Wire report
Download festival review – Guns N’ Roses flop and Letlive thrive as metal’s biggest fest enters the future
Donington Park, Leicestershire Often criticised for booking the same old legends, the festival hosts a broad span of music’s heaviest genre, plus hip-hop, Indian folk – and, finally, its first female headliner Not long ago, it was a running joke that Download, the biggest rock and metal festival in the UK, kept overlooking new blood and digging up the same 80s giants. But recent editions have finally started emphasising first-time headliners and making at least minor strides in representation. This year, four-decade veterans Guns N’ Roses return, while Limp Bizkit make their headlining debut and Linkin Park, now co-fronted by Emily Armstrong, become the first band with a female singer to top the bill. It only took 23 years. On Friday, Swiss deathcore upstarts Paleface Swiss dominate the second stage early. Frontman Marc Zellweger is furious that the festival will only let him have one fr
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Donington Park, Leicestershire Often criticised for booking the same old legends, the festival hosts a broad span of music’s heaviest genre, plus hip-hop, Indian folk – and, finally, its first female headliner Not long ago, it was a running joke that Download, the biggest rock and metal festival in the UK, kept overlooking new blood and digging up the same 80s giants. But recent editions have finally started emphasising first-time headliners and making at least minor strides in representation. This year, four-decade veterans Guns N’ Roses return, while Limp Bizkit make their headlining debut and Linkin Park, now co-fronted by Emily Armstrong, become the first band with a female singer to top the bill. It only took 23 years. On Friday, Swiss deathcore upstarts Paleface Swiss dominate the second stage early. Frontman Marc Zellweger is furious that the festival will only let him have one fr
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According to The Guardian’s linked item, Download festival review – Guns N’ Roses flop and Letlive thrive as metal’s biggest fest enters the future, Donington Park, Leicestershire Often criticised for booking the same old legends, the festival hosts a broad span of music’s heaviest genre, plus hip-hop, Indian folk – and, finally, its first female headliner Not long ago, it was a running joke that Download, the biggest rock and metal festival in the UK, kept overlooking new blood and digging up the same 80s giants. But recent editions have finally started emphasising first-time headliners and making at least minor strides in representation. This year, four-decade veterans Guns N’ Roses return, while Limp Bizkit make their headlining debut and Linkin Park, now co-fronted by Emily Armstrong, become the first band with a female singer to top the bill. It only took 23 years. On Friday, Swiss deathcore upstarts Paleface Swiss dominate the second stage early. Frontman Marc Zellweger is furious that the festival will only let him have one fr
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The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked item is dated 2026-06-15T11:56:53+00:00.
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Primary source: Download festival review – Guns N’ Roses flop and Letlive thrive as metal’s biggest fest enters the future via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- Download festival review – Guns N’ Roses flop and Letlive thrive as metal’s biggest fest enters the futureThe Guardian - 2026-06-15T11:56:53+00:00
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