You're not a Winner’ with the obligatory crowd claps.

Rain City Drive declared, “What a crowd man, thank you so much.” Over on the avalanche stage while a tidal wave of love was sent their way.

“This song is about being a bit nicer to yourself,” Vocalist Matt McAndrew explained before continuing, “Sometimes everyone can use that.” for poignant fan favourite- ‘Talk to a Friend’.

Halestorm brought all the pyro they could manage over on Opus Stage, flames, smoke and sparks were in abundance straight out the gates, accompanying Lizzy Hale’s epic and lengthy screams.

To top off the spectacle, confetti rained down for ‘I Miss the Misery’, and the crowd went truly wild.

Dedicating the set to Sam Rivers and ‘Dougie’. Limp Bizkit treated Download to all the usual shenanigans, ever energetic Fred Durst telling the packed-out field, “Let's party like it's 1999, Limp Bizkit’s in the house.”

And with massive hits like ‘Break Stuff’ and ‘My Generation’ how could we not. Appreciating the love for their quintessential track. They played the former again, right at the end of the set.

Peppering throwback classics such as ‘Tainted Love ‘and ‘99 Luftballons’ throughout the set, a Limp Bizkit show is the true definition of organised chaos, the show surely has structure, but watching, you are left with a sense of anticipation at what on earth is about to happen next.

For ‘Hot Dog', Lauren Sanderson took to the stage for a collab and during ‘Full Nelson', some young fans in red caps joined the band, tearing around and doing a sterling job on vocals.

No Friday night headliner could've been more perfect for a party than Limp Bizkit. A brilliant booking to end a perfect day at Download.

Photos by Todd Owyoung

Saturday brought round two of the chaos and the mood was high all around the festival as the Babymetal curse of it always being a wet Download the year the Japanese trio play, seemed to have lifted.

Early on the Dogtooth stage, Tropic Gold, one of the most exciting new bands of the moment, stormed through a heavy yet emotive set with obvious gratitude at their inclusion on the bill.

“My first Festival was Download. This is a dream come true," mused guitarist Joshua Lee before bringing out Harpy for a live rendition of their collaboration song ‘Witch House’.

Over on Apex, South Arcade drew a remarkably large crowd for so early in the day. Beginning with viral tiktok hit ‘How 2 get away with murder’, the young band showed what it means to be the hottest and fastest rising pop-punk stars in the scene.

“Okay you beautiful people. It's Saturday. I want you all off of your feet”. Singer Harmony Cavelle instructed, and her wish was Download’s command for the whole set; the bouncing in the mosh pits was relentless.

If you were wondering where all the kids are at Download, it was at South Arcade’s set. A band who are not only appreciative to be at the festival, playing the main stage, but also are having the best time with it.

Nevertel emerged to AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’, and kept the energy high from there, starting with ‘Break the Silence’, the Florida Nu-metallers having made an epic pilgrimage with so many of their scene-peers to complete a fantastic line up on the newly relocated Avalanche stage.

As Everything Unfolds took to the Opus stage, an upgrade from their planned slot on Dogtooth, with a lot of love to show the gathered fans.

“We love being back at seeing your smiling faces” singer Charlie Rolfe grinned. Reminding the crowd that their first Download was the Pilot back in 2021, the High Wycombe rockers have certainly earned their place on the festival’s second stage.

Metalcore was then brought to the main stage by LANDMVRKS, turning the heaviness of the festival up by a few notches. ‘A line in the Dust’ going down particularly well as the day well-and-truly got going.

Black Veil Brides followed on, a legendary name in the scene and still supplying fans with new music, in the form of the title track form their new album, ‘Vindicate’.

“We've played Download a bunch of times. I think this is my favourite” frontman Andy Black decreed. For the Download veterans, that was certainly high praise indeed.

Following straight on and breaking their aforementioned curse, BABYMETAL played during exactly zero rain, but instead battled some pretty high winds, classic bunches whipping around them as they executed their perfect dance routines to soaring metal sounds. 

