Heading to Download 2025? Our pick of the acts throughout the days before the headliners hit the Apex stage

• Download Festival is imminent - we repeat, Download Festival is imminant.
• The huge alternative metal festival this year boasts headliners Green Day, Sleep Token and Korn.
• But making his way back to Donington Park for the first time since 2004, Benjamin Jackson shares who he’s going to see asides from the headliners in 2025.

This will be my first Download Festival as a music journalist – a prospect that, when I last set foot at Donington Park 21 years ago, was pretty much a pipe dream.

And yet here I am, going through the packing checklist to ensure what I can bring and what I shouldn't for the first time in two decades, seeing the site transformed from its initial beginnings into one of the premier rock festivals in the world today. (One of them, before Bloodstock fans come after me.)

It seems fitting to be going this year, though; discussions with other like-minded (née: older) fans seem to believe that this year the festival is going for a bit of a nostalgia trip: those bands we used to watch frequently on Kerrang! TV or Scuzz/P-Rock that we would flock in our youth to check out at shows or festivals are doing the rounds this year. But festivals aren't just a time to check out your favourite acts – it’s a chance for some musical discoveries.

At least that’s how I’m treating it as I kill time between headline acts – but curiosity has taken hold of me, so here’s what I am planning on seeing during this year’s festival and, hey, who knows – maybe I’ll see you in the crowd?

Who are we going to see at Download Festival 2025?

Thursday

Who are we looking forward to seeing at Download Festival 2025 that's not just the headliners this year? | Getty Images

Arriving on Thursday, most of the time is going to be spent setting up camp for the next few days, getting a lay of the land, and hopefully meeting some of you lovely metal fans as we take in the sights and sounds.

But fair is fair – how can I possibly miss out on seeing Vengaboys (The Doghouse, 22:30) performing this year as revellers continue to arrive on site? When asked by my editor what metal fans thought of Vengaboys performing – akin to Daphne and Celeste at Leeds and Reading all those years ago – I think I summed it up well:

“A bop is a bop, regardless what style of music it is.”

I’m not wrong, am I?

Friday

Not quite the early start, owing to how much fun I plan on having seeing Vengaboys overnight, but Friday starts with heading to The Avalanche Stage to catch Karen Dio (12:50), the Brazilian artist formerly of Violet Soda. Having had Sick Ride as an earworm since its release in 2023, it’s a chance to finally watch the performer live.

Then it’s indulging early into what is set to be a day of nostalgia for this forty-something rock fan, with CKY (14:00, Apex Stage) providing the perfect early afternoon soundtrack for someone who spent most of their teenage years glued to Jackass and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. It’s then swiftly off to The Avalanche Stage for one of two performances…

Dead Pony (14:30) have become renowned for their live performances, with my interest in the Glasgow band piqued after reading a description of them that claimed they were “if Nelly Furtado was the lead singer in Limp Bizkit.” Intrigued indeed, as I am for The Meffs (15:20), who have been described as "short, sharp punk rock" with weighty but not preachy subjects, often touching on politics, current events, and societal views.

Then the teenager in me gets to be spoiled: Jimmy Eat World (17:30, Apex Stage) will no doubt provide a couple of sing-along moments when they take to the main stage with the likes of Bleed American, Sweetness, and Pain to name a (mere) few. Then, to take the edge off the melancholia, Weezer (19:00, Apex Stage) will get everyone in the party atmosphere with their incredible power-pop and catalogue of favourites from the group ahead of Green Day (20:50, Apex Stage) bringing the proceedings to a close.

Saturday

Not quite the late start today, as I’m off to catch London artist Bex (11:50, The Avalanche Stage), known for her catchy hooks and engaging stage presence, to hopefully dust off some of the cobwebs from the night before. It’s then on to check out Australian act Kim Dracula (12:55, Opus Stage), which I’ve been told is set to be a heavy, aggressive set combined with intricate production and often unsettling aesthetics.

Poppy (14:15, Apex Stage) is a curious performance I am interested in checking out; my familiarity with the musician comes from her previous work with WWE’s NXT brand, offering songs as theme songs for a number of their events. Her song Bloodmoney from I Disagree received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance, making her the first solo female artist to be nominated in that category, so it could be quite the spectacle once again on the main stage.

Another group I want to become more familiar with at Download Festival 2025 is Teen Mortgage (15:50, The Dogtooth Stage), the two-piece garage-punk band from Washington, D.C. Garage punk at Download Festival isn’t a new thing at all, but more a case of how good the garage rock on offer is…

That teenager that still lives inside of me will not be missing seeing Kittie (18:25, The Dogtooth Stage) for the world. Part of the huge metal takeover of the late '90s and early '00s, the band’s album Spit was a constant on my Discman in college, and Morgan Lander’s vocals are some of the best in the scene – if not sometimes overlooked.

Speaking of not wanting to miss out on a band, I’m going to quickly head over to the Opus Stage to see Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter (19:35). As a fan of Gallows and a fan of the Pistols, seeing two punk titans joining forces singing some of the iconic songs from the group that whipped such moral panics in their heyday is, for me, an education at Download this year, before Sleep Token (21:00, Apex Stage) headline the proceedings on Saturday

Sunday

Another early(ish) start, checking out some more acts I'm not too familiar with close by to our camping location. Archers (11:50, The Dogtooth Stage) and Faetooth (12:40, The Dogtooth Stage) are two acts I’ve been looking forward to seeing live for a while now, with Archers providing some post-hardcore while Faetooth’s grungy-doom is something I am very interested in.

Being a groove metal fan (White Zombie, '90s era Max Cavalera with Sepultura and Soulfly), Ukraine’s Jinjer (14:25, Apex Stage) is a curious performance I’m making my way across the site to see, with the group combining genres such as progressive metal, death metal, and hardcore with elements of funk and R&B – quite the jambalaya of styles.

Then it’s a little bit of nostalgia once again, as Alien Ant Farm (15:30, Opus Stage) are still one of those ‘guilty pleasures’ I listen to more regularly than I’d like to admit, and Dryden Mitchell’s antics on stage are ones I don’t want to miss out on, given the chance. The mystery of PRESIDENT (16:25, The Dogtooth Stage) might also be revealed, but regardless of who it is under that mask, their music, akin to White Pony era Deftones, has caught me by pleasant surprise.

I’m resting my legs a little before heading over to The Avalanche Stage for a little pogoing to the fantastic Me First and The Gimme Gimmes (19:10), offering their punk covers of some of music’s greatest hits – including 'Nothing Compares 2 U' and 'I Believe I Can Fly', to name just a few of their most popular.

My publisher would also be unhappy if I didn’t take their suggestion and see Steel Panther (20:05) and their comedic take on the '80s LA glam rock scene. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of hair bands from that time, but I’ve been assured that their tongue-in-cheek approach is one I will appreciate a lot more than I’ve previously given credit for.

Which leads to one of the bands I am looking forward to seeing the most. The last time I saw Korn (21:25, Apex Stage) was at Download 2004, 21 years ago. They are one of those acts that, regardless of what kind of music you’re into, you have to check out live at least once. They put on an incredible performance, from the crowd bounding when 'Blind' kicked in to Jonathan Davis stepping out with bagpipes ahead of 'Shoots and Ladders.'

Korn is one of the godfathers of nu-metal, so it seems fitting that on the last day of Download 2025, we pay homage to them in front of the main stage.

Who are your picks to see at this year’s Download Festival 2025? Share your timetable across the weekend and recommendations by leaving a comment down below.