Featured image: Matthew Higgs/Press

With this year’s Download just around the corner, it’s time to start planning schedules and crossing fingers in the hopes of no clashes. The 20th anniversary-special line-up is one to look forward to, providing headliners such as metal legends Metallica and Sheffield’s own Bring Me The Horizon. If those alone aren’t enough to draw you in, these five hand-picked artists are a few to catch during next week’s event.

Alter Bridge

What better way to kick off festival season than by ensuring the legendary Alter Bridge is on your weekend’s itinerary. Members include Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall, Scott ‘Flip’ Phillips, and the singer of Slash’s band, Myles Kennedy. Following their seventh album release, Pawns and Kings, Alter Bridge has been touring their newest songs extensively since last October. The band is known worldwide for hosting their talent, with both Kennedy and Tremonti hailed as two of the best musicians in the industry today.

Be sure to catch their set at 7:10 pm on the Apex Stage on Thursday.

Neck Deep

The four-piece pop-punk icons Neck Deep are among this year’s monster lineup. Coming all the way from Wrexham, Wales, the band consists of vocalist Ben Barlow and guitarists Matt West, Sam Bowden, and Seb Barlow. After the successful release of All Distortions Are Intentional in 2019, the band is set to put on an immersive show playing a mixture of new and old hits. Expect nothing less than crowd-surfing madness and summer tunes all around.

Neck Deep takes to the Apex Stage at 4:10 pm on Friday.

As December Falls

Nottingham locals As December Falls returns to the Midlands for the best weekend of the year. The female-fronted band have yet to disappoint after seeing them numerous times and undoubtedly will perform better than ever before during their time at Download Festival. Their newest single, Little By Little, was released only a few days ago and has received positive feedback, which was expected following their previous self-titled album in 2019 and second album, Happier, in 2021.

As December Falls plays The Avalanche Stage at 2:50 pm on Friday.

Stray From The Path

After joining Beartooth on their most recent UK tour, Stray From The Path received an incredible reaction from crowds after bringing their hardcore punk style to the stage. The band truly is a force to be reckoned with, and their frontman Andrew Dijorio is providing maximum energy on stage like nobody else in the scene right now. 2022 saw the release of the new album Euthanasia, which brought the song ‘Guillotine’ to headphones and speakers worldwide.

See Stray From The Path at 12:50 pm on the Opus Stage on Saturday.

Electric Callboy

Electric Callboy is a German ‘electronicore’ band formed in 2010 that successfully crosses the line between metal and dance music. They have been a band I have longed to tick off my own personal bucket list for a long time now, mainly due to the anticipation of how lively the crowds are due to be. The well-known hits such as ‘Spaceman’ and ‘We Got the Moves’ are sure to go down a treat!

Electric Callboy plays The Avalanche Stage at 7:35 pm on Sunday.

Download Festival will be taking place Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th June, 2023 at Donington park, Leicestershire. For tickets and more information visit downloadfestival.co.uk