Download Festival is one of my favourite events of the year, and 2024’s iteration was no different, despite the weather! After the complaints from last year, the Download team took steps to rectify many of the issues, and we were pleased to see the improvements. The parking plan was much better, with no queues to get in, and the capacity had also been reduced, ensuring less queues all round. However, the toilet situation was rather poor (no toilet roll or hand sanitiser in any of the toilets we went in), with a lot less portaloos in general, so this is something that needs to be rectified next time around. We’d also recommend putting up more tents for people to shelter under when the weather takes a negative turn, which it did at several points during the festival.
Now onto the music!
Review by Jane Howkins & Amy Horne
First up on our list were The Stuts, a band that has been drawing attention from across the musical spectrum. It was easy to see why too, with their bluesy, rock and roll riffs injecting a good dose of energy into the crowd for the rest of the day. I’ve been wanting to see Soft Play for a while, and they certainly did not disappoint! Despite only being a duo, the band managed to recreate their old school punk songs to rapturous applause, oozing attitude throughout.
Bayside have become one of my favourite bands over the last year, so their surprise addition to the line-up was very exciting. Having never seen them before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they performed a set full of old and new hits, appealing to their wide fanbase. Sick, Sick, Sick and Already Gone were particular favourited – make sure you see them if you ever have the chance!
Next up were Wheatus, with the Avalanche tent really starting to fill up by this point. The band teased the audience with clips of Teenage Dirtbag, the song that most people were there for. Unfortunately, the set suffered from sound issues, and the remaining songs weren’t actually very good, showing us exactly why they became one hit wonders. Luckily, Busted appeared to headline the stage next, putting on a fantastic performance that made everyone forget all about what came before. We also managed to catch a bit of Queens of the Stone Age headlining the main stage – whilst it wasn’t to everyone’s taste, they played several songs from each record, with the music more than making up for the slightly lacking stage presence.
Saturday was a little less action packed, although Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes surely put everyone else to shame! They’re made themselves a fantastic reputation for their live shows, and for good reason! Frank darted across the stage with confidence and even dived into the crowd at one point. Make sure you catch the Rattlesnakes too next time they tour, as they’re one of the best live bands out there at the moment!
Next up, we caught Babymetal. Last time they played Download it was quite a controversial set, but they seemed to draw a big crowd. However, the show was cut short due to the influx of a sudden storm, which whilst unfortunate, was largely unavoidable. Enter Shikari are one of those bands I’ve always heard good things about, yet I’ve never managed to catch them before. The rumour is that the band managed to get the Barclays sponsorship dropped from the festival (a positive for us!), and their set was politically charged from the off, playing their electro-core songs to great applause.
The Offspring were another popular act. Going through a range of hits from their back catalogue, songs like All I Want and Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) were naturally very popular, and they performed well. Our only issue was the stage banter seemed a little cliche – they told the exact jokes word for word as they did when we saw them play Slam Dunk Festival last year, sounding very rehearsed. Our headliners for the day were Billy Talent, a band who surely deserve better than the third stage. They’re absolutely ferocious live and have a fantastic catalogue of albums, each of which was touched upon in turn. Another must see for us!
Our Sunday started with Creeper, a band that seems to play at every festival we attend. Sound problems unfortunately dogged the main stage as they played, but they had a killer stage presence, featuring a troupe of back-up dancers and some fiery pyrotechnics. It’s surprising that Zebrahead don’t play Download more often, as they were extremely popular. They’re a bit of a party band, playing a form of pop-punk/rap that is full of energy. They released a load of beach balls towards the end and played a fantastic set as ever!
Bowling For Soup were surprisingly one of the best acts of the entire weekend. It’s easy to forget how many good song they have, with all of them being played during their show. They’re naturally hilarious on stage, and a nice collaboration with Wheatus for Teenage Dirtbag went down extremely well! The final band we wanted to see were Sum 41. It was their last ever UK festival date (although they have just announced their last UK tour, so don’t miss out!) and they really won people over, despite being considered as more of a pop-punk band than a metal act. They’ve got a fantastic stage presence and the songs to match, making them yet another must see from me!