What You Need to Know About Download Festival’s Secret Sets
“Multiple secret sets” in 2025
This year’s Download Festival will be held on Friday 13th, Saturday 14th, and Sunday 15th June.
Earlier this year, the Download Family update confirmed that there will be “multiple secret sets” this June.
Nobody knows who will appear, but Donington Park has hosted some legendary surprise guests in the past.
Download’s famous secret sets through the years
In 2003, Metallica – listed at ‘NOTALLICA’ backstage – played a set around the release of St. Anger. Kerrang! reported, “Word got around the site quickly, with an estimated 8,000 fans cramming themselves into the tent”. The band came on stage in the middle of the afternoon, played 10 songs, and gave fans an early glimpse of then-new bassist Robert Trujillo (who has remained part of the line-up ever since).
In April, Metallica announced a deluxe reissue of Load, available on LP, CD and digital. The new release includes ‘The Outlaw Torn’ in its extended form. The track was originally edited to fit time constraints of CDs.
Other secret sets have included those from Bullet for My Valentine (who are confirmed guests this year), Black Stone Cherry, and Enter Shakiri.
Download has non-music stages ready to go too. The festival puts on wrestling, comedy, and live podcast shows, in addition to other forms of entertainment. Variety has been the spice of festival life for decades. What the Download goers want is live performance. It’s an appetite that has never ceased. Even online platforms harness live performances, nowadays. Online casinos, for instance, have long been video-based gaming platforms. More recently, though, casino game developers have worked on offering live game shows and live poker tables to give digital audiences that live performance and engagement.
From comedy to the secret set, there will be that live buzz through the weekend.
Confirmed line up for 2025
On the Apex Stage, headliners this year are Green Day (Friday 13 June), Sleep Token (Saturday), and Korn (Sunday). Weezer, Shinedown, Jimmy Eat World, Don Broco, and Spiritbox are also set to play.
Within Temptation, Sex Pistols, and Steel Panther headline the Opus Stage.
The Avalanche Stage will see McFly, Dayseeker, and Kids In Glass Houses.
Apocalyptica, Cradle Of Filth, and Sikth will play the Dogtooth Stage.
For the full line-up head to the official Download Festival website.
New music
Many of these artists have new albums coming or released records last year. Green Day’s Saviors received positive reviews; Sleep Token just released Even In Arcadia, which Kerrang! called “ambitious” and occasionally “weird”; and Korn are working on a new album but there’s no release date yet.
Weezer are expected to release an album later this year. In 2024 they released a 50-song reissue of their debut, known as The Blue Album, to mark its 30th anniversary. The record is one of the few to receive a perfect 10 score from Pitchfork, whose writer Jill Mapes said Rivers Cuomo found “the ideal balance” between “music as a vehicle for emotional expression” and “pop (as) a puzzle that can be solved”.
Bullet for My Valentine are working on new music, as are Jimmy Eat World. The latter’s Zach Lind told NME back in 2008, “When Jim (Adkins) and I first started playing together, we were in junior high and we used to play Metallica songs, so I guess we’ve got a little bit of metal in us”, with the band acknowledging they were one of the poppier acts.
What else to know about Download 2025
The festival typically causes jams on the surrounding roads and motorways. In 2023, drivers reported five-hour tailbacks. ITV News advised that the “M1, A42, A453, A50 and A38” get busy.
Last year the organisers introduced traffic coordinators and an extra arrival day to better manage the crowds.
Those travelling by car and parking at the festival site need to buy car park passes ahead of the event.
The official site includes info on the best driving routes for fans camping; routes for the Weekend Arena; accessibility camping; and arrival times (car parks are open from 9am on the Wednesday).
Fans with day and Weekend Arena tickets are advised to park at the South car park.
