At one of Camdens most well known venues, on Friday 13th December, the doors of The Electric Ballroom opened to welcome Australian rock/alternative band The Faim. The band have had anabsolutely fantastic year which has included touring the world on their own tour as well as appearing at some of the biggest festivals, they also released their highly anticipated debut album ‘State Of Mind’.
Kickstarting the evening at the venue were Californian band Cemtery Sun. These guys really knew how to put on a show! The audience appared to really enjoy their very energetic set. The guys have announced that they will be returning to the UK in 2020.
After a short interval which gave us enough time to grab a quick drink and a nosey at the merch stand, the second act of the night to take to the stage were Hot Milk, a male and female dual fronted emo power-pop band from Manchester. 2019 has been a very busy year for them, having played 69 shows in 20 different countries! Without a dount, this band will be ones to look out for as they areexpecting to be making it big on the music scene next year. The audience got to see them playing numerous hits inluding ‘Wide Awake’, ‘Awful Ever After’ and their latest single ‘Candy Coated Lie$’.
Later in the evening came the act that we had all been waiting for, The Faim. The lights dimmed on walked Steve rocking a heavy bassline ready for the rest of the band to join. The band played a variety of songs from their album and their earlier EP release. As expected after seeing previous live shows from the band, their entire set proved to show so much passion, energy and a huge appreciation for their ever growing fanbase.
After seeing the band first perform back in early 2018 supporting Lower Than Atlantis its great to see how much they have grown as artists and also how they have diversified their music. They really have come such a long way in such a short space of time. At the end of the night it was clear to see that they were incredibly thankful for their fans, family and friends as the band members eyes were filled with emotion.
The Faim have announced that they will be back in 2020, I can assure you, I don’t intend on missing out on seeing them perform live again, so neither should any of you reading this article. Defintely a band that we here at Summer Festival Guide can reccomend time and time again as they never ever fail to put on an amazing show!
On Friday 6th December in the remarkable city of Cambridge, we waited in anticipation outside the doors of the Corn Exchange. A fantastic venue to which has played host to many events including music artists, theatre productions, comedians and more. The reason why we were there was to attend another awesome event The Darkness live! The Darkness are an alternative rock band originally from Lowestoft. The act formed back in the year 2000. The band consists of musicians Justin Hawkins on vocals and lead guitar, Dan Hawkins on guitar, Frankie Poullain on bass and last but not least Rufus Tiger Taylor on drums and percussion.
Upon entering the venue, our photographer and I came into the foyer, which inclued a bar at either side and also a merch stall selling products for both The Darkness and also the evening’s support act Rews. The venue filled up fairly quickly with eager and excited fans.
First, to take to the stage, were Rews, a female fronted alt/rock band that formed in Northern Ireland back in 2014. Shauna Tohill, Ele Lucas and Scott Hislop really got the night off to an energetic start! Their first realeased albums were titled ‘Pyro’ and ‘Your Tears’. The band were so full of energy filling the stage with jump kicks and lots of dance action. They sang a total of eight hits, including ‘Shake Shake’, ‘Can You Feel It?’ and their latest single ‘Birdsong’. Their music had a great variation in style, so there was something for everyone, including a mix from heavier rock to softer more ballad like tones. A great all rounder. The band showed great interaction with the crowd and you could tell the audience really loved their musical styles. Their new album is due for release in 2020, so make sure to be on the look out for that!
After a short interval, the band members of the night’s headline act, The Darkness entered wearing white suits and Justin Hawkins donning his expected flamboyant and show stopping attire. The band had performed two sets on the night in which they played the whole of their lastest album ‘Easter Is Cancelled’ and then the second half of their show featured their older well known hits. The audience was a wide range of ages, from older generations, to younger ones. Their was one young lad in the crowd who looked only around six years old, who was clearly having the time of his life, sitting on his parent’s shoulders wearing a sleeveless denim jacket with band patches on. His parents must be so proud!
