95,000 people descended on Donington Park for Download Festival 2026.
It was a mixed bag for weather, with the early arrivals on the Wednesday and Thursday greeted by lots of rain, but the weekend itself was dry and sunny to make for an enjoyable festival.
Five on the Doghouse Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Matt Higgs/Download Festival
We started on Thursday with James B. Partridge’s Primary School Bangers in the Doghouse. It was outside tent room only, with thousands crammed inside and listening outside, shouting back many of the songs we sang in primary school and some of the emo classics.
After a wander around the village, the highlight of the day was the energetic set by Five, bringing hits like Everybody Get Up, Slam Dunk Da Funk and a cover of Queen’s We Will Rock You. It was a packed tent reminiscing those early 00s pop jams.
Story Of The Year on the Avalanche Stage at Download Festival 2026. Picture credit: Lizi Birt
We started Friday by listening to Scene Queen’s Apex Stage performance from the queue. It wasn’t the best of sounds due to the positioning of our queue but on entry, we could enjoy the end of her set.
After some interviews (which will be up on the site soon) we caught the first of four Creeper-related sets taking place over the weekend with their Opus Stage performance (they would also be doing an acoustic set, a DJ set, and headlining the Dogtooth stage on the Sunday). They would have benefitted more from a later slot to add to the theatrical aspect, but put on one hell of a show.
Creeper at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett/Download Festival
The focus was the Sanguivore albums, with Will and Hannah’s vocals absolutely standing out through the likes of Blood Magick (it’s a Ritual), Headstones, and Parasite, with the set ending with Will’s beheading.
A fantastic set was put on over on the Avalanche Stage by Story Of The Year, providing a range of tracks from across their back catalogue including Gasoline from new album A.R.S.O.N, and And the Hero Will Drown from 2003’s Page Avenue.
Feeder on the Avalanche Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
They were jumping around and having a great time on stage, and the packed tent were reflecting the energy right back at them.
Feeder delighted the Avalanche Stage crowd with a varied set including the likes of opening track Kyoto, classic Buck Rogers, and Godzilla, ending with Just a Day and a cover of Nirvana’s Breed.
South Arcade on the Apex Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Gobinder Jhitta/Download Festival
Saturday began with South Arcade absolutely killing it on the Apex Stage. Combining Harmony’s vocals and smoke machine, drummer Cody’s consistency, guitarist Harry and bassist Ollie’s riffs with the really cool graffiti can set design, it was an extremely fun start to the day.
South Arcade on the Apex Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
After some more interviews, it was back to Apex Stage for Black Veil Brides. While I am pretty bias as they are one of my favourite bands, they produced one of the best sets of the weekend. Andy’s growls were absolutely flawless in tracks old and new. Drummer CC was unable to play but his stand in Wade kept pace beautifully. Jake’s riffs were fantastic too.
Black Veil Brides on the Apex Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
Opening with a classic in Knives and Pens, they delighted the packed out crowd, bringing newer tracks from the Vindicate album in the titular track as well as Bleeders, and closing out the set with more classics like Rebel Love Song, The Legacy, Fallen Angels, and In the End.
One of the best sets of the weekend definitely came from Set It Off on the Opus Stage. There was a packed crowd screaming along to the likes of Punching Bag, Pathological, Why Worry and Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing reborn version.
Set It Off on the Opus Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
They went hard and you could tell that the creative freedom they now have has reinvigorated the band as it was clear to see how much they were enjoying themselves. Drummer Maxx even brought his wrestling belts on stage with him.
I just wish their set was longer.
As It Is put on a great show on the Avalanche Stage too. A pretty full tent saw them play a mix of tracks from their recent catalogue including new single Live, laugh, Love, Los Angeles, and oldies including The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry), and breakthrough single Dial Tones.
The All-American Rejects on the Avalanche Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
The day ended with a fun set from The All-American Rejects which included some funky jokes and tracks like Swing Swing, Dirty Little Secret, Sweat, and Gives You Hell.
There was a bit of drama during the Architects set, with the set being halted on two occasions due to security and crowd issues. Sam seemed to be struggling with some of his vocals too.
I caught a bit of Guns ‘N Roses on the Apex Stage, but much like in 2018, I wasn’t too impressed with their set as it was quite bland and Axl’s voice really seems to be going.
Guns ‘N Roses on the Apex Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
Sunday started over on the Opus Stage with Texas metalcore band Catch Your Breath who were incredible. I’d recently become a fan and they truly cemented themselves as one of my favourites.
They were followed by Mammoth who provided some classic rock and some sick riffs.
It was off to the Apex Stage for RØRY who kicked ass to a large crowd.
Skindred on the Dogtooth Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
After more interviews it was time to catch the end of Annisokay’s set on the Dogtooth Stage. It was great to hear them sounding even better than they did when I first saw them back in 2015/16 (and I thought they were great then).
The tent was packed for Annisokay and it remained the same for the secret set by Skindred which followed. The crowd were eager for the Welsh band, with many starting the famed Newport Helicopter a few songs too early. The crowd were having the time of their life, and there was even a small tribute to Ozzy Osbourne.
I was quite disappointed with the end of The Pretty Reckless’ set. It seemed like Taylor was struggling a bit with her voice from where I was stood in the crowd.
Ice Nine Kills featuring Hannah Hermione from Creeper and Ghostface on the Apex Stage at Download Festival 2026. Credit: Lizi Birt
The festival for me closed with Ice Nine Kills putting on one hell of a show on the Apex Stage. I think they deserve a headline slot due to the insane theatrics and of course the incredibly detailed music – from the lyrics right down to the tones and effects. They were joined on stage by Less Than Jake and Hannah from Creeper, all of whom elevated the performance to the next level.
It was a first Download for me in a couple of years and I was impressed by the repositioning of the Avalanche Stage. It sounded much better and having the stage at the bottom of the hill meant everyone could see it better from the crowd.
There was a bit of frustration in the arena with the overlap of stages – where you could hear two stages at the same time from some points and the music from the fairground rides seemed overly loud when positioned near to a stage.
Here’s to Download 2027, with tickets on sale now.