BABYMETAL are never anything less than perfect, perfect look, perfect sound, perfect set, they were due the British weather cutting them a break and happily 2026 gave them that opportunity.

Photos by Todd Owyoung

Over on Avalanche, Hot Milk proved they could have taken on the main stage, with a tent so full to the brim, fans packed around the outside too, desperate to experience the Mancunians' hectic set.

“Show me what you're made of!” one half of the front duo, Han Mee hollered. “We're gonna make this tent look like the best place to be in the festival” which it undoubtedly was at that particular point in the day.

The Avalanche Stage tent faced absolute gridlock on Saturday night as The All-American Rejects pulled a crowd so massive it completely jammed the surrounding walkways.

Clashing directly with Guns N' Roses on the main stage, the pop-punk veterans proved to be the ultimate counter-programming, drawing thousands of fans who chose nostalgia over classic rock.

The atmosphere inside and outside the tent was pure chaos. From the second the band kicked into ‘Swing, Swing,’ the entire field erupted into a massive, booming sing-along that rivaled any headline set.

Headliner, the legendary Guns N' Roses took on a mammoth three hour set to bring Saturday to a close. Core members- Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagen still rocking after 40 years together. 

Getting the crowd all riled up early on with ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ they peppered their biggest hits around the set and blasted out their most famous covers, with ‘Knockin’ on Heavens Door’ by Bob Dylan and ‘Live and Let Die’ by Wings both featuring.

The fans who stuck around start to finish were treated to the triple threat of ‘November Rain’, ‘Nighttrain’ and ‘Paradise City' to wrap up the set. Where do GnR get the stamina, that's just one of lifes great mysteries.

Photos by Todd Owyoung

Sunday rolled around and with a vague sense of an ending in the air, Downloaders buckled in for what was a stacked final day at Donnington Race track.

Unpeople, another exciting rising name in rock, thanked fans for coming down early to see them open Apex stage, and there was no lack of energy given the early hour. New single ‘Clouds’ got the pits going, the band’s four-part harmonies ringing around the rapidly filling field before drawing their set to a close with the bonafide earworm ‘The Garden’, which saw guitarist Luke Caley run into the crowd and initiate a circle pit around him.

Catch Your Breath set a more sensual mood over on Opus stage, their smooth metalcore fitting the Sunday mood perfectly, a suave and slick band, despite the Labubu hanging from guitarist Teddy Herrera’s neck.

New song ‘Control’ went down a treat as singer Josh Mowery informed the crowd; “This is our first time at Download and my god I hope it's not our last.” Instructing everyone to “Lose your fucking minds,” for the last song of the set “Shame on me’ it's a certainty that Downloaders are feeling exactly the same way.

“For the next 45 minutes you belong to me," RØRY declared over on Apex and stormed through a set of quirky, emotion filled and poignant tracks, including one made up of online hate comments.

“If the arse cellulite didn't give it away, I'm 41. One of the oldest women to ever stand on this stage for the first time. I always thought I was late. Turns out I'm right on time”. As intros to songs goes, this might win the song intro of the weekend for ‘Sorry I'm Late’. It may have taken Rory a while to get to the Main stage of Download but it suits her down to a t.

Thrown supplied a frantic and heavy-as-hell set over on Opus stage with a good mix of old and new tracks.

“This song is for the OG’s” vocalist Marcus Lundqvist intro’d for ‘Parasite’ being briefly drowned out by the red arrows whose engines could be heard over the rumble of Thrown’s bass, it only added to the hardcore metallers set.

TX2 thanked the people who gave them a chance over on the Avalanche stage, noting there wasn't one hater in the gathered crowd before bringing out Miles Dimitri Baker from Ice Nine Kills for ‘Mad’.

This is a band that not only knows how to, but isn't afraid to put on a show, singer Evan Thomas in his signature knee pads, putting safety first as he thrashed around the stage.

