Shazam’s Event Of The Week
Download Festival
While other UK festivals clutter their line ups with effeminate, skinny jeaned indie-kids; Download Festival continues to supply the best in proper balls to the wall rock and roll. Now in its fifth year, Download Festival specialises in assembling the great and the good from the worlds of metal, alternative rock and hardcore. Past headliners have included icons such as Kiss, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath but 2009’s line up appears to trump all previous years as Download continues its policy of placing stadium filling rock mainstays against current hot properties of the rock scene. Highlights of this year’s event will see legends of US rock such as Whitesnake, ZZ Top, Mötley Crüe rub up against rub up against youngish up-starts such as The Prodigy, Pendulum and Dragonforce. Usually that would be enough to send most rockers weak at the knees but add to that Marilyn Manson and Nu-metal kings Limp Bizkit into the mix, both of which have sold out the 200,000 capacity Milton Keynes bowl on their own, and you can see why Download sold out in record time this year.
Highlights of the event will be broadcast on BBC Radio 1, fortunate for those wishing to rock-out but without a ticket. Just remember that circle pits, stage dives and crowd surfing are neither wise nor safe to attempt in your front room.
Download Festival : 12 June – 14 June, Donington Park
