Download festival
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
‘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
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
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
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
Metallica: the night the masters of metal gave me hope for the future
Continuing our series on the artists who had a formative influence on our music writers, Matt Mills recalls how a cataclysmic set at his first ever festival helped him overcome his deepest anxieties
Matt Mills
02, Feb, 2021 @9:36 AM
Download and Isle of Wight festivals cancelled due to coronavirus
Metal and pop events called off, joining Glastonbury, the Great Escape and more on the cancellation list
Ben Beaumont-Thomas
26, Mar, 2020 @1:42 PM
Download festival review – fire, fury and hymns to the dark side
Headliners Slipknot and Def Leppard lead the way on a long weekend of big riffs and shouting
Dom Lawson
17, Jun, 2019 @11:13 AM
Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Download and Wireless festivals to go plastic-free
Global promoter Live Nation pledges to eliminate single-use plastics from festivals and venues by 2021
Laura Snapes
24, May, 2019 @11:20 AM
Download festival review – Slayer cast dark spells with ferocious swan song set
British hard rock festival brings angst, anger and a lot of black lipstick to western Sydney’s peaceful parklands
Nathan Dunne
11, Mar, 2019 @1:43 AM
Download festival review – Guns N' Roses dominate metal's biggest party
Marilyn Manson is a chilled-out entertainer, Avenged Sevenfold comfortably top the bill and Ozzy Osbourne feels the love during the metal marathon
Dom Lawson
11, Jun, 2018 @10:09 AM
The UK’s eight best music festivals
From the Mighty Hoopla’s queer, pop-focused celebration to Download’s annual joyous metal onslaught, there’s an event this summer for everyone
Leonie Cooper
12, May, 2018 @8:15 AM
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