The hallowed grounds of Donington are calling and while the weather is looking about as predictable as a letlive. set we’re here to bring you the bands you absolutely cannot miss this weekend!

Words by Felix Bartlett | June 08, 2026

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Grab those wellies, that Hawaiian shirt and the factor 50, and leave those bloody wheelie bins at home because although the weather is looking about as predictable as a letlive. set, we are here to get you locked in and prepped for some of the best artists across the UK’s heaviest weekend in the festival calendar. Download Festival 2026 runs 12-14 June at Donington Park and with a bill this stacked, you’re gonna to need a plan. So without further adue here are the acts you cannot afford to sleep on.

Native James | Avalanche Stage

Right, we are going to be biased here and we don’t care. We sat down with AJ earlier this year, we watched him support Enter Shikari at a sold-out at Haggerston Brew and Kingston, and we left that venue with our jaws somewhere near the floor. The man is building something genuinely special and Download is the next step up on what has been a near-vertical climb. Friday on the Avalanche Stage. This is a set that’s going to pop off!

Caskets | Opus Stage

For anyone who has ever cried in a mosh pit and felt completely fine about it, Caskets are the band for you. Massive choruses, emotionally devastating lyrics, and Matt Flood’s vocals doing things that should probably be illegal have helped make the UK melodic metalcore outfit one of the scene’s standout bands.

Fresh off the release of their latest album, they’re showing no signs of slowing down. Catch them kicking off the weekend on Friday over on the Opus Stage.

RØRY | Apex Stage

Honestly just go. Whatever else you have planned on Sunday, move it. Røry is one of the most talked-about names on the entire bill for very good reason and anyone who has seen her live will tell you she is something else entirely. The kind of performer who makes a room stop dead in its tracks. Catch Røry Sunday on the Apex stage.

letlive. | Avalanche Stage

Here is the thing about letlive. You can never fully prepare for a letlive. set. You can know all the songs, you can have seen them before, and Jason Butler will still find a way to completely floor you. The unpredictability is the entire point and at a festival like Download it is absolutely electric.

Scene Queen | Apex Stage

Rhinestones. Breakdowns. Barbie & Ken blasting across the main stage on a Friday afternoon. Hannah Collins is genuinely one of the most exciting things to happen to heavy music in years and if you are not already on board then Download is your wake-up call. Bimbocore was always bound to return Donington . Welcome to the future of the scene, we think you are going to like it here.

Story of the Year | Avalanche Stage

Calling all grown adults with mortgages and a suspicious number of feelings. Story of the Year are on the Avalanche Stage on Friday and Until the Day I Die is going to sound absolutely enormous in a field. This is the singalong moment your inner fourteen-year-old has been waiting for since 2003. Let them have it.

DRAIN | Avalanche Stage, Friday

Twenty-odd minutes of Sacramento hardcore fury and then it’s over and you are stood there wondering what just happened. Drain are fast, vicious and absolutely brilliant at it. Friday Avalanche Stage and if you blink you will miss them so please, for the love of everything, do not blink.

Creeper | Opus & Dogtooth Stage, Friday / Sunday

Southampton’s most dedicated goths and one of the finest live bands in UK rock full stop. Creeper at a festival is a different experience entirely to Creeper in a club and if you have been sleeping on them then mate, it has been long enough. Theatrical, anthemic and completely committed to the bit in the best possible way. If that wasn’t enough to convince you then let the fact the band are putting on two sets across the weekend speak for itself.

South Arcade | Apex Stage, Sat

If you managed to survive the Friday onslaught after Limp Bizkit then catching South Arcade on the Saturday morning is exactly the remedy you need. Massive choruses, 2000s indie-rock nostalgia and the kind of energy that makes you feel like a functioning human again.

