By the time we meet Kelsy Karter & The Heroines backstage at Download, not only are the gang still in
The trio sat down with us ahead of their silent disco set later that evening.
Michael Poulsen is no stranger to playing at Download. The main man, front and centre, of Danish metal gods Volbeat, has played so often on the hallowed Donington turf he could probably be liable for council tax. But this year. This time. In the mud filled carnage of 2024, Poulson is right of centre and as happy as a pig in mud, as the guitarist and UK live festival debut of Asinhell.
"I've found a reason for me, To change who I used to be, A reason to start over new, And the reason is you!" Some of the most well known rock ballad lyrics in the world and a track which burst through the one billion stream mark in the run up to Download. Hoobastank’s The Reason is the soundtrack to so many of our lives and as frontman Doug Robb laughs, it got so many people laid through the years - including himself.
Will Ghould and Ian Miles are enjoying a well earned seat backstage at Download. Both their shoes are caked in thick, gluey mud. But the boys can’t stop grinning. For the third year in a row Creeper have smashed an unmissable set right out of the Donington Park, moving up the stages each year with their Main Stage set fresh in the hearts, minds and ears of 70,000 festival revellers. Very few bands are invited back for a hat-trick of consecutive appearances so have Creeper become the Download house band?
Brothers Finn and Conor Keogh, and friends Oli Spackman and Jimmy Lanwern, are the four that make up new, London-based
Somebody’s Child are an Irish rock band, led by the triumphant Cian Godfrey, and they have been going from strength to strength the past few years, culminating in shows supporting The War On Drugs, Bloc Party, and a headline set on the second stage at BST Presents Kings Of Leon. Prior to his appearance on the Rainbow Stage, we sat down with Cian to discuss the past, the present, and what the hell’s coming next.
Before hitting the main stage with their punchy punk rock, we caught up with Bob Vylan at Bearded Theory to chat about their tour, Jools Holland and the responsibility of an artist.
Understanding how underground rock’s most controversial figure managed to distinguish between the man from the persona, unlocks the indelible significance of his work in the counterculture.
With the number of grassroots venues plummeting, what does that mean for the future of live music in the UK?