Festival Reviews

So here we are the ‘middle’ day of DL19: For some the best day, the show-stealer. Yet, for some, this is a stepping stone to the grand finale. Last night we came for Def Leppard, but the real headliner was Mud (apologies for that awful joke). Tonight, SlipKnot close the festival, yet there’s still a Puddle Of Mudd (again, sorry). ...

As you may have read from our previous instalment. It was kind of muddy, but don’t believe the news reports that everyone left before the festival began: I can honestly say this was one of the busiest Downloads in memory. So here it is, the first ‘proper’ day of the festival.  Looking at the line-up this seems to be the ...

Downloaders don’t do things by halves, and this year just proves it as a huge number of campers are already settled into the mud at the iconic Castle Donington site. As you probably know, the rain has been relentless but maybe not as bad as the infamous ‘drownload’ of 2016. There is mud, yes, but guess what: this is a ...

Day One: The hottest weekend of the year began under a blazing sun and the brightest sky. After we’d collected our wrist-candy from The Underworld, we hotfooted to the primary performance venue, the 1500 capacity Electric Ballroom, to catch festival openers: the Kent arena-rockers-in-waiting Collateral. And, indeed, they were every bit as “Big Shot” as we expected and a perfect ...

Reading now is not the Reading of the past. It’s no secret that rock fans have voiced their disapproval outload throughout the course of the last decade over the festival’s gradual integration into mainstream territory. In 2018, the feeling that rock and heavier acts are being swept to one side is understandable, though to be honest the situation isn’t as ...

If you have ever been to Bloodstock Open Air, you know its like no other festival in the country… or even the world. The fans are extra passionate, the bands are extra loud, the costumes more elaborate, the beer is extra refreshing, everything is better at Bloodstock. Last year saw one of the biggest Bloodstocks ever with metal titans Ghost ...

Well after a hard and heavy Saturday courtesy of giants like Orange Goblin, Megadeth, and Scorpions to name a few, you’d think after a quick gaze through hazy eyes of the Sunday line up would be a gentle hangover cure. That turns out would be completely dependant on the plan you set out for yourself on who to start the ...

Attending Stone Free Festival for the second year in a row, after the successful lineup of 2016, which saw Alice Cooper closing the night in style while delivering his amazing carnival of rock ‘n roll. The venue stays the same, every year this festival takes over the whole O2 complex for the weekend with the bonus of not having to deal with ...

The last day of Download is usually the best, and the worst. Best – for obvious reasons. Like a great meal, the best is saved until last. We have a star-studded finale to what was a great weekend and will go down as one of the biggest Downloads ever. The worst? Simply for the reason that the festival is drawing ...

Friday was somewhat full of surprises: an unlikely headliner, astonishing highlights, and satisfying breakthroughs. Saturday looks like the typical ‘classic rock’ day. Where some may argue the ‘classic’ flavour of rock n roll is making a comeback (hence the strange ‘NWOBCR’ label) whereas others (including myself) would contend it never….ever…went away. Also – as a lot of the bands will ...