There were 3 arches decorated with lights at the back of the stage in which cartoon clips were playing during the band’s set, this included cows in a field and also characters from the James Cameron’s infamous film Titanic. On the last song of the first half the band all except Justin left the stage. Justin was left on stage with just an acoustic guitar in which he sung ‘We Are The Guitar Men’.
After another short break, Frankie came back on stage with a cow bell and got the crowd to clap along with the beat of the bell. After a quick costume change the band returned to the stage once more. Justin wore a festive red jumpsuit with the front uncovered showing his tattoos and all kinds of nipple.
Justin was brilliant at getting the crowd involved with the show. He was getting them to try and reach the same pitches that he can even chanting out “F**k’. The whole room filled with amusement and ended up singing throughout the whole performance. When the initial bars of their infamous 2003 hit ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ were played everyone was elated and sang along. The night was brought to a close in the only festive way that it could have been, the band ended with their Christmas song ‘Christmas Time (Dont Let The Bells End)’, this was great as Christmas is only a few short weeks away.
Both bands were highly enjoyable to watch live and a definite must see if you get the chance.
Sunday 3rd November was a day that I had waited to experience for a long time. I was going to see a music act that I had been excited to see perform live since I was around 10 years old! That act is nineties and noughties boy band A1.
The band originally formed as a quartet in the late nineties. Consisting of band members Mark, Ben, Christian and Paul, they had seen huge success around the world after releasing well known singles Everytime, Summertime, Like A Rose, Same Old Brand New You, Caught In The Middle and the huge hit Take On Me – a cover single of the well known classic by Aha! A1‘s version of the track actually went straight to number one in the UK music charts while Aha only reached a number two position! In that time the band had also released three albums. Sadly, around five years into their expanding career and shortly after the release of their third album ‘Make It Good’, band member Paul Marazzi had announced his departure from A1 due to personal reasons. The fan base were left feeling concerned for the future of the band since the news broke.
Thankfully, remaining band members Ben, Christian and Mark had come to a decision to keep the act going under their original band name as trio. Since then they have seen a huge increase in fans over in Norway and Asia. They have also since released a few more albums and worked on their own solo material too.
Just a short time ago, in mid 2018, former singer Paul decided to reach out to band member Christian during A1’s brief period of appearances in the UK at the time and had asked arrange to meet the guys to catch up, in which they all did. Thankfully for both original and new fans, the band decided to reunite as the original line up and hit the road once again. So A1 The Reunion Tour was announced including shows in three UK locations. The guys had purposely chosen to play at smaller venues with just a few select dates as they weren’t sure just how well the Reunion shows would be recieved in the UK as they hadn’t fully persued their careers there for a number of years. Oddly enough, due to popular demand a fourth show was added to their UK dates, which to the band’s surprise, later meant that all of their UK shows had completely sold out in just four minutes!
It’s very clear that the guys of A1 and their management team were keen to really make the reunion work, they seem happy and enthusiastic about the future of the band. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to meet and interview them before they went on stage at their second London show, the Islington 02 Academy. Honestly, all four band members seemed very comfortable with each other and quite at ease and excited about all of the reunion shows in general. It appeared like Paul had never even departed at all. Upon first meeting the band, our photographer and I were greeted by management and taken to the VIP lounge where the meet and greets were taking place before the show. And there they were, all four original members of a band that I had admired for years just standing by the bar smiling for photos.
