Download Festival 2025 Friday

I have a little routine at Download these days. I am usually up before most people, so I will go for a shower sometime between 6:00 and 6:30. It’s lovely to walk around at that time. Everything is so calm and peaceful. There’s no music coming from the Co-op at the top of the hill, the only noise is from the various Viking snorers around the camp.

Once that has been done, I will return to my tent and sit outside for a while as I continue to prepare my mind for what is always a tough three days for someone who isn’t great around people, but who does love live music.

My group of five is split into three groups in the morning. Ali and I will be up and off for showers at similar times, so we often have a nice little chat in the mornings, or are happy to sit in silence if we need a break from being sociable before the others wake up.

Once we are all awake, it's time for breakfast. The fry-up is essential for us to ensure we have some food in us before attempting to take on the day, and means we probably only have to eat properly once more during the day, which saves a lot of money at a festival.

Fry-up and washing up done, it was time to get ready to head to the arena. This was our first opportunity to head to the guest area behind the main stage, as it serves as the entrance for the RIP guests. At first glance, it seemed smaller than in previous years. However, as we moved around, the bar felt much larger and had more seating options, and there were additional seating opportunities in the open area.

There also seemed to be fewer toilet options, but they were able to keep them clean and serviced much more easily in the way they were set up, and they kept the queue moving quickly all weekend. I find that it's just as easy to walk back to the RIP area anyway if I have a little gap in bands.

We got our drinks and headed into the arena, which hadn’t changed much at all, unsurprisingly. The first bands on were all bands that I would have happily seen, and nobody else had a preference, so we headed up to the top of the hill to hear both the Main and 4th stages.

Having watched a couple of songs from SiM (5), I decided to turn the other way and listen to The Haunt (6). Sadly, just as I decided to get up and go and watch their last song, I realised that they were on it and there was no point going into the tent for it. But they are a band I will check out on another occasion.

And so, it was time for round two of BattleSnake (8). It takes a lot to put on the performance they had done the previous night and then turn up less than 24 hours later and produce one with the same amount of energy and quality, but these guys very nearly pulled it off. The gimmicks don’t change much between performances, but they are just as wonderful as the first time around.

This time, as they stripped for the final song, instead of getting a child up on stage, a moving table on wheels appeared from the side of the stage. This time, the keytar player decided to let his keytar do some crowd surfing with a GoPro attached to it. As this made its way round the crowd, one of the guitarists got on top of the moving table and off he went from one side of the stage to the other, being pushed and stopped by the keytar player. Honestly, if they are playing in your area, go and see them. You will be entertained.

After this, we split as a group, as we tend to do, but we have a meeting point for both the main and second stages in case we plan to see the same bands. As the others went off to watch Northlane, I wanted to go and grab a drink, pop to the loo and watch some of Boston Manor (7).

Boston Manor are a weird one for me. I can’t say that I ever want to listen to them recorded, I can’t say that I particularly remember any of their shows being outstanding, and yet I still turn up every time to watch them at festivals. And I must be honest, they surprised me this time. The band sounded tight, and the singer, Henry Cox, sounded as good as I have ever heard him. I’m still not totally enamoured with the songs, but I won’t be hiding away from them again next time either, plus I hung out with a Dinosaur.

After this, we hit my 2005 ‘Big Four’. Honestly, I’m not sure they could have picked a better Friday for me in terms of giving me bands I was desperate to see. And it all kicked off with one of my favourite academy bands, but not always main stage festival band, Rise Against (9).

I have had issues in the past with the sound not travelling from slightly further back with Rise Against on main stage, so this year I thought sod it, I’m going in where it hurts at the front. And boy was it a good decision! They sounded epic from start to finish. They had pyro, there was much running around on stage, and there was crowd participation. These guys are as good as they have ever been!

