Download 2024

[northernangel]

36 minutes ago, Ausländer said:

Corey Taylor canceled today's show at nova rock and yesterday concert in prague 

That'll be how he makes it up to people by returning with Slipknot again lol

[zahidf]

https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2024/06/14/55817/latitude_severs_ties_with_barclaycard

 

Download have dropped the Barclaycard sponsorship

[JimMacVeigh]

Download 24 in the pocket. How did everyone who went find it?

 

Friday, I only saw Urne (I was working that day). Incredible set.

 

Saturday, I saw gel, dying wish, Silverstein, while she sleeps, Pantera and fear factory. Genuinely couldn’t knock any of the bands, thought everyone was good to great!

 

Sunday, my body had enough. 

[LazyDavid]

Friday: all going fine until 8:30 in the tent watching Wheatus when my lunch from the Yorkshire Pudding place in the village reared it's head

Saturday: spent most of the day in my tent and the loos thanks to said meal

Sunday: recovering and managed to see some bands

 

f**k the yorkshire pudding stand.

[Paul ™]

36 minutes ago, LazyDavid said:

 

f**k the yorkshire pudding stand.

Quite a few complaints about that trader along with another one (who was put off site). 

[Spiral_Low]

Sad to hear about food stand issues.

 

For those who went, how was the crowd and the vibe? Was the mud manageable? 

[1986]

12 hours ago, LazyDavid said:

Friday: all going fine until 8:30 in the tent watching Wheatus when my lunch from the Yorkshire Pudding place in the village reared it's head

Saturday: spent most of the day in my tent and the loos thanks to said meal

Sunday: recovering and managed to see some bands

 

f**k the yorkshire pudding stand.

As someone who too often gets sick or food poisoning on trips I know just how bad that must have felt. My sympathies it f**king sucks. I’ll avoid Yorkshire Pudding stands at all festivals this year now. 

[JimMacVeigh]

16 minutes ago, Spiral_Low said:

Sad to hear about food stand issues.

 

For those who went, how was the crowd and the vibe? Was the mud manageable? 

Crowd was cool. Vibe seemed good too. 
 

the mud became a f**king slog. That’s why I binned off the Sunday. I just didn’t want to bother with that anymore. 

[Spiral_Low]

3 hours ago, JimMacVeigh said:

Crowd was cool. Vibe seemed good too. 
 

the mud became a f**king slog. That’s why I binned off the Sunday. I just didn’t want to bother with that anymore. 

That's good about the crowd but worrying about the mud, a mate just reported it was really bad too. Sounds like they need to work on improving the site again. 

[JimMacVeigh]

Just now, Spiral_Low said:

That's good about the crowd but worrying about the mud, a mate just reported it was really bad too. Sounds like they need to work on improving the site again. 

Yeah. From what my friend who went all weekend said, it was like an ice rink at the main stage on the Sunday. 

[RandomEnglishPerson]

17 hours ago, LazyDavid said:

Friday: all going fine until 8:30 in the tent watching Wheatus when my lunch from the Yorkshire Pudding place in the village reared it's head

Saturday: spent most of the day in my tent and the loos thanks to said meal

Sunday: recovering and managed to see some bands

 

f**k the yorkshire pudding stand.

When I first heard about this yesterday, (Rob Kellas's tweet) i saw myself as lucky as I had bought food from the Yorkshire pudding place in the village on the Thursday afternoon, either it was something with the one in the arena or I got lucky is up in the air, hopefully you've recovered well enough to of enjoyed the rest of the festival.

[northernangel]

2 hours ago, Spiral_Low said:

That's good about the crowd but worrying about the mud, a mate just reported it was really bad too. Sounds like they need to work on improving the site again. 

Download do not do this though, they give no sh*t about the crowd once the tickets have been bought. Never did in 2011 or 2012 when I camped, never did in 2023 either which was lucky as the weather was decent but they clearly oversold the place.

[Andre91]

I had a fantastic time. All of my friends had a fantastic time. That’s all I care about, really. I’m not bothered if a bunch of strangers on social media found issue with anything and everything. Download 2024 was elite. Roll on 2025. 

[ipr44]

Did yesterday on a day ticket.

 

-The walk from the drop off zone was 40+ minutes across all terrains and up/down hill across the race track. Nowhere near advertised well enough. It took way too long to get in.

 

-The mud was shin height in places and really quite dangerous

 

-B4S, Sum41, Limp and AS were all really enjoyable and AS in particular sounded great

 

-Darted out ASAP and picked up an Uber, at 4x the cost of what it cost to get dropped in of course…

 

It was my first time and I had a good day despite the battle with the mud, albeit I went back to a hotel with a hot shower and comfy bed - simply could not camp in those conditions anymore and I’ll never risk it again for any festival - weekend ruining stuff.

 

Bar queues, drinks price and quality not too bad to be honest. Food outlets were crap though.

 

Will likely return next year if the lineup takes my fancy. Yesterday probably cost be £300 all in though, it’s getting so expensive these days out.