It wasn’t long until the two of us were introduced to the band and then taken downstairs to their two small dressing rooms to conduct a full interview. Now, I have only done a handful of interviews before as I’m usually too nervous to bring myself to actually do them, let alone perform in a professional manner. And in all honesty this is the one I was most anxious about doing. However, I’ve never been made to feel so welcome, calm and relaxed at a show that I have attended and reviewed. Ever! I have never met a nicer group of people! Christian provided us with traditional Norwegian spiced Christmas biscuits and bottles of water, I had discussed parenting and the wonder of baby wipes with Paul, Mark made sure we were comfortable by moving things around to make room for us to sit down on the leather sofa within the dressing room and Ben was talking to us as casually as you would speak to your best friend while doing his hair for the upcoming show. Fortunately, I was able to record the chat I had with the band as I asked them a variety of questions about their reunion, performing again as four members on stage and the potential of new music and future tours. I have used our photographer’s photos to create a video showcasing the live show and the interview that took place. Very kindly, both management and all members of A1 were happy to allow me to publish the audio recording for all of you to hear. The audio clip video and images will be linked in with this review, but here are a segments that I have picked out to share with you!
I expressed how excited that fans (including myself) were to see the original line up back together and once again performing live too. So of course I had to ask them how they felt about the big reunion.
Q: So how are you feeling about it being back as four? Ben: “It feels great! It’s a bit like riding a bike, it was a bit strange at first, Christian, myself and Mark had continued on for ages and ages and it had been about fifteen years since you joined (looking at Paul), initially it was a bit like oh, ok it feels a bit familiar and a bit weird, but like no time had passed really.”
Q: How are you feeling about all of your reunion shows? Mark: “Really good!”
Ben: “Really Great! The fans have been frickin brilliant because we’ve been tryingto work out what to do with the set, it’s funny, we’ve had big songs that were different in different countries so one song has been number 1 in the Phillappenes and over here (UK), they’ve never heard of it. So we just thought lets do everything! Everybody knows the words to pretty much every single song and that’s the beauty of Spotify and things like that now.”
Paul: “We knew it was going to be big as it sold out so quick.”
So now over twenty years on since the beginning of A1, of course I was curious to know how being in the band differs now compared to back in the day. Christian: “One of the biggest differences is that before, we would literally wake up to a sheet coming in under the door of our hotel rooms saying what we are going to do that day, starting at like 6am! Then we’d have dinner while doing other interviews getting ready for another gig and then fly to the next country. Now we are much more in control of our day. Generally we now have more control over our lives and what we say. We also have a better attitude this time around as there was a lot of pressure and money invested in us, so there was a lot expected from us.”
Ben: “Now, no one expects anything”
Christian: “Everything is just a bonus now and we are having a lot more fun. We are better songwriters now and better musicians than we were twenty years ago.” Just like any other A1 fan, I of course have my favourite tracks. I expressed to the band that I remember spending a lot of time in my bedroom during my early teen years playing ‘Caught In The Middle’ on my acoustic guitar, but there is one song of theirs in particular that will always have a special place in my heart, their ballad ‘Like A Rose’. So I was intruigued to see if the band members themselves had any preferences of their own.
Christian: “To me, it’s always ‘Everytime’. It was one of the first songs that broke us internationally, I remember so clearly when we wrote it and the thoughts that we had. I remember this dream I had in my head thinking wouldn’t it be so awesome if one day this melody and these lyrics that started in our little heads, if someone on the other side of the planet knew them, and that’s what happened! We had the biggest dream come true moment!”
Q: What else have we got to expect from A1? Ben: “The Boys Are Back tour next year, a new album, then booking in more and more concerts and we love doing the full hour and a half concerts with all the songs that fans want to hear. They don’t just wanna hear the hits, they wanna hear all the album tracks, all the B sides and everything like that.”
Christian: “It’s quite mind blowing that people still want to hear us all over the world. Over the years A1 has become a bit of a side project for us, but now it’s taken over as the main project for all of us.”
So there you have it, it’s official. There’s still plenty more of A1 to come!
The Reunion Show As the gig was completely sold out, this meant the venue at the London o2 Islington Academy was completely jam packed with excited fans! Both newcomers (including partners that had clearly been dragged along to the event, admit it you know you had a great time!) and original fans from all twenty years ago. Originally, a support act was planned to get the crowds ready for the main event! However due to unforseen circumstances there was a cancellation of their appearance. However many didn’t mind as this meant that A1 were due to come on stage earlier in the evening.
