The home straight for the 2026 Download Festival! If you’ve made it this far, you may (or may not) have read our previews for both the Friday and the Saturday of the annual Donington bash. If you haven’t, here’s some links so you can catch up:
Download Festival 2026 Friday Preview
Download Festival 2026 Saturday Preview
With that out the way, let us turn our attention to Sunday’s action. Here are ten acts we think you should see, starting with our headliners…
Linkin Park
Where/when: Apex Stage, 9:25pm
This final day preview couldn’t really start with any other band but our headliners. We know for some people, that it’s not Linkin Park without Chester. But, having been initially skeptical before seeing just how good this new incarnation is at Wembley last Summer, if you’re going to be there and aren’t sure about watching them – watch. No, it’s not the same, but the magic is very much there, just in a slightly different way. Emily is a brilliant frontwoman, and there’s going to be something special about hearing some of those songs in that field again, when for so many years so many of us thought that would never be possible again.
Bloodywood
Where/when: Apex Stage, 2:25pm
If you were there in 2023 when approximately 50,000 people descended on the main stage at midday on Sunday to witness Bloodywood’s Download debut, you will understand why this return is so eagerly anticipated. Having supported Halestorm in arenas last year and with huge success of their Nu Delhi album, Bloodywood deservedly have a much higher profile spot this time. A wonderful example of blending metal with their native sounds and culture, who knew Bhangra metal would be so good? They did. Do not miss this for anything.
Magnolia Park
Where/when: Avalanche Stage, 3:50pm
Having fully burst onto the scene over the last couple of years, US pop punk meets nu metal meets metalcore collective Magnolia Park have been making waves on both sides of the Atlantic. Their album Vamp and subsequent deluxe re-release Nights After Vamp are packed full of bangers. Meanwhile theyve lit up UK stages with Bowling For Soup, Don Broco and State Champs, and wow the Vans Warped Tour in the US. Do we have maybe unrealistic expectations for Magnolia Park’s Download debut? Possibly. Will they live up to them? There’s a very good chance.
Ice Nine Kills
Where/when: Apex Stage, 5:05pm
Horror metal taken to the next level. Ice Nine Kills are now arena fillers, and based on their recent musical output, it’s not hard to understand why. They are now at the point where they can comfortably fill an hour long set and leave people yearning for more. And that is before you even get to the always entertaining, usually somewhat gruesome in the best way stage show. Will the Download Dog get murdered again this year? There’s a sense of inevitability about it. Good job that dog takes after cats and has at least nine lives! Prepare to be entertained, and matter spattered with some stage blood if you are on the barrier.
Mastodon
Where/when: Opus Stage, 6:45pm
Mastodon, along with their contemporaries Opeth and Dream Theater, are about as good as prog metal gets. Their return to Download is of course tinged with some sadness, with the passing of their former member Brent Hinds still very raw for the band as evidenced by recent social media posts alongside their brand new single Your Ghost Again. We are sure there will be a huge crowd there to welcome them and show them lots of love. When they’re on top form there are few bands at their level.
Ash
Where/when: Avalanche Stage, 6pm
Irish rockers Ash return to Download for their first appearance in eighteen years, having previously subbed HIM on the second stage in 2008. A band a bit like Feeder, in that they may not have the same profile they had at the height of their 2000’s popularity, but they are still a very solid act putting out good quality music for which they should be recognised. As always with festivals, there’s a bit of the nostalgia pull, and we reckon there will be a good crowd there for old favourites like A Life Less Ordinary, Girl From Mars and Burn Baby Burn!
The Pretty Wild
Where/when: The Dogtooth Stage, 1:50pm
A band who have caught fire over the last six to nine months, Vegas natives Jyl and Jules Wylde – aka The Pretty Wild, are on a steep upward trajectory. Having originally started by dabbling in more Country style rock, they are now firmly part of the metal world and all the better for it. They teamed up with Magnolia Park (also on this list) for the fantastic single Afterlife and haven’t looked back. We are very interested to experience The Pretty Wild in the flesh. They could be one of the sleeper hits of the day.
Scooter
Where/when: Avalanche Stage, 8:30pm
Even before Vengaboys turned the possibilities of just who and what could play the Download Festival fully upside down last year, fans have been suggesting Scooter as a left field pick for years. If we could have Chase and Status or Die Antwoord, why not Scooter? You asked; The Download Festival powers that be delivered. The German dance legends are here to party at Download 2026. We’re betting money on a Busted tent overflow type situation, in spite of heavy competition on Sunday night.
Letlive.
Where/when: Avalanche Stage, 7:10pm
Another band where perhaps we thought the chance to catch them had been and gone, Letlive have extended this fairly open ended farewell tour they’re currently on and Download get to be big beneficiaries of that. Jason Aalon Butler attained cult hero status in this scene long ago, but a resurrected Letlive allows us to see him in his most primal form. If you’re yet to see them, see them now, because we don’t know when the end is coming and, as the song says, you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone!
Ankor
Where/when: The Dogtooth Stage, 4:40pm
If you’re looking to see a future headliner, make time to check out ANKOR. The Catalonia based alternative metal outfit have spent years building serious momentum, but it’s Download that could really take them to the next level. Jessie Williams is an absolute force at the front of the band, effortlessly switching between soaring melodies and ferocious screams. Single Prisoner and new release DANZO are packed with huge hooks, electronic aggression and enough of a roar to turn you into an instant fan. Whether you’ve heard them already or are discovering ANKOR for the first time, they have all the ingredients to be one of the breakout acts of the weekend. Get to The Dogtooth Stage early and thank us later.
Honourable mentions: The Pretty Reckless, R0ry, unpeople, Dogstar, Spineshank, Gatecreeper, Annisokay and of course Creeper who we covered in our Friday preview – they get longer this time and have promised to mix the set up Metallica style (two completely different sets? We’re not sure).
Weekend tickets for Download Festival 2026 are now completely sold out and so are Sunday day tickets but if you get lucky you might be able to get one on re-sale (you can try here on this link).
So concludes our three part Download 2026 preview. We’re off to the campsite to get wet (hopefully keeping the tent dry) and to see many of you in the fields for three days of amazing bands and fun. Rock Sins will have a full review of the festival, as well as interviews with some of the bands playing, so stay tuned. SCREAM FOR US DONINGTON!