Edited June 17 by ipr44

[charlierc]

I heard Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan went along and sung a song with Bleed from Within. Which... bit of a curio to read about.

[rivalschools.price]

2 hours ago, Andre91 said:

I had a fantastic time. All of my friends had a fantastic time. That’s all I care about, really. I’m not bothered if a bunch of strangers on social media found issue with anything and everything. Download 2024 was elite. Roll on 2025. 

 

100% same for me

[Paul ™]

Some people expect trackway across the whole site when its muddy.

They put out a sh*t ton of hay all over, even that wasn't enough.

 

If you can't handle a muddy festival, don't go to one in the UK.

[Bixer]

Jesus, yeah there doesn't half seem to be a lot of moaning everywhere you look on social media - a good reminder if any that it's a good thing to avoid in general as it'll only bring your happiness down! 

 

Our first ever Download this weekend too and my wife and I had a great time. Lineup-wise I think we'll be lucky to ever find another festival that caters to our tastes quite so well. QOTSA are my favourite band (and I think Friday was the 12th time I've seen them), but credit where it's due I think Fall Out Boy stole the show this year. Amazing performance from them, I've never really been a fan but that's made me want to go back and check out some of their albums. 

 

Most complaints I've seen really seem to come down to the weather? Yeah it was a bit of a shitshow in that regard, but it's thousands of people in a confined space in a field over 3 days, I'm not really sure what else the organisers could have done. I only wore wellies for Saturday and Sunday and was pretty much fine. 

 

My only real gripe was that it was a terrible decision to put Wheatus and Busted on back-to-back in that tiny tent on Friday. I was hoping to catch the first half of Busted before heading over to the main stage for QOTSA but in the end I gave up as soon as Wheatus finished as it just wasn't enjoyable to be constantly barged past by people looking for space that doesn't exist. That's not just a Download problem though, the exact same thing happened for The Streets at Glastonbury a few years back - having anyone remotely big playing in a tent just doesn't work. 

 

But yeah, lineup permitting we'd definitely go back next year! 

[Andre91]

Just now, Bixer said:

Jesus, yeah there doesn't half seem to be a lot of moaning everywhere you look on social media - a good reminder if any that it's a good thing to avoid in general as it'll only bring your happiness down! 

 

Our first ever Download this weekend too and my wife and I had a great time. Lineup-wise I think we'll be lucky to ever find another festival that caters to our tastes quite so well. QOTSA are my favourite band (and I think Friday was the 12th time I've seen them), but credit where it's due I think Fall Out Boy stole the show this year. Amazing performance from them, I've never really been a fan but that's made me want to go back and check out some of their albums. 

 

Most complaints I've seen really seem to come down to the weather? Yeah it was a bit of a shitshow in that regard, but it's thousands of people in a confined space in a field over 3 days, I'm not really sure what else the organisers could have done. I only wore wellies for Saturday and Sunday and was pretty much fine. 

 

My only real gripe was that it was a terrible decision to put Wheatus and Busted on back-to-back in that tiny tent on Friday. I was hoping to catch the first half of Busted before heading over to the main stage for QOTSA but in the end I gave up as soon as Wheatus finished as it just wasn't enjoyable to be constantly barged past by people looking for space that doesn't exist. That's not just a Download problem though, the exact same thing happened for The Streets at Glastonbury a few years back - having anyone remotely big playing in a tent just doesn't work. 

 

But yeah, lineup permitting we'd definitely go back next year! 

Glad to hear you had a great weekend! 
 

QOTSA were stunning on Friday. Just the coolest band. 
 

Agreed on the weather front; what are they supposed to do? I wore trainers on Friday like an idiot and they got caked in mud but they cleaned up fine when I got home yesterday. I wore wellies the other two days and getting around wasn’t really an issue at all. Never had to queue at all for the toilet or food all weekend which was nice. 
 

Everyone I personally know, everyone I didn’t know but spoke to over the weekend in the crowds etc all had a great weekend. I bet half the people being the most vocal about complaints weren’t even there. 

[WillSLeedsFVet]

22 hours ago, Spiral_Low said:

Sad to hear about food stand issues.

 

For those who went, how was the crowd and the vibe? Was the mud manageable? 

I ate 2 meals minimum from different places daily and found the food amazing every time!

Vibe was fantastic. Crowds excellent and mud more than manageable - the only complaint i have about the whole weekend is the mud meant a HUGE amount of people had chairs in the arena which made entering and leaving some crowds quite annoying.

However, Download 2024 was fu**ing excellent 😄

[WillSLeedsFVet]

13 hours ago, Paul ™ said:

Some people expect trackway across the whole site when its muddy.

They put out a sh*t ton of hay all over, even that wasn't enough.

 

If you can't handle a muddy festival, don't go to one in the UK.

Great summary of it!

Prepare for cold (warm bedding/clothes), rain (waterproof) and mud (wellies/docs) at any UK festival. Everything after that is a bonus. You're spending your own hard earned money and time, why are people actively looking to moan?

[thetime]

13 hours ago, Paul ™ said:

Some people expect trackway across the whole site when its muddy.