Around 9pm, the lights dimmed, a screen at the back of the stage displayed a variety of graphics and a gentle accapella tone could be heard, Yep! This was it! Time for Ben, Paul, Mark and Christian to open their long awaited reunion show! The band opened their show by performing before even appearing on stage with their beautiful ballad ‘Forever In Love’. As the track faded out they appeared on stage with lots of enthusiasm as they continued on to perform one of their biggest hits ‘Same Old, Brand New You’ with original chorepgraphy while under bright flashing lights, which was quite something to see!
The band went on to perform ‘Be The First To Believe’ and ‘Summertime’ before taking a moment out to talk to the audience and welcome back Paul to the line up. He proved to be very popular with the audience and all were glad to see him return. He was applauded and met with screams and a lot of appreciation. Marazzi then introduced a song of his choice that he was really looking forward to perform back with the rest of the band. And he made a good choice (yes, slight pun there), he chose the title track from their third studio album ‘Make It Good’. All four members interacted with the fans with such ease, continuously checking in with everyone there, asking where fans had travelled from, encouraging interaction through choreography, the works!
Of course we got to hear all of the hits as expected which included ‘No More’, ‘Everytime’ (which was met with a room of swaying lights from torches on mobile phones), ‘Ready Or Not’ and many more, but when the band had told me in their interview before the show that they had tried to fit in everything, they weren’t joking around. I’ve never been to a live show for a band where they have managed to perform as many tracks as A1 did there that evening. One clever way to fit in so many of their songs was to perform a medley, but no ordinary medley. They titled this selection of tracks ‘The Songs We Never Did’ a play on words referring to their track ‘The Things We Never Did’. This medley included ‘Here Comes The Rain’, ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Make It Through The Night’ (which was brought to an abrupt, yet amusing end as singer Ben decided he “didn’t like that one much”), ‘Learn To Fly’, ‘Living The Dream’, When I’m Missing You’ as well as a the more upbeat songs ‘Hey You’ and a snippet of a personal favourite album track of mine ‘Scared’. You see? They really did put in a lot of effort to get everything in, which of course went down very well with the audience there that evening.
For the majority of the medley,the four members were sat on stools, and one band member decided to share what we were all thinking during this segment of their set. Yes, Ben Adams made that very obvious musical link to Irish based band Westlife. In his own words he announced “I can see why Westlife like to do this!”. This simple and amusing statement was met with a huge roar of laughter from the crowds stood before him.
What was great to see was that the band performed the songs that the UK fans know very well and love too, however to show how they have progressed as musicians they also showcased some of their material that was released in other parts of the world which included their singles ‘Don’t Wanna Lose You Again’, ‘In Love And I Hate It’, their latest release – the beautifully written ‘Armour’ and also a brand new track which was exclusive to their UK reunion shows. The new song ‘Can We Go Back’ is very personal to all of the band members as it is a song about looking back on past fond memories. This composition was so exclusive that we were politely asked not to film or record them while performing it.
In an attempt to round off the night’s performance A1 performed one of their biggest hits to date, ‘Caught In The Middle’ before then exiting to the right side of the stage. I say an attempt to bring the evening to a close, as everyone there that evening had realised that there were a couple more very well known A1 hits that hadn’t yet been mentioned. The entire audience were very much in demand of hearing more music as the room was taken over by fans chanting “We want more!” and “three more songs!” As we had anticipated Paul, Mark, Christian and Ben returned to the stage once more to perform an encore segment of their set. This segment included the stunning ‘Like A Rose’ and most likely their biggest hit to date ‘Take On Me’ which brought the show to an actual close.
