Download Festival returned for yet another weekend full of class acts and great vibes this year, hosting Green Day, Sleep Token, and KoRn as headliners, as well as acts ranging from Vengaboys to Cradle of Filth. For many this is the highlight of their year, with tens of thousands of music fans making their way to Donington to celebrate their favourite artists and consume ungodly amounts of booze in a field. This year was thankfully dry and hot, albeit very dusty, but frankly any weather would’ve been better than the trauma of last year’s ‘Brownload’!
We’ll be taking a look at some of my favourite acts from the Friday, because, in all honesty, it was the one day where I actually managed to catch a decent amount of bands. As much as I love Download, it’s a massive festival with so many acts and clashes that it can be quite difficult to watch more than a handful of bands without spending half the day sprinting between stages, which isn’t an easy feat to achieve in massive New Rocks! Anyway…
Kicking off the day for me was Karen Dió, a Brazilian punk rocker with heaps of energy. She opened the Avalanche stage and did an incredible job of warming up the already decently sized crowd gathered there. Her breath and vocal control was really impressive – she spent a majority of the set jumping and running around the stage without breaking a sweat or winding herself, and even did a cartwheel midway through one of her songs! While I wasn’t familiar with any of her music, I really enjoyed the cover she did of Chappel Roan’s ‘Casual’, and plan to catch her at a few other festivals and gigs she’ll be doing in the UK later this year. She’s the perfect fit for fans of Avril Lavigne and those who like catchy, effortless punk rock with a poppier edge to it.
Up next were unpeople, also playing in the Avalanche tent later in the afternoon. They kept the energy from earlier going really well, and were clearly crowd favourites – it felt like every person in that tent knew every word of their songs! A big highlight of the set was the last song, ‘The Garden’, during which guitarist Luke jumped down into the crowd, started a circle pit around himself, then crowd surfed back to stage. Their sound is an eclectic combination of influences from Deftones, Everything Everything, and SikTh, ensuring that even the most sceptical people in the crowd will find something they enjoy during their sets.
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I then broke away from the Avalanche tent for a while to catch Boston Manor, the 3rd act of the day on the Apex Stage. They were by no means newcomers to Download Festival, having previously played it in 2018 and 2022, and were clearly a highly-anticipated band despite being relatively low on the bill. From the first notes of their opening song, ‘Floodlights on the Square’, the crowd was hectic. There were multiple mosh and circle pits happening at any given time, and a steady stream of crowd surfers being sent up towards the stage during every song. Their sound is a great blend of emo, 90s grunge, and early 2000s post-hardcore, making them a compelling listen for fans of darker, emotionally resonant rock music.
The next band I caught were Bad Nerves, actually by complete accident! The heat was getting too much and I’d wandered back over to the Avalanche tent to get some shade, and happened to come in right as they were getting ready to play – super glad I did though! The crowd was incredibly hyped for this band, and for good reason. Every single song was incredibly catchy, and ‘Can’t Be Mine’ seems to be permanently stuck in my head since returning from the festival. Bad Nerves self-describe themselves as the “bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one night stand”, which is an incredibly fitting tagline for their frantic, hook-filled set that proves they’re a band you definitely need to keep on your radar.
After a short interlude to hunt down something to eat that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, I was back at the Avalanche stage to watch Crossfaith’s set. As a fan of more experimental (and silly) sounds within metal, this band had been heartily recommended to me by friends, and they absolutely did not disappoint. The band treated the crowd to an insane blend of metalcore and dubstep/electronic music, and it honestly hit so hard! Being in that crowd felt a bit like a fever dream, everyone was dancing, screaming, jumping along. They performed a fun cover of ‘Omen’ by The Prodigy, then proceeded to incite the biggest wall of death I saw all weekend, splitting almost the entire tent in half during their last song ‘Leviathan’.
The second-to-last band for me was VOLA, performing up at the Dogtooth stage. As yet another brand new band for me, their set provided a much needed moment of respite from all the insanity of earlier sets, though this by no means is me saying they were boring! They’re a really talented prog metal band with super tight instrumentals and beautiful vocals, with their song ‘24 Light-Years’ making me a wee bit emotional – hearing so many people sing the heartfelt lyrics so passionately was really moving.
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Finally, the time had come for Friday headliners Green Day to take to the stage. They kicked things off with the classic ‘American Idiot’, and powered through a hit-packed set including ‘Holiday’, ‘Basket Case’, and an awesome rendition of ‘Jesus of Suburbia’, my personal favourite. Almost 40 years into their career, they showed no signs of slowing down – Billie Joe Armstrong’s energy was infectious, Mike Dirnt’s basslines thundered through the crowd, and Tré Cool delivered some impressive drum solos. Even their touring musicians got a well-deserved spotlight, making the whole performance feel like a full-band celebration.
There were moments of pure magic during the set too, from Billie Joe getting hilariously distracted by a low-flying plane (did no one tell him we were near an airport?) to the uncanny timing of the rain starting just as he sang “here comes the rain again” during ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’. True to their punk rock roots, the band didn’t shy away from politics either, changing the lyrics from “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” to “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda”, and leading the crowd in a booming “you fat bastard” chant aimed at Donald Trump. Green Day really proved that they’re not just nostalgic icons, they’re very much still a vital, relevant force in the scene. They delivered, in my opinion, one of the most memorable sets of the weekend, and were the perfect way to finish off the first full day of bands at the festival.
Friday at Download Festival 2025 was a scorcher in every sense. Bands across the line-up gave it everything they had, delivering impressive sets to crowds of dedicated fans, who powered through sunburns and clouds of dust with unstoppable energy, Despite the dry heat, spirits were clearly sky-high and the atmosphere proved that, year after year, Download Festival is a great place to be. I know I’m already keenly anticipating next year’s line-up, and have a few ideas of who I’d love to see play; who do YOU think should make an appearance at the festival?