They put out a sh*t ton of hay all over, even that wasn't enough.

 

If you can't handle a muddy festival, don't go to one in the UK.

 

It's why I never camp at UK festivals, overseas is where's its at. 🤩

 

Not worth it. 

[Andre91]

I took a chair in for the first time ever on Sunday and it was blissful. Sat just behind the sound tower between bands at main so I wasn’t really in anyone’s way. 

[Andre91]

Had a bit of time to properly think about the bands I saw over the weekend. Top 10 acts for me: 

 

1. Fall Out Boy - Pulled out something truly unique and special for the headline slot. That first hour was absolutely phenomenal and maybe the best hour of music I’ve ever experienced. Honestly, pure, unfiltered joy. I was beaming from ear to ear, jumping around and singing my heart out to every song from those first 4 records like my life depended on it. All I’ve done is watch my videos back and listen to those albums since I got home; the set really really touched my heart.
 

2. Pantera - They sounded great (even Phil). I was so excited before they came on and that curtain drop was iconic. I never got to see them because I was far too young but this really made up for it. Crowd was gigantic and loving every second. I left towards the end of Floods to get a spot for FOB but I am going to try for tour tickets so I can see the rest of their songs. They were my #1 most anticipated act and they delivered more than I could have hoped for. 
 

3. Enter Shikari - always going to make my top acts, no matter where they play. They’re my favourite band I think they absolutely smashed the slot and showed how bonkers it is that they have never played the Main Stage before. Their energy is unmatched and the setlist was packed with bangers. Would be great to see them sub one day, hopefully. Production was awesome, too. 
 

4. Queens of the Stone Age - one of the best sounds of the whole weekend. They sounded monolithic from where I was near to the front left of the sound tower. The setlist was perfect and the crowd around me was just as up for it as the band. Song For The Dead was one of the best moments of the whole weekend. I absolutely had a ball watching QOTSA. 
 

5. Soft Play - one of the biggest surprises ever for me. They were bloody brilliant. I’ve always knocked them but my fiancée and our mate love them and dragged me along and I’m so glad they did. Really great energy from both band and crowd and they have absolutely won me over. They’ve got some great singalong tunes. 
 

6. Limp Bizkit - THE ULTIMATE PARTY BAND. You know what you’re getting with Bizkit but, my Lord, it’s just THE BEST thing. By far the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at a festival I’ve been to, it was swamped all the way to the food trucks and up to the Ferris wheel. I absolutely believe they will headline the next time they play after seeing what I saw on Sunday. They’re timeless. 
 

7. Dying Wish - the best sound I heard all weekend. The most crushing guitar tone imaginable and Emma sounded glorious. Tent was packed for them before it started raining heavy so that was a good sign. This is what metalcore should sound like. 
 

8. Polyphia - really, really impressive and enjoyable. I was really concerned how it would translate to that stage but I think it worked fantastically. The pyro was a nice addition and the other guitarist was a good hype man between songs. They are a ludicrously skilled band and I found them so engaging and genuinely fascinating to watch. It was a really nice soundtrack to some of the brightest sunshine we got all weekend. 
 

9. Avenged Sevenfold - much better than the last time I saw them headline in 2018. I was hoping they play lots from the new record and they did which made me really happy as I love the new material. The older bangers sounded great and overall I think it was a solid performance. I left during Nightmare to head back to the car but was able to sing along to the rest of the set on the way to the car as you could hear it so clearly. A solid set from what I saw. 
 

10. The Offspring - I only watched half of their set but this is what a sub headline slot should be. Bangers after bangers performed with the same energy as 20 years ago; I was so impressed with how they sounded. That opening run of Come Out and Play, All I Want, I Want You Bad and Staring At The Sun was ludicrous. 
 

Honourable mention: Creeper - looked and performed like the coolest band in the world. Was a real shame their set was cut but they absolutely made the most of it. I felt like they really stood out and I hope they’ve picked up a lot of new fans. The pyro added to their show so much. Just a really excellent rock band who wrote insanely singable tunes. 
 

It was also cool to see Mr Bungle; Patton is a mad man but was as impressive as ever. I didn’t realise Scott Ian and Dave Lombardo were in the band too so it was a really cool game of who’s who watching their set.
 

Sum 41 played a blinder and the setlist was great. Getting We’re All To Blame and Walking Disaster made my little teenage heart swell.

Parkway Drive was the only disappointment of the weekend because you just couldn’t hear Winston whatsoever. The rest of the band sounded great but it was really bothersome seeing him going for it but not being able to hear it. 
 

To be honest, I didn’t see a single performance that wasn’t enjoyable all weekend. Even Scene Queen won me over with her performance even though her music isn’t for me. Even found myself enjoying Bowling For Soup! 
 

Overall, I had an absolutely lovely weekend with lots of my closest friends and favourite people and didn’t find the weather much of a hindrance at all. Also didn’t spend a penny at the bar all weekend and sampled lots of really great food so a good time was really had in every aspect. 
 

Edited June 18 by Andre91