This show had everything that I had expected it would, great music at a huge variety, fantastic lighting and graphics on stage, amazing audience interaction, nostalgia for many and most importantly four happy, energetic and very talented band members that fans clearly still adore twenty years on! All A1 band members, management and their families should feel incredibly proud of these reunion shows, not just in the UK but all around the world. And I for one am so excited to hear new material from them in the future! Thank you A1 for being “The Same Old, Brand New You”.
Our photographer Kane Howie popped down to Wilkestock just outside of Stevenage and took some photos. The weekend was headlined by We Are Scientists, Slaves and The Dutty Moonshine Band. The three day event had a variety of different genres of music for everyones taste. There were bands, solo artists, DJ sets and more. The main stage had recycled sofas for people to chill out on. In the food court there were burgers, hot dogs, curly fries, pizza, Malaysian curry, toasties, ice creams, waffles and pancakes. A huge thanks to everyone who was involved in making the festival great. Roll on next year!!
Truck Festival was back last weekend with being a sell out. The lineup is incredible with some of the hottest bands and artists around. The festival had great weather apart from a shower of rain throughout Friday night and into the Saturday morning. It seemed to be the only festival that weekend that kept dry and sunny. The weekend was headlined by Wolf Alice, Foals and closed with Two Door Cinema Club.
The site had a huge selection of food vendors which included burgers, pizza, steak sarnies, sausage rolls, tacos and many more. The thing we love about Truck is that the local rotary club have a food tent in which all proceeds go to charity. There were so many amazing acts throughout the weekend and our photographer Kane Howie was there to document it for us.
In just a few weeks time, Truck Festival is due to take place in Oxfordshire with being a sell out its sure to be the best festival of the year! The lineup for this year is by far one of the best we have seen. Summer Festival Guide has been covering the festival for the past few years and we think its great to let you know on who we think you should check out. See below for the top bands to check out at this years Truck Festival!!
HOT MILK – Saturday-The Nest-13.15
YONAKA-Friday-The Nest-19.30
DODIE-Sunday-The Market Stage-19.00
DECO-Saturday-Truck Stage-14.15
STRANGE BONES-Sunday-This Feeling-20.45
MARSICANS-Friday-Truck Stage- 15.00
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN-Sunday-The Market Stage-14.45
We hope you liked some of the bands we chose. You can see the full line up and more information at the Truck Festival website https://truckfestival.com/
London based band Bears Den stopped off on their ‘So That You Might Hear Me’ tour at the legendary venue Sheperd’s Bush Empire, in which is a very important place for them as noted during the show as one member was formerly an employee at a local pub just along the same road as the venue. Both London shows were sold out and it was their last UK show before jetting off to play all over Europe.
Arriving at the venue with a capacity of 2000, the room is filled with excitement from the crowd. Whilst patiently waiting for the first act Tusks to arrive on stage, people were sipping at their beverages , chatting amongst themselves with many also observing the merch stall.
The stage was lit with blue lighting with a gentle haze of smoke while two vintage styled rugs were seen covering the floor. Around 8:00pm, the lights began to dim and support act Tusks took to the stage. Tusks is actually the stage name for performer Emily Underhill. Her style of music is most suited to an electronic indie pop genre. Her sound can be likened to that of London Grammar. The artist expressed that she was very grateful to be supporting Bears Den and especially for two consecutive nights as it is a venue she has always dreamed of performing in. Her set showcased a total of six songs including the single ‘Be Mine’, which is featured on her new album that is due for release in June. She was well received with the crowd who were now really looking forward to the headliners.
The stage was cleared quite quickly and was all set up for Bears Den. With guitars all ready and also a little wooden piano. As the lights dimmed they had the most nostalgic sci-fi style intro as the Terminator theme tune played them in. The duo walked on with four supporting musicians. It was still pretty dark with just a few white lights that focused on the band from below as they played their first song ‘Fuel On The Fire’. Shortly after, their second song of the evening saw singer Andrew Davie said how great it was to play the venue again and that we do have more songs to play. The crowd swayed and danced during the performance. When playing ‘Sophie’ the band turned off all equipment and came to the front of the stage and asked for complete silence and kept it simple with an acoustic rendition of the song. They also performed an unplugged song in the crowd later on in the show which was ‘Blankets Of Sorrow’.
