At this year’s Download Festival, three facts became as unavoidable as the unending trenches of mud on which it rocked, writes Bex May.

1. Millennial-favourite pop punk and emo bands have never been so popular.

2. Download is proving fertile ground for some of the most exciting up and coming bands in rock and metal.

3. It continues to produce some of the best vibes of any festival – in the UK or otherwise.

That’s not least because at this year’s edition of the UK’s premier rock festival, at its regular Donington Park haunt from 14th to 16th June, the mainstage headliners weren’t the metal legends you might expect from previous years (such as 2023s Metallica two-day extravaganza, or the year before that’s Kiss and Iron Maiden), but instead gave way to some of the biggest rock and pop punk bands of the past two decades: Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age and Fall Out Boy.

The latter especially, with anthemic pop hits and a stunning fire-led spectacle of a headliner show, made it clear that these leaders of the recent rock charts can take charge of a Download main stage with as much skill as the big boys of classic rock – and certainly as many pyrotechnics.

Both are absolutely true for Welsh 00s post-hardcore scene kings Funeral For A Friend, who headlined the show’s Opus stage on Friday. “It was great. We brought the fire, both literally and figuratively,” drummer and scream vocalist Ryan Richards tells Audio Media International, “It was a reunion of sorts for us, and it was quite special since we’ve played Download many times – including the first one in 2003.”

“Having our mate Lucas Woodland of Holding Absence with us was a real treat too. For us, and hopefully the fans too,” says Richards. The lead vocalist of Welsh alternative rockers Holding Absence joined for a storming performance of FFAF’s iconic 2005 hit “Streetcar” that was enough to get the black little heart of any inner emo kid palpitating.

The nostalgic collabs kept coming during the set, with Charlie Simpson (who was also playing the festival with Busted, for even heavier dose of millennial pop on the bill) even joining the band for “All The Rage”. “It was nice to bump into Charlie Simpson, and have him join us onstage,” Richards tells us, “Although he was there with Busted at Download, we’ve toured the World with Fightstar many times, and always love bumping into Big Chaz!”

For Richards, it’s these other bands who are the highlight of festival season – on the stage, and behind it. “The best thing about festival season is getting to see so many other bands and friends that you don’t get a chance to see at any other time in the year. It’s great to catch up, but also great to be able to check out bands you might not have been able to see for a while, or at all – whether old or new.”

Pyrotechnics aside, the band’s tour setup is simple enough, Richards explains, “We have four mics, and a lot of speakers. All of our guitarists now play through Quad Cortex profilers, which both sound great, and are very convenient to tour with,” though for drummer Richards, his number one piece of touring gear is rather understandable: “Drum sticks”.

Elsewhere, the noughties pop punk nostalgia continued to provide highlights – with Sum 41’s last ever UK festival performance proving an unforgettable greatest hits set, while the endlessly entertaining Bowling for Soup brought their most infectious anthems and good vibes to the Donington Crowd. US punk rockers The Offspring’s electrifying Saturday evening slot was arguably the most fun of the entire weekend, bringing hits from beginning to end and commanding the crowd effortlessly, mixing their shout-every-word classics such as “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright” with an awesome cover of The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop”.

Perhaps it was noughties new metallers Limp Bizkit though who gave the most talked-about show of the weekend, electrifying the crowd with hits with banger after banger in what seemed like a spiritual headline slot – and both opening and closing with “Break Stuff” making for a genius move.

Metal legends were still to be found of course, with the festival’s second Opus stage playing home to Pantera, who had the near-entire crowd of Download shouting “Respect, walk!” for their first UK show in 20 years, and Tom Morello delivering fist-pumping performances of, naturally, Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name,” and John Lennon’s “Power to the People,” whereby he also paved the way for the next generation of rock superstars, with teenage drumming sensation Nandi Bushell joining him for a can’t-look-away solo on the latter.

There was space for more of rock’s most exciting new rising stars on the main stage this year, too. “I was blown away by Bambie Thug in particular,” says Richards, giving his seal of approval to the alternative Irish artist, hot from representing both rock and Ireland at Eurovision 2024.

“There are definitely a lot more bands coming through now, which is cool to see,” adds Richards, “There used to be a slow cycle of new bands hitting the scene, but now it’s a non-stop stream of cool new music, which is very nice.”

“There was a very cool new band called Split Chain that played the festival this weekend, too, and you should keep your eyes on them for sure.”

While the landscape for new bands may be changing, the dedication to classic, more 00s recording remains for Richards – with him yet to be swayed by the likes of Dolby Atmos, he reveals. “For movies I’m definitely all for Dolby Atmos. But for music, I’m not sure yet. I’m yet to be convinced, but maybe if we make new music we’ll get an Atmos mix – so then we can really give an educated answer.”

Atmos aside, based on the appetite for the band this weekend – that new music might just be coming soon, and maybe even with some appearances from the festival’s up and comers too. Our inner emo kids can hope.

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