Download festival

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Perfect pitch: the 2024 UK music festivals you can still book now
We may not be able to guarantee the sunshine, but British summer time always means great live music. Grab your spangly cowboy hat – these are the best fests to visit this year

Huw Baines, Michael Cragg, Ammar Kalia, Kate Solomon & Jenessa Williams

09, Mar, 2024 @11:55 AM

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Download festival review – 20th birthday brings double Metallica, occult glam and a new breed
After travel chaos this proves to be an epic four-dayer, with an eclectic mix from Bring Me the Horizon to AA Williams plus Metallica spanning their career

Matt Mills

12, Jun, 2023 @11:32 AM

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‘We are the great unwashed’: Iron Maiden, Metallica and more on 20 years of Download
The mega metal weekender celebrates its anniversary this year. In an oral history its stars, punters and long-suffering crew remember Spitfire fly-bys, urine-filled bottles and a lot of mud

Sam Coare

09, Jun, 2023 @1:00 PM

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Give it some welly: the 30 best UK music festivals still available to book
The summer’s big events sell out sooner every year but, whether you like gnarly moshpits, banging dance tents, kid-friendly jazz retreats or gastro entertainment, there’s still time to take your pick and get looking for your camping gear

Michael Cragg, Leonie Cooper, Michael Hann , Ammar Kalia and Jenessa Williams

01, Apr, 2023 @10:55 AM

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Download festival review – monster metal weekend roars back to full volume
At capacity again after two years of Covid, jubilant crowds greet showstopping turns from full-glam Kiss to musically flashy Iron Maiden and the fury of Bleed from Within

Matt Mills

13, Jun, 2022 @1:19 PM

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Field of dreams: the best music festivals still available to book
Big hitters such as Glastonbury may be sold out but – from an Afrobeats party in Portugal to Lil Wayne in a Cambridge orchard – there’s a huge variety of outdoor events out there to brighten your summer

Emma Garland, Graeme Virtue and Jenessa Williams

02, Apr, 2022 @8:00 AM

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Abba to Zappa: pop, rock and classical music to look forward to in 2022
UK rap’s biggest star goes on tour, Wet Leg drop a deadpan debut and Rosalía gets into reggaeton. Here are the albums, concerts and tours the big hitters have in store

Alexis Petridis and Andrew Clements

30, Dec, 2021 @6:00 AM

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Download Pilot review – a joyful noise for fans and bands
Exuberant scenes at the rock and metal festival test event find its 10,000 guinea pigs leaving Covid blues far behind

Matt Mills

20, Jun, 2021 @5:09 PM

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‘It’s going to be weird’: Download festival opens with no social distancing
10,000 rock and heavy metal fans look forward to weekend of moshing without masks at Covid pilot event

Jessica Murray

18, Jun, 2021 @7:23 PM

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Peter Gabriel: festivals risk ‘losing everything’ without government insurance
Industry figures warn nightclubs and music venues also being pushed towards ‘financial cliff edge’ by delay in lockdown easing

Laura Snapes and Jasper Jolly

17, Jun, 2021 @10:31 AM

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Download festival to return as 10,000-capacity test event – with moshing
Metal festival in June, operating at eighth of usual size, will be first three-day camping festival as pandemic restrictions relax

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

26, May, 2021 @9:49 AM

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Isle of Wight festival moves to September as Download and Primavera cancel
Events originally scheduled for June are postponed and cancelled, as sector continues to press UK government for insurance scheme

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

02, Mar, 2021 @2:21 PM

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