When performing, ticket holders enjoyed singing the lyrics along with the band. Bears Den played a wide range of new and classic songs which included music from their latest album which was only released this month (April 2019). The album is due for release just a few short days after this gig at Sheperd’s Bush. Band member Andrew toasted the show with a shot and expressed a huge thank you to everyone who has supported them over the years.
At the end of the evening the band brought their show to a close with probably one of their biggest hits to date. ‘Agape’. It was the perfect way to end the evening. You can catch the band on their European tour and also at Citadel Festival in London on 14th July 2019.
Download Festival, the champion of rock events, is pleased to welcome WWE NXT UK to the hallowed grounds of Donington Park across 14-16 June 2019, as well as SEVENTEEN further bands including supergroup Simple Creatures, The Wonder Years, and Dinosaur Pile-up.
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne, NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm, and Tyler Bate will be among the NXT UK stars parading thrilling displays of dynamic athleticism during the bonafide full-scale ring bouts in the festival arena, which for the first time ever will be taped and aired as part of the weekly NXT UK show on the WWE Network. Superstars Trent Seven, Walter, Rhea Ripley, Jordan Devlin, NXT UK Tag Team Champions The Grizzled Young Veterans, Travis Banks, Gallus and many more to be announced, will descend upon Download for a weekend of high flying maneuvers, action-packed matches and unexpected surprises. NXT has made a massive impact at the festival in previous years, performing to capacity crowds throughout the weekend, featuring impressive debuts, shocking returns and exciting moments. This is the ultimate win for wrestling fans!
Joining headliners Slipknot, Tool and Def Leppard and a host of acts already announced for the annual rock spectacle, are SEVENTEEN other amazing acts. In a UK Festival Exclusive is supergroup Simple Creatures, comprising of blink-182’s Mark Hoppus and All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth, who will headline the Avalanche stage on the Saturday night. Known as legends of the pop-punk scene, the pair will give an unmissable exclusive and first UK Festival performance at this year’s Download. Already releasing two infectious singles ‘Strange Love’ and ‘Drug’, Simple Creatures will release their debut EP Strange Love on March 29th. Simple Creatures said: “An evening of Trash-Pop reverie awaits you at Download Fest. There will be Creatures. They will be Simple. There will be singing and dancing in a big tent. What more could you possibly want?”
Also added are Dinosaur Pile-up who have spent the better part of two decades as purveyors of riff laden ginormous rock and are well versed in whipping the crowd into a frenzy, the powerhouse blend of psychedelic with grunge from Allusinlove, and Liverpool’s Queen Zee who are ready to cause a commotion with their inspiring anthems through their fluid expression of brash queer punk. The Wonder Years will smash a punk shaped whole through Donington with a raucous set of anti-suburban anthems, and they will be in good company with UK pop-punk upstarts Roam, known for their energetic and frantic live shows.
Norway’s Kvelertak are on their way to lead the crowd through a relentless onslaught of exciting ‘black n roll’ and join this year’s line up, as are the aptly named Hot Milk who are one of the hottest upcoming names in UK rock, Finland’s own thrash prodigies Lost Society bringing with them their relentless insanely fast metal for head banging aplenty, the grime meets punk London duo Nova Twins, and dirty blues rockers The Picturebooks. Graveyard will be making their welcome return seamlessly blending rock, soul, 60’s acid fuzz and of course a big dash of heavy metal into an infectious musical stew, alongside Mongolian internet sensations The Hu which is a genre you didn’t know you needed in your life. Goodbye June, Vambo, Cloud and Kim Jennett also set to play.
