We are very much into the final countdown before the gates of Donington open for the 2025 Download Festival! We’ve got features aplenty to keep eager attendees excited as they countdown the days, and up today is our preview of the festival’s first full day of entertainment. Recently we caught up with Download Senior Booker Kamran Haq, where among many other things he gave us some recommendations of bands to watch out for.
In the spirit of recommendations, some of Team Rock Sins have gotten together and picked out ten bands from across the stages for Download Festival 2025’s Friday, so lets dive in and see what the team are recommending. We’ve also got a bonus entry for Thursday night, who could that be about? Read on to find out…..
Apex Stage:
GREEN DAY (8:50pm)
No preview of Download 2025 could be complete without a mention of the Gods of Pop Punk that is Green Day. How many people on that stage are actually in the band these days? Who cares. With a back catalogue spanning over 30 years this festival debut promises to be an absolute blinder, and that’s before we even mention the massive comet sized albums Dookie and American Idiot. Look out for floating blimps, audience members being asked to play, all the pyro and cries of “AYYYYYYY-OHHHHHHH” ringing across the hallowed turf of Donington Park. (GL)
JIMMY EAT WORLD (5:30pm)
Gracing the hallowed Donington turf for the first time since 2013, Arizona’s finest emo originals Jimmy Eat World get a full hour set to give us all the feels. While undoubtedly at the peak of their powers during the ridiculous 2000’s run of albums (Clarity through Bleed American, Futures and Chase This Light), there’s been some very positive signs on their last couple of albums especially Surviving that Jim Adkins and co are somewhere close to being back to their best. Structure the setlist right, and it is likely to be one of the sets of the weekend. Must see for emo’s old and young, and everyone else for that matter. (JG)
SIM (1pm)
You want to kick off your weekend with some hard hitting, in your face numetal adjacent bangers fom Japan? Then check out SIM (Silence Iz Mine) opening up the Apex Stage on Friday. Certain to play their smash hit The Rumbling, the 4 piece will no doubt fill their set with more of the same metalcore they are famous for and get the pits moving. (GL)
Opus Stage:
DIRTY HONEY (2:55pm)
Finally some classic balls out rock and roll that you can smell the Jack Daniels on – Dirty Honey will be laying waste to the Opus Stage after their debut album reached the Hard Rock Album chart at #2 upon its release in 2021. Fans of Led Zeppelin and Greta Von Fleet will not be disappointed. Highlights potentially include tracks Rolling 7s and Won’t Take Me Alive. (GL)
STARSET (1:50pm)
One of the most intriguing bands on the bill (who didn’t have to hide their identities to do it), Starset are gracing the Opus Stage bringing their melodic – almost prog – hard rock with them and no doubt a fuck tonne of visuals, having been previously described as a “cinematic rock band”. My Demons is an absolute beast of a tune, as is It Has Begun. The sextet includes a violinist and a cellist and refer to their fan as “Messengers”, claiming they have been chosen by The Starset Society to build a public network to spread their message through music. Sign. Me. Up. (GL)
OPETH (6:15pm)
Giants of the Swedish metal scene, Opeth’s back catalogue alone would put frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt’s face on the Mount Rushmore of prog. Factor in their reputation for stellar live performances and dry sense of humour. As well as the fact they have a new album to test drive this year and their set looks all the more enticing.
Perfect for fans of progressive metal whose tastes range from the melodic to the more blackened end of the heavy metal spectrum. We have no doubt Opeth will put on a show worthy of the high esteem in which they’re held. (JL)
Avalanche Stage:
MCFLY (7:55pm)
When booking Busted went down so enormously well in 2024, McFly playing in 2025 felt almost inevitable. The organisers have seen fit to give fans the same challenge with Tom, Dougie, Harry and Danny following in the Busted boys footsteps and headlining the Avalanche stage on Friday night. Will it be as hard to get into? Probably. Will it go down as well as Busted? We suspect so. With it being Download, are they likely to have the most girls with five colours in their hair ever in attendance at a McFly show? Who knows. We bet the Donington faithful will give it a good go – if they can get in the tent. (JG)
DEAD PONY (2:30pm)
The young energetic very punk-esque Glaswegians will be bringing the noise to the Avalanche Stage as part of their continued promotion of debut album Ignore This released just over a year ago. If you like your bands British, young, hungry and danceable then don’t miss them – particularly if they pull out their fantastic Nelly Furtado cover…(GL)
Dogtooth Stage:
SVALBARD (6:00pm)
The brilliant post-hardcore meets extreme metal outfit from Bristol, Svalbard sadly announced recently that the band will be ending in 2026. This means that their appearance at Download 2025 is probably their last at the UK’s spiritual home of rock and metal – though their final plans for next year are not yet fully established, so it’s not impossible they could do two-in-two on their farewell run. We are very sad to see them go, and even more sad to see them overlapping with two of our other picks, Opeth (albeit slightly), and Jimmy Eat World. If you’re not familiar, check out Svalbard’s most recent album The Weight Of The Mask. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed, and it might make you choose to check them out in the Dogtooth on Friday. (JG)
VOLA (6:50pm)
Danish prog metal at it’s finest following immediately on from Svalbard in the shape of VOLA. Having been steadily building a following for themselves for almost two decades, 2025 sees VOLA make their long overdue Download Festival debut. 2024’s album Friend Of A Phantom is their most successful yet, and has helped to get them to this point. Few bands deserve a packed out tent across the weekend as much as these guys do. (JG)
And a Thursday night bonus…
District X – Vengaboys! (10:20pm)
Come on now, it was never going to be anything else, was it? All due respect and love to the wide range of DJ’s and other entertainment in District X over the weekend (special shout out to our pals Jon Mahon and Charlott from She They Press Play) – but THE District X set of the weekend is The Vengabus coming to Download. It may have started as a tongue-in-cheek ask some years back, but the clamour for Vengaboys to play Download has been real for quite some time, and Thursday night sees it become a reality. Is it metal? Of course not. Is it going to be a really fun way to warm up for the festival proper? We’d be amazed if it isn’t. The Vengabus is coming, and Donington is jumping…..
Limited day tickets for the Friday of Download Festival 2025 – as well as weekend tickets for the whole festival are still available. If you want to snap up a last minute ticket for the weekend or an individual day of the festival, you can get your tickets on this link!
Words by Greg Latham (GL), John Layland (JL) and Jamie Giberti (JG).
