THE UK’S PREMIER ROCK FESTIVAL
FRIDAY, JUNE 9, SATURDAY JUNE 10, AND SUNDAY JUNE 11
AT THE SPIRITUAL HOME OF ROCK – DONINGTON PARK
SYSTEM OF A DOWN, AEROSMITH, AND BIFFY CLYRO HEADLINE
The UK’s premier heavy metal festival returns to the spiritual home of rock – Donington Park. Download Festival will descend upon Donington June 9th-11th with a mammoth line-up. Now in its fifteenth-year, Download Festival has played host to hard rocks biggest names including Black Sabbath, Metallica, Rammstein, Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Slipknot, and hundreds of others.
This year will be no different as one of metal’s biggest bands comes out of hiatus to headline Friday night at Download 2017: System of a Down. Included in the lineup Friday is Prophets of Rage (featuring members of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, and Cyprus Hill), Five Finger Death Punch, Mastodon, Sabaton, Sum 41, Good Charlotte, Baroness, Suicidal Tendencies, Motionless In White, and Northlane. Saturday will see locals favorites from the England’s neighbor to the north, Scotland’s Biffy Clyro along with A Day To Remember, Rob Zombie, Coheed and Cambria, Kvelertak, AFI, Pierce The Veil, Of Mice & Men, Creeper, and Hacktivist. Rounding out the weekend Sunday on what is rumored to be their farewell tour is Aerosmith joined by UK favorites Alter Bridge, Steel Panther, Airbourne, In Flames, The Cadillac Three, Fozzy, Slayer, Opeth, Clutch, Ministry and DevilDriver. And many, many more yet to be announced! [embedplusvideo height=”381″ width=”625″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/2mDq5b9″ standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/VKweG2UL-TM?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=VKweG2UL-TM&width=625&height=381&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep8391″ /]
Download Festival also offers a wide variety of accommodation options. From standard bring your own camping gear, to canvas tents, tipis, luxury cabins all the way up to hotels. For those that like to take a break from it all during the festival you can opt for the guest area pass (I always go this route). Here you can take a breather from the large crowds and enjoy your own concession options, and every now and then, you may run into the talent which is a great bonus. For those that go the standard route, there is certainly no shortage of food and beverage with an amazing array of options, and rarely are there any long lines. There are also many other places to spend your money with Download offering a huge selection of shops, and there are even amusement park rides. Download is not just a music festival; it’s a complete arts festival. Over the three-day period I guarantee you will not be bored. The only issue you may run into is rain; this has almost become a part of the festival, so be prepared, but do not worry. It will not impact your good time; in fact it just may enhance it. And be sure to say high to the Download Dog (Download’s mascot you will see all over the site).
Download Festival is not only the U.K.’s finest festival; it’s Europe’s finest. If you’ve never experienced a European festival, what better place to start than the spiritual home of rock – Donington! For those making the venture from the states for the first time feel free to comment with any questions; I would be glad to provide some direction. See you at Download Festival!
