Download Festival 2025 Saturday

Saturday started in the usual way, with an early shower, but there was something slightly different about this Saturday morning, and I don’t just mean because the fridge had stopped working in Chris and Carla’s campervan, meaning a lack of breakfast…

Rumours had broken overnight about the potential surprise set coming up at 11 in the morning on 2nd stage. Trivium (0), and Matt Heafy in particular, had been teasing about it being 20 years since THAT Saturday morning set from Donington in 2005. With a late start scheduled and the perfect amount of time available for them to do the same setlist as 05, approximately 50,000 people turned up to 2nd stage.

Time slowly passed, and we reached 11:15. At this point, everyone probably knew the fate that was about to be told, but the sound engineer had to make a public announcement to say that the first band on the stage would be at 12 and wouldn’t be Trivium. Thank you to Matt Heafy for that early start!

In the end, I managed to catch a bit of Static Dress’ (6) set. They plodded along nicely, had plenty of pyro, and did what they needed to do to get a small but engaging crowd moving. I decided to have a wander after this and caught Lastelle (5) on 4th stage. They seemed like a decent enough band, but the sound wasn’t brilliant, so I headed off again.

I saw a decent-sized crowd over on the 2nd stage, so I went over to watch Sophie Lloyd (6). She is an exceptional guitarist. There were some different vocalists for the songs, and everything seemed to gel quite nicely. However, I decided to use Saturday as an opportunity to wander around and see what stalls were available. I bought a terrible hat because I felt like I needed as much protection from the sun as possible.

Having grabbed some food and a drink in the Guest Area, I made my way back out to the main stage for the beginning of Poppy (7). I really shouldn’t have been so surprised at how good this set was. Everything I’ve heard about the former YouTube star and pop-based singer suggests that the move into metal 5 years ago has been an absolute triumph, and that the stage show is exceptional.

What I didn’t expect was just how good the scream vocals would be in a live situation. Whilst I'm still not 100% on some of the songs, she certainly breaks down genres and provides something very different to the scene. I would expect her to continue to grow and build her way up the ladder quite quickly, especially with performances like this one.

I had an hour to get ready for what was about to be a pretty remarkable run of bands for me. So, I went through my usual routine before a long run of bands by going to the loo in RIP, grabbing a drink, and finding a snack. The snack of choice just happened to be the most incredible cheesecake I have ever tasted. So much Oreo loveliness! And then it was time for THAT run of bands.

I make no apologies for my love of Polaris (9). I genuinely believe they have the potential to headline festivals worldwide in a few years. The mix of heavy verses and melodic choruses has been a regular in the Aussie scene over the last few years, with Parkway Drive making great strides to put them on the map.

And whilst I love Parkway, I think the ceiling for these guys may be higher. Starting with what I believe is the best song in the repertoire, Nightmare, the crowd is instantly crazy. Mosh pits appear from everywhere, crowd surfers swarm on the stewards at the front of a packed 2nd stage, and the energy keeps on coming from the band, and in particular, lead singer Jamie Halls.

Making their way through hits Landmine and All This Is Fleeting before the gloriously chaotic Dissipate is a fantastic way to start a set. The chorus to Dissipate is an absolute joy, before the last-minute turns heavy and the crowd once again has the most circle pits I’ve seen all week. Once I’ve heard The Remedy, though, I know it’s time to run away to another stage. But not before reflecting on the wonders of this band. If you haven’t heard of them before, then please check them out, especially for the choruses of Nightmare and Dissipate.

However, the 4th stage is calling for the first-ever UK performance (indeed, the first outside North America) from an Atalanta-based band that has taken the wonderful weirdos of the world by storm: The Funeral Portrait (10). I’m not sure I have the words to describe how these 25 minutes of music made me feel. I also don’t know if I've ever given a 25-minute set a 10/10.

From the moment they launch into opener "Generation Psycho," the tent goes nuts. Leading into "You’re So Ugly When You Cry," a recent hit featuring Bert McCracken of The Used sharing vocals on the recording, it's clear to see where the attraction to this band lies. They write exceptionally catchy songs, with a slight emo twist, and have a live performance that is so full of energy that I’m surprised they don’t all need oxygen in between songs.

Leading it all is the wonderfully eccentric, theatre-trained Lee Jennings. Lee is a bundle of energy and jazz hands, gliding around the stage in such a mesmerising way that it would be easy to miss out on the music. Still, you don’t because it’s pure, unadulterated rock opera in the style of My Chemical Romance or Ghost.

As Lee leads a count to four on Dark Thoughts and explodes into Holy Water, the frenzy is heading for its climax, and probably the song and performance of the weekend for me. Suffocate City has become an anthem for emo’s around the world in the past 12 months, and it is greeted with screams of happiness as it kicks in. The following 4 minutes are an absolute delight of sing-alongs, dancing and jumping, followed by probably the loudest ovation I heard in a tent all weekend. They are back at the end of the year and won’t be a support act for long…

I had a little bit of time before heading over to see The Darkness (8). Justin is his usual self, bouncing from one side of the stage to the other, and Dan and Frankie are just a delight to watch. The band are in harmony, as are the vocals, and there are plenty of lights and pyro to add to the spectacle. The extended Get Your Hands Off My Woman, with mass audience participation, and the in-your-face Growing on Me are excellent early on in the set, and the addition of singing Christmas songs in June is always a friendly little reminder that things that make you happy should be allowed at any time of year.

But as I said earlier, this is a day of running around, and so off I go to catch the second half of Shinedown’s (8) set. I adore the first few albums, and used to love watching them live around 2009-2013, but I’d grown a little tired of hearing the same speeches every time they played.

Ironically, it's one of those speeches I can hear as I turn the corner for the main stage. I decided to get some food on the way down to meet my group in the normal position because I knew I’d only ‘miss’ a maximum of one song. I made it down to where they were standing halfway through that first song. I say this a little in jest, because I’m sure the sentiment is real (just like the Monsters), but it almost annoys me more that you could get a couple more songs into the set if it didn’t take so long to say what he wants to say. I do sometimes wonder if he does it to give his voice a rest from singing.

However, the talking doesn’t take away from what is a brilliant performance from the whole band. They have become one of the very best at what they do. I am not a huge fan of some of the newer songs, and I think Planet Zero is a strange choice to have on a setlist that’s only 13 songs long at a festival, but from then on the quality is cranked up as we go through Diamond Eyes, and into the aforementioned Monsters which is my highlight of the set every time I see them.

As we arrive at The Sound of Madness, everyone is happily singing along, and the crowd has filled with everyone coming down the hill from The Darkness. Closing song Second Chance is as hauntingly beautiful as ever, and Shinedown once again show that they are as good as it gets.

After this, I had intended to stick around and watch either Dayseeker or Sex Pistols, but I’m tired. It's been four long days, and I know Chris and Carla are heading back to camp, so I join them, and we watch some of the golf on the iPad, with the sound of Sleep Token reaching us from the arena. I have tried several times, but I just don’t like them, and this isn’t helping because I have yet to hear a song I like, and I presume they played all of their hits.

Daylight disappears, and I head to my tent to continue watching the golf and do some writing. It's been a better day than I thought it would be on paper. Poppy was a pleasant surprise, and I saw four excellent performances in the afternoon and evening. Tomorrow it’s the final day and there's a couple of belters to talk about.