Paleface Swiss | Opus Stage, Fri

Would you like your face removed from your skull in a very enjoyable way? Brilliant, Paleface Swiss are on Friday afternoon and they are absolutely not messing around. Zurich deathcore merchants armed with a fresh EP and genuinely unhinged live energy. The Opus Stage is going to feel considerably smaller than it actually is once they get going.

Silly Goose, Avalanche Stage | Fri

The name is a trick. Silly Goose are anything but and the Avalanche Stage on Friday is going to be completely unhinged in the best possible way. The kind of band you accidentally discover between sets and spend the rest of the weekend aggressively recommending to strangers.

Dinosaur Pile-Up | Avalanche Stage, Sunday.

Big riffs. Bigger choruses. Zero pretension. Dinosaur Pile-Up have been one of the most reliably brilliant live bands in British rock for years and after their grand return last year this is the best chance you’ll get to see them return to the festival circuit! So make sure you’re there when they hit up the Avalanche stage on Sunday.

Dogstar | Opus Stage, Sunday

Yes, that Keanu Reeves. Yes, he is actually in the band. Yes, we reviewed the new album and gave it a 3.5 out of 5 so you know we are not just saying this because of the movie star thing. Dogstar on a Sunday afternoon at Download is genuinely perfect festival programming. Breezy, fuzzy 90s alt-rock in the afternoon sun before the heaviness kicks back in.

Frozemode | Avalanche Stage, Sat

Experimental punk-rap trio and one of the most genuinely unpredictable bookings on the whole bill. We are not entirely sure what is going to happen when Frozemode take the Saturday Avalanche Stage and that is exactly why you should be there. Some of the best festival memories come from the sets that completely catch you off guard. This has that written all over it.

Drowning Pool | Opus Stage, Sat

Bodies. You know the one. But here is the thing, Drowning Pool are genuinely brilliant live and have been doing this for over two decades with exactly zero signs of slowing down. Saturday Opus Stage is poised to bring one of the most nostalgic bangers to the hallowed grounds of Donnington Park!

Slay Squad | Dogtooth Stage, Fri

Dogtooth Stage, Friday, and one of the most exciting names on the bill that a lot of people are still sleeping on. This lot have been blowing up across social channels and for good reason! We needn’t say more other than trust us. Slay Squad are ferocious, focused, and completely uninterested in going easy on anyone.

Thrown | Opus Stage, Sun

Criminally underslept on and genuinely one of the most punishing things you will experience across the whole weekend. Thrown on Sunday afternoon is the kind of set that rearranges something inside your chest and leaves you standing there going yes, that, more of that.

Die Spitz | Avalanche Stage, Sat

We were at the Underworld in February when Die Spitz sold out one of Camden’s most iconic venues and delivered a set that felt less like a gig and more like a reckoning. The Austin four-piece filled every single inch of that room and left the crowd absolutely floored. Now they are doing it on the Saturday Avalanche Stage at Donington and honestly we cannot wait to see what they do with the extra space. Something To Consume was one of our albums of 2025 and this band are the real deal.

Mouth Culture | Avalanche Stage, Sat

Leicester’s finest and one of the most exciting British rock bands doing the rounds right now. Mouth Culture have been quietly racking up serious momentum, from supporting You Me At Six on their farewell tour to festival appearances that keep getting bigger, and Saturday at Download feels like another step up on what has been a very deliberate climb. Ambience, big synths, intricate guitars and melodic hooks that lodge themselves in your brain whether you like it or not.

Limp Bizkit | Apex Stage, Fri

We saved the big one for last because frankly it deserves its own moment. Get that nookie and be ready to bring the cookie because Limp Bizkit are headlining Friday and it is going to be absolutely and completely unhinged. Fred Durst on the Download main stage is one of those singular rock festival experiences that you either get or you do not, and if you are reading this you absolutely get it. After demolishing the main stage last time, the Bizkit are back to reclaim their throne and probably take the roof off a field that does not have a roof. The set that makes or breaks your weekend. Spoiler, it is going to make it.