The Plot In You crushed their first-ever set at Download Festival on the Opus Stage. Whilst the band sounded massive, the energy in the field was relentless. From the opening breakdown of ‘Divide’ to the final notes of ‘FEEL NOTHING,’ there was a literal, non-stop conveyor belt of bodies flying over the barriers.

The Secret set over on Dogtooth was revealed to be Skindred, the secret not stopping hordes of fans from packing in the tent to see the Download favourites.

“Thank you so much for being our friends”, frontman Benji Webbe gushed as the band executed a short but sweet set that ended with the classic ‘Newport helicopter’ to ‘Warning’. With only time for 5 songs, the crowd was definitely left wanting more. Same time again next year eh lads?

Photos by Matt Higgs

Over on Apex stage, Ice Nine Kills did what Ice Nine Kills does best and put on the most extra, horror filled and at times nauseating show. With countless ‘murders’ on stage, a seemingly never ending cast of monstrous characters and even Matt and Johnny from Reel Big Fish, the whole set was almost too much to take in before you even get to the music. Fan favourites however were featured with ‘The laugh track’ going down especially well.

Bringing out Hannah Hermione Greenwood from Creeper for ‘Twisting the Knife’ all we can say is, you kinda have to see an Ice Nine Kills set to believe it.

The Avalanche Stage tent was completely packed for The Pretty Wild, with a crowd spilling out onto the grass. The band hit like a freight train, delivering a perfect mix of nu-metal, heavy screams and massive choruses that instantly locked in the audience.

Sisters Jyl and Jules Wyld looked entirely at home on stage, feeding off a sea of non-stop crowd-surfers from beginning to end, delivering a perfect set for their Download debut.

Throughout the entire weekend, the most common band shirt to be seen around the place was Bad Omens. The Virginia nu-metal sensations the ‘must see’ band on most people's lips.

“Can you can me a little ruckus" requested frontman Noah Sebastian to the packed-out field in front of the Apex Stage, of which a large percentage complied for the epic set.

Bad Omens have found their niche in rock and it's hard to not be a fan of their unique, bold and perfectly measured sound, Noah Sebastian quickly becoming known as one of the most skilled screamers in the scene. Coupled with his perfect and wide-ranging clean vocals, it's no wonder Download was so captivated by this band.

“Find us on MySpace” Sebastian winked at the close of the set before blowing the place up with the band’s heaviest track ‘Dethrone’.

Filling in at the last minute on the Dogtooth Stage after Static-X had to pull out, horror rockers Creeper bought the theatrics and the energy, delivering a set that proved to be the ultimate cure for Sunday-night exhaustion after a busy weekend.

Linkin Park, the final harrah of the weekend, gave Download a countdown from 10 minutes on the big screens of the main stage before a packed set of classic Chester tracks and new offerings from the modern iteration with Emily Armstrong at the helm.

Beginning with ‘The Emptiness Machine’, the huge song that heralded the band’s return in 2024, the energy was set at maximum level and didn't dip for the whole set.

In the twenty-three song set, every track was notable, every moment electric, Linkin Park are a band with a ridiculously long and important legacy and importantly for both Linkin Park, and Download, the headline set saw Armstrong become the first ever female front woman to headline the festival, an important achievement that Mike Shinoda acknowledged for Armstrong, as she was unwilling to draw attention to the fact herself.

With a brief pause in the middle of the set during ‘One step Closer’ when Armstrong paused as she spotted a crowd issue (turns out it was just a lost shoe) the set proceeded flawlessly and drew to a close with legendary tracks ‘Papercut’, ‘In the End’ and ‘Faint’.

Photos by Matt Higgs

In the bittersweet moments of the final night of Download Festival there is exhaustion, revelry, sadness and planning. Planning for next year, for the return to Donington by the fans that make the festival what it is, an inclusive, lively and passionate place to celebrate all things rock.

Until 2027 Download, we love you.

Words by Imogen Bird

Photos by Florelle Servageon