Download Festival, the world’s premier rock event, has announced a further 43 acts including Halestorm, FEVER 333, Beartooth, Skid Row, Brothers Osbourne, Stone Temple Pilots, Clutch and more, joining headliners Slipknot, Tool and Def Leppard for the annual rock extravaganza. The three-day festival takes place on 14-16 June 2019 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Kerrang! Radio have also launched a talent search for a chance to open the Avalanche Stage at the festival, head to Kerrang! Radio for more info. Tickets are on sale now at downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets.
Arena rockers Halestorm will make their grand return to Download delivering break-neck riffs and lung-busting vocals courtesy of the incredible Lzzy Hale. Stone Temple Pilots, responsible for megahits ‘Plush’, ‘Interstate Love Song’ and ‘Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart’ will make their first Download appearance with new vocalist Jeff Gutt. Festival favourites and hard rocking institution Clutch will make their sixth appearance, as well as classic grunge rock revivalists Aaron Buchanan & the Cult Classics led by the former Heaven’s Basement frontman.
Beartooth have ascended to star status with their groove-driven singalongs and the release of their third album ‘Disgusting’. FEVER 333 have gained a reputation for their hyperactive, political ‘demonstrations’ which will not be forgotten in a hurry. Palaye Royale are name on everyone’s lips as the unanimous kings of ‘fashion-art’ rock, the exuberant trio have garnered a legion of fans and ready to make a statement. Brighton’s Black Peaks will thrill fans, having previously impressed with their mastery of melody and raw power that have seen them become one of the UK’s brightest metal prospects. Japanese veterans Coldrain will whip up the crowd with their punchy, bouncy metalcore.
Legendary ‘Youth Gone Wild’ classic rockers Skid Row are on course for a hit-filled set. Supergroup Deadland Ritual, featuring former members of Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses, Billy Idol and Apocalyptica, are set for a seismic performance. Country rock dynamos Brothers Osbourne will add some killer licks to the proceedings, plus the heavy metal Last in Line, featuring members of the original line up of Dio, and Wolf Jaw will also be on hand to deliver some dirty rock n’ roll.
Fans of all things black and death metal will be thrilled with the additions of pioneers Behemoth and At The Gates, both famed for their respective first-of-their-kind mastery of the genres. They’ll be in good company with UK upstarts Conjurer whose amalgamation of sludge, hardcore and black metal have labelled them as massive ones-to-watch. Also added are the ominous Swedish outfit Batushka and Ne Obliviscaris who’ll usher in a new era in extreme music to Donington.
Ascending pop punk rockers Trash Boat have been pummelling the road as one of the leading, forward-thinking bands in the scene and the quintet’s claim to the throne is on the horizon. Rock radio mainstays Three Days Grace are on hand to deliver a powerful performance, as are Godsmack with choruses so anthemic they grant no immunity, alongside Bad Wolves whose viral cover of ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries shot them into the spotlight in 2018.
For those who like their metal delivered with laser-like precision, Animals as Leaders will astound with their technical virtuosity. Heart Of A Coward return to lay waste to the fields of Donington with new vocalist Kaan Tasan. They are joined by tech metal instrumentalists Intervals and UK prog metallers Toska, who have quickly become an exciting force in the ever-growing scene.
Newcastle post-hardcore band GroundCulture have been grafting away, building a fierce reputation ready to take on Download, and forward-thinking nu-metal act Cane Hill are also confirmed, whose visceral approach has helped reignite the genre.
Download 2019 will be a truly international affair with the addition of Reputable party thrash heroes Municipal Waste, French post metal/shoegaze Alcest, and Sumo Cyco who have made waves with their fusion of rhythm and dancehall hooks and metal riffs. Flying the flag for Japan are all female power metal stars Love Bites as well as Japanese metalcore titans Crystal Lake.
Australian natives Redhook, and Twelve Foot Ninja will also be making the long trip to get the mosh pits started, while Representing New Zealand are hard rockers Like A Storm.
