Metallica, Slipknot To Headline Download Festival 2023
Metallica, Bring Me The Horizon and Slipknot have been announced as the headliners of next year’s Download Festival, held at Leicestershire’s Donington Park.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the rock and metal festival, event organisers have extended it to four days (8-11 June) with four headline slots.
Metallica will perform two unique headline sets over the weekend with no songs repeated, on Thursday (8 June) and Saturday (10 June), while Bring Me The Horizon will perform on the Friday (9 June) and Slipknot will close the festival on the Sunday (11 June).
Also announced for the festival are are: Evanescence, Parkway Drive, Disturbed, Pendulum, Architects, Ghost, The Distillers, Placebo, Alexisonfire, Asking Alexandria, Motionless In White, I Prevail, The Blackout (reunion), Fever 333, Nova Twins, Stray From The Path, Lorna Shore, Municipal Waste, and many more acts.
Tickets go on general sale this Thursday (November 10) at 10am GMT here. There is a pre-sale open now for Barclaycard card holders.
Metallica will return to Donington after more than a decade away. The band said in a statement: “We are next-level honoured to once again come back and partake in the Download shenanigans on the hallowed grounds of Castle Donington, which has an unparalleled place in rock history. On top of that, to be able to share our double show format with two completely unique sets with no repeat songs for the first time ever in the UK is way fuckin’ cool. Bring it on!!”
Meanwhile, Slipknot will play their fifth headline slot at the festival. Turntablist Sid Wilson said: “Download Festival! So many great memories, one of the most amazing crowds to play in front of, always an honour to share the bill with so many amazing bands, and of course, I’ll never miss the opportunity to play my homeland.”
Download Festival’s Andy Copping added: “This year marks a huge milestone for Download, celebrating the incredible 20 years of the festival is no small feat. We really wanted to up the ante for this special anniversary, adding an extra day for the fans to experience the unforgettable lineup, that once again brings together unparalleled talent from the rock music world back to Donington Park!”