The Download Festival team have pulled out all the stops for a mega first announcement of Download 2021!
As promised by festival booker Andy Copping, the bulk of the 2020 lineup has re-joined the party for 2021, but with some interesting new additions and replacements for those who couldn’t rejoin from 2020. Headliners KISS (on their farewell world tour) and System Of A Down return, and they are joined by Biffy Clyro, replacing Iron Maiden from the 2020 lineup.
Other very significant names on the line up include the returning Deftones (shifting from Friday to Saturday to sub-headline Biffy Clyro). Those two are joined by Gojira for a powerhouse top 3 on Saturday’s main stage. Sunday’s main stage top 3 from 2020 is fully intact as KoRn and Volbeat return to join System Of A Down once again. Friday’s main stage sees Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes return to rejoin KISS, and they are joined by new arrivals A Day To Remember, returning to Download for the first time since 2017.
Outside of the main stage, Killswitch Engage and Mastodon both return to provide a fantastic top to the Zippo Stage on Saturday, while Steel Panther return to Download in 2021 to take Disturbed’s place as Zippo headliners on Sunday night. Steel Panther will be ably supported by The Darkness. Friday’s Zippo stage sees The Distillers return to the lineup from last year, with no headliner for the stage yet announced.
Alter Bridge may not have returned to Download for next year, but their frontman Myles Kennedy is! Myles Kennedy and Company will play a slot on the Zippo Stage on Friday afternoon, while Myles will headline the Dogtooth Tent on Sunday night with a very special solo acoustic show – a double dose of must have performances for any Alter Bridge / Myles fans.
Fresh British talent is all over the place on the lineup for the 2021 Download Festival. Creeper return to Donington off the back of their new magnificent album Sex, Death & The Infinite Void. Those Damn Crows once again take up a main stage slot. The likes of Loathe, Holding Absence, Puppy, Stone Broken, Employed To Serve and Sleep Token to name a few are all appearing across the weekend.
The full list of bands announced for Download Festival 2021 is as follows:
Headliners:
KISS (main stage Friday)
Biffy Clyro (main stage Saturday)
System Of A Down (main stage Sunday)
Killswitch Engage (Zippo stage Saturday)
Steel Panther (Zippo stage Sunday)
Funeral For A Friend (Avalanche stage Saturday)
Electric Wizard (Dogtooth stage Friday)
Sepultura (Dogtooth stage Saturday)
Myles Kennedy (Dogtooth stage Sunday)
A.A. Williams
A Day To Remember
Airbourne
Alestorm
Anchor Lane
Baroness
Blackout Problems
Black Veil Brides
Bleed From Within
Blues Pills
Bokassa
Bush
Cellar Door Moon Crow
Cemetery Sun
Control The Storm
Creeper
Daughtry
Dead Label
Dead Posey
Deftones
Dirty Honey
Dying Fetus
Employed To Serve
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
Gender Roles
Gojira
Haken
Hatari
Higher Power
Holding Absence
Hot Milk
Kill The Lights
KORN
Jamie Lenman
JJ Wilde
Joyous Wolf
Lacuna Coil
Loathe
Lotus Eater
Marianas Trench
Mastodon
Modern Error
Myles Kennedy & Company
Obituary
Of Mice & Men
Phoxjaw
P.O.D.
Poppy
Powerwolf
Press Club
Rise Against
Skillet
Sleep Token
Spiritbox
Stone Broken
Temples On Mars
Tempt
Theory
The Darkness
The Distillers
The Faim
The Hara
The Pretty Reckless
The Wildhearts
Those Damn Crows
Tiny Moving Parts
Twin Temple
Volbeat
Wage War
Wargasm
Wayward Sons
Will Haven
Tickets for the 2021 Download Festival will go back on sale on Friday the 7th of August at 9am UK time. Tickets will remain at 2020 prices for awhile longer (originally prices were due to go up this week, but that decision has been reversed / postponed). Pick up your Download 2021 tickets from Ticketmaster once they are back on sale.
Download 2021 takes place at the UK’s spritual home of rock and metal – Donington Park, from the 4th to the 6th of June (campsite open 2nd of June – 7th of June, boardie takeover takes place on the night of the 3rd of June).
We’ll leave everyone with a few words from Download Festival head honcho Andy Copping about next year:
2020 has been a tough year for us all, and we were beyond gutted not to be able to experience Download Festival with you all. We gave you Download TV to reflect on memories of the past, and what the festival means to all of us. Download 2021 is going to be something special and go down in the history books as when the Download family reunited. We’re going to be working hard behind the scenes to make Download 2021 an unforgettable experience and a celebration of the festival we all love.