Electronic-infused industrial duo SKYND are ready to make things dark, creepy and sanguine all at once. Bridgend five piece Those Damn Crows are purveyors of melodic, in-your-face and exhilarating hard rock. Icon For Hire have been breaking down boundaries worldwide and are ready to stamp their mark on their Download debut. Up next are pop-punk new comers Lost In Stereo, Manchester’s hottest new band Parting Gift, and last but not least are melodic rockers Vega.
Download Festival, the world’s premier rock event, has announced a further 23 acts including Slayer with their last ever UK show, The Smashing Pumpkins, Dream Theater, Lamb of God, Eagles Of Death Metal, and more. The three-day festival takes place 14-16 June 2019 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Tickets are on sale now at downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets.
Metal royalty Slayer will be making their final UK appearance at Download 2019 after 37 years of mayhem. Their impact on musical culture cannot be overstated and fans should prepare for yet another legendary performance which will include a barrage of classics as they make one last celebratory sweep of Donington.
The Smashing Pumpkins will make their first appearance at Download Festival next year. The altrock and grunge legends have stunned crowds worldwide on their 30th anniversary tour and are as ageless and seminal as ever. Loud, quiet, dreamy, stirring and everything in-between – The Smashing Pumpkins debut Download performance is not one to be missed.
Prog-metal titans Dream Theater have been at the top of the game for 33 years. Having inspired countless bands along their storied career, their performance will be no less grandiose as they return to Download after a 10 year absence. They will be joined by the groove-laden modern metal heavyweights Lamb of God, as well as Eagles Of Death Metal, who invite fans to revel in all their rock’ n roll glory on their second ever Download appearance.
The prodigally powerful Maori-metal trio Alien Weaponry have carved their own sound somewhere between Sepultura and Silverschair and are in good company with the heavy-metal powerhouse Anthrax who will give fans a performance to remember. Brooding rockers Badflower are hotlytipped after the success of their poignant, powerful single ‘Ghost’, and joining them are industrial noise-punks Black Futures who have been making seismic waves and will take the crowd on a trip of a lifetime.
Atlanta southern rockers Blackberry Smoke will be on hand to serve up a truck load of raucous country-infused good times. Detroit post-hardcore band I Prevail have proven that they are the real deal and will whip the crowd into a frenzy, and so too will Los Angeles natives The Interrupters. Ukrainian tech metallers Jinjer, led by their incredibly powerful frontwoman Tatiana Shmaylyuk, are also added to the line up and will bring their all-powerful live performance to Download.
Man With A Mission are jumping on board with their pulse-racing hooks, riffs and giant wolf heads in tow, and are joined by fellow genre-melder nothing,nowhere. who has taken the world by storm with his hybrid emo-rap, pushing both genres forward as the most exciting force in the ever-growing scene. Our Last Night whose rapid rise to success shows no sign of slowing down are also added to the bill, as too are Riding The Low who are making the pilgrimage from Burton-on-Trent featuring Paddy Considine on vocals.
Swedish sensations Royal Republic will also join the Download 2019 line up alongside Pop-punk frontrunners State Champs who’re fresh off the back of the release of their third album ‘Living Proof’. Rising Nepalese metal disruptors Underside will turn up the volume and are in good company with the well-oiled deathcore machine Whitechapel who will steam roll in to lay waste to the fields of Donington.
Australian up-and-comers Yours Truly will be flying in with a freight of huge choruses with them, and last but not least Floridian party starters Zebrahead are bringing the fun with no shortage of anthems and antics to get the crowd going.
Download Festival is the home of rock music and takes place on the sacred grounds of Donington Park, which have been associated with rock since the eighties. The festival attracts icons of rock to its main stage, plus some of the best and hottest new acts in the world. AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Black Sabbath, The Prodigy, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot, Linkin Park and many more have all headlined the main stage.