Ripping through a set that included hits such as Re-Education (Through Labour), Give It All, and Satellite, it’s a poignant Prayer of the Refugee that stands out, and sets the tone for what becomes a fairly political day. One you would expect, given that they and Green Day share a stage. Tim McIlrath states that this song is as current as it was when it was written, as the opening chords ring out. The crowd is as intense as it has been so far at the festival, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

Jimmy Eat World (8) are an afternoon festival band. They know their place. They haven’t changed since those fresh faces 20-plus years ago. And today they are in their usual fine form. Possibly only Limp Bizkit can rival them for how they choose their setlists for festivals, “We just play our hits” has always been the motto. And the hits they play.

Opening song Pain gets the crowd going, as they work their way through the loudest sing-along so far with Sweetness, but it’s the final three songs that make you stand up and notice. To conclude with "A Praise Chorus," "Bleed American," and "The Middle" demonstrates the immense scope of this band. Some of the movement has gone from the stage show over the years, but the songs still stand up amongst the pantheon of MOR Rock.

Whilst J.E.W may have lost some of their mobility, Weezer (8) didn’t even bother to move at all. There is very little interaction with the crowd, and it feels like we’ve caught them on a slight off day in terms of the stage show. But starting with the hard-hitting Hash Pipe, My Name Is Jonas, and my personal favourite Perfect Situation, shows that sometimes the songs are enough to put on a classic show.

Indeed, such is the lack of talking between songs that Weezer can rattle off 17 songs in their time on stage. The middle section loses the crowd a little as its stripped back to the hazy tunes that is likely to be enjoyed by a slightly different festival crowd a couple of weeks later, but if you think that J.E.W had a closing three to contend with then Weezer pull out Say It Ain’t So, Beverly Hills and Buddy Holly. It saves what could have been a mediocre set and means that my first, and potentially last, sighting of Weezer is a pleasant one.

But we are all waiting for the big one. Whilst the others have all been off enjoying other sets, I take the time to make sure that I am ready for Green Day (10). I pop to the loo, then go and grab a snack and fill up the Dinosaur water bottle. When I re-enter the arena, the front area hasn’t quite filled up, so I head straight into it so that I can get as good a view as possible. I end up standing next to James from Rock Sound for the first half of the set.

Where do you start with this set?! They’ve always been a mind-blowingly good band, but this was truly on another level. The usual pranks with the Bunny before the start never get old, but as the band emerge to the start of American Idiot, the crowd goes wild…and it never really lets up from there. The lyrics for this one get changed regularly to suit current news, and this time we weren’t part of an Elon agenda.

Flowing through Holiday and onto Know Your Enemy, it’s a chance for some audience participation, and my word, she went for it in her cheerleader's outfit. It’s incredible how they don’t freeze when they get up on stage, but Billie Joe gives her all the time in the world to take advantage of her newfound fame.

As the middle of the set makes its way through hits like Longview, Welcome To Paradise and the exceptional Hitchin’-a-Ride, I take a look around the crowd near me, and everybody has a smile on their face. It’s one of those moments where you realise that this is how life is supposed to be lived. Pure happiness!

I could list the entire set as highlights, but Billie Joe had a couple of crackers left in there for us. During a beautiful When September Ends, just as he starts to deliver the line “Here comes the rain again”, it incredibly starts to rain. It was one of those genuine heart-stopping moments, marked by audible gasps of shock and pleasure. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he had a line to the weather gods to produce that.

And then we get the full version of Jesus of Suburbia. It’s just the most incredible song that goes on forever, but forever doesn’t feel long enough! The delightful Bobby Sox is the final song of the night to include the whole band before the sort-of encore that has now become a staple of Green Day gigs…Billie Joe, his acoustic guitar, and Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).

As I eat my churros and white chocolate sauce and sing along with the rest of the 80,000-strong crowd, I contemplate whether life will ever get better than this again. I’m sure it will do, but this seems perfect to me at the end of what might be the best set I have ever seen at Download. Slipknot 09 has a rival, and it might not be the only one of the weekend…