Download Festival reveals first wave of bands for 2026 edition

Download Festival has just revealed the first wave of artists set to perform at the UK’s premier rock and metal festival, returning to Donington Park from 10th to 14th June 2026.

Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses, Linkin Park, Bad Omens, Trivium, Architects, Cypress Hill, Electric Callboy, Halestorm, Ice Nine Kills, BABYMETAL, Pendulum, The Pretty Reckless, Black Veil Brides, Behemoth, Mastodon, The All-American Rejects, Feeder, Cavalera, Static-X, Blood Incantation, ASH, Bloodywood, Bush, Dogstar, Hollywood Undead, Imminence, Kublai Khan TX, Landmvrks, Letlive., Mammoth, Paleface Swiss, Periphery, P.O.D., RØRY, Scene Queen, Set It Off, Sleep Theory, Social Distortion, Story Of The Year, South Arcade, The Plot In You, Thornhill, Those Damn Crows, Thrown, Tom Morello, We Came As Romans, Ankor, As Everything Unfolds, As It Is, Boundaries, Catch Your Breath, Corrosion Of Conformity, Decapitated, Die Spitz, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Drain, Drowning Pool, Ego Kill Talent, Elder, Gatecreeper, Headwreck, Holywata, Iuri, James And The Cold Gun, Lake Malice, Lakeview, Last Train, Lowen, Magnolia Park, Melrose Avenue, Mouth Culture, Nasty, Native James, Neuertel, Pussyliquor, Rain City Drive, Return To Dust, Self Deception, Silent Planet, Slay Squad, Snot, Spineshank, Spitting Glass, Sweet Pill, Sweet Sauage, Tailgunner, The Pretty Wild, Tropic Gold, Tx2, Unpeople, Vianoua, Wayside, Zero 9:36

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The festival continues its tradition of bringing the biggest names in rock, metal, punk, and alternative music to the historic Leicestershire venue. Tickets for Download Festival 2026 are on sale via the official website at this link.

All tickets for Download 2026 will be digital. If you have purchased tickets via Ticketmaster, they will be available within the official Download Festival app or the Ticketmaster app at a later date. If you have purchased tickets via Big Green Coach, further information will be confirmed closer to the festival.

Download Festival was conceived as a follow-up to the Monsters of Rock festival, held at Donington Park between 1980 and 1996. Rather than being a one-day event, the Download Festival was initially a two-day event (expanding to three days in 2005). When Download Festival began, it took place at Donington Park, as had been done for Monsters Of Rock. However, in 2008, developments for Formula One meant that the site was no longer suitable for hosting the Festival. In 2008, the festival moved to the “Sunday Market” located to the west of the circuit. Although adequate, membership was limited, the campsite required a tent, and getting to the arena involved a long walk. In 2009, the festival moved to a better (and more popular) location to the south of the circuit.