Festival News: DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2027 THREE HUGE HEADLINERS REVEALED // BLINK-182 | BRING ME THE HORIZON | EVANESCENCE
Download 2027: no Small Things here.
Remember, remember, the 12th November. Sure, that’s not what the rhyme’s meant to say, but that’s the only date that matters right now — the Download line up is finally here, after a pretty brutal extended wait. You know the drill: three massive headliners, over 100 bands announced; but this feels like something new.
Kicking things off on Friday, the debut of the pop-punk royalty. The thought of Blink-182 headlining Download might have been anathema to the Downloading metal heads of yore, but in the wake of Download’s seeming commitment to keep things fresh with the likes of Fall Out Boy, Green Day and Limp Bizkit as headliners in previous years, it was inevitable. One of the most recognisable names in the scene, with anthem after anthem under their belt, it felt inevitable.
Onto Saturday, and the only returning name of the bunch. Inarguably one of the biggest success stories in modern metal, Sheffield’s finest exports of Bring Me The Horizon. From their beginnings as a deathcore outfit to the arena-conquering, genre-hopping behemoths of today, few bands have made quite such a transformation — and, more importantly, only gotten bigger with the changes. Plus, is there any other band that has fluctuated so much? They’ve only gotten heavier in recent years, particularly factoring in their ‘Count Your Blessings’ anniversary shows. Returning to Download after headlining in 2023, it’s time for Donington to see what ‘POST HUMAN’ really means.
And bringing the weekend to a close? Evanescence. Although technically not the first female headliner, with that honour going to Emily Armstrong and 2026’s headliners of Linkin Park, it still feels like that. Like Bring Me, Evanescence last played in 2023, where Amy Lee joined Oli Sykes for some duets — probably too early to hope for a repeat, but let’s keep it in mind! — after Evanescence headlined the Opus Stage; about time they headline the Apex Stage too. From the beyond iconic ‘Fallen’, all the way to this year’s brilliant ‘Sanctuary’, who knows what sort of a spectacle they’ll close the Sunday with!
But that’s just the headliners. Joining them is a frankly ridiculous undercard, with everything from established festival favourites and renowned rock legends to up-and-comers, with everything in between. There’s Mötley Crüe, Faith No More and The Prodigy; there’s Parkway Drive, Turnstile, The Hives and Primus. Bilmuri, I Prevail, Pierce The Veil. Soft Play and Pvris. There’s even Body Count ft. Ice T; and for anyone wanting heavier, you’ve got Converge, Carcass, and, for the truly gnarly, depraved metalheads, anyone looking to blow out their ear drums, 5 Seconds Of Summer. Plus, another hell of a success story as President take a top-billing after making their debut at Download just last year.
Further down the line-up, though, you’ve got a little bit of everything. The more anthemic Basement, Hot Mulligan and Deaf Havana go hand in hand with Speed, Guilt Trip and High Vis; Highly Suspect, grandson and Waterparjs with Malevolence, Currents and Orbit Culture. Jinjer, Holding Absence, Clutch, Better Lovers, Static Dress. For anyone not taking it quite as seriously, the ever bombastic and brutally fun Gwar, plus Health and their cum-metal. The Devil Wears Prada, Fit For A King, Cancer Bats, Static-X, Dayseeker.
Basically, pretty much every Download demographic is pretty richly covered. Whether you’re after pop-punk singalongs, old-school heavy metal, modern metalcore, hardcore, industrial oddities or a hefty dose of nostalgia, Download’s still somehow created an ideal weekend.
And there’s not even the half of it. 100+ bands, remember? On the more emo side, think Senses Fail and Hawthorne Heights. Heavier? Comeback Kid, Big Ass Truck I.E, Bodysnatcher. Alt? Maple’s Pet Dinosaur, Ally Nicholas and breakkaway. Riff Wood, sace6, Comastatic. A good few acts you’ve probably never heard of, but again, somehow running the gamut of genres; alt and singalong, heavy and hardcore, and a good few acts that feel truly unique even after all this time. With more than 100 artists announced in this first wave, there’s simply too many to give everyone their moment in the spotlight. Our advice? Just check out EVERYONE, it’s not worth risking sleeping on anyone.
Though — clashfinder’s going to be a real bastard this year, huh.
Once again, the festival season continues come quickly enough.
Words by James O’Sullivan
