“There are so many horrible bands who are going to be our future headliners” – Clown of Slipknot is concerned about what will come about live shows

What does percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan believe about the future of hard rock and metal festivals, given that Slipknot is still one of the most well-liked options for headlining events? In an interview with NME, he expressed his worry about the dearth of headliners among the younger generation. During the conversation, Clown was asked what he felt about Sleep Token being selected as one of the 2025 Download Festival’s headliners, effectively elevating a new and popular band to the top of the lineup.

They have their niche and they must be doing their business well. The old me might have torn it down, but the new me, the real me, is just like ‘Hey, it’s always up to the fans’. The fans let the business people know what to do. The fans speak and the business people listen. They must be very popular, and you’ve got to remember that there’s not a lot of good music out there. There just isn’t. In my opinion, these days there are so many horrible bands right now. I’ve seen Sleep Token, I’ve watched them for a bit and I’ve downloaded their stuff. They have their niche and they have a fan base. It doesn’t matter if it has divided [Download fans] because that means 50 per cent are getting what they want. I no longer worry about these sorts of things, I just worry about being me and about being in the moment. If they’re a good band, and if they work hard – as it seems like they do – they deserve everything they get.

The interviewer took note of Clown’s remark regarding next-generation headliners and proceeded to ask the Slipknot percussionist if it was the responsibility of festival organizers to take such chances in order to be ready for the eventual turnover. The Slipknot member intensified his concerns regarding the upcoming musical generation.

As I was saying, there are so many horrible bands who are going to be our future headliners. You don’t want me to start naming off names, because we’ll both start laughing and laughing. The days of great music have come and gone at the moment. We’re seeing the backlash of the computer and we’re seeing the backlash of everybody being able to get in [to the music industry]. But where is everybody that got in and did it themselves? They all need validation. I didn’t get in a band to get validated. I validated myself. When someone said I needed to work harder, I worked fucking harder. I didn’t need the internet, or socials, or anything to validate me. We have a real problem now, and bands that are good these days – which is few and far – are being prepped for this future. We saw that with Bring Me The Horizon. They’re a great band and I’m a fan. I’ve listened to the band since the very, very beginning and they’re doing big things like headlining Download because they can make that jump. Great bands are being pushed into these new circumstances. What else do we have [without artists like that] – a bunch of crap bands that won’t draw tickets. So yes, the business people need to take chances and push these few good bands in the right direction.