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Diary Dates
Alternativ Karaoke – Every Friday
The Shed
Get Friday night done right with Alternativ Karaoke! From 10pm – late you can take over The Vault stage at The Shed and jump around like your favourite rock star. Alternativ Karaoke is all about the big anthems, so whether you’re pop punk or hardcore, get warming up those vocal cords.
TVAM – Friday 2 February
Firebug
An alternative artist from Wigan. ‘Hypnotic tracks which straddle an impressive spectrum of influence; with Boards of Canada’s irresistible nostalgia, Suicide’s deconstructed rock’n’roll and My Bloody Valentine’s infinite noise all becoming touching points in TVAM’s musical output.’
BrotherTiger – Saturday 3 February
Firebug
John Jagos, aka Brothertiger, is a NY-based electronic musician. Heavily influenced by deep-dive ’80s and ’90s electronic music, his work has covered a vast range of style and emotion. His most recent album, the self-titled Brothertiger, is an ode to these influences.
Bootleg Boss – Saturday 3 February
The Musician
The Bootleg Boss is the real deal. A Springsteen fan for 25 years, he has lived and breathed the spirit of the New Jersey landscape and developed an amazing way of delivering the classic hits of the Boss. From the early days of Greetings at Asbury Park, through Born to Run, The River, Born in the USA and later albums, The Bootleg Boss gives 100% commitment in a three hour show with his own East Street Band of seasoned musicians, creating an authentic sound and live experience.
Jack J Hutchinson – Sunday 11 February
The Musician
Jack J Hutchinson is a British blues/rock guitarist and singer/songwriter. He is lead guitarist for a variety of bands, including David James Herbert’s Vive La Rose. Hutchinson’s early influences were the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. He explains: “Exile on Main Street was ingrained from year zero! I remember my dad playing Revolver and the red and blue albums pretty much constantly. Then when I was a teenager I discovered Jimmy Page, bought some dragon flares and never looked back!”
Pip Blom – Saturday 17 February
O2 Academy Leicester
“Never listen to people who want to change your music.” With that advice from a fellow musician, Amsterdam based Pip Blom (19, at the time) started writing songs. Three years after her demo album and an array of singles later, her sound had shifted into Courtney Barnett and The Breeders territory. The ‘little girl with a guitar’ had formed a fully-fledged indie rock band line-up. But it is still Pip.
High Fade – Thursday 29 February
The Soundhouse
On a three-man crusade to set dance floors alight with their inimitable brand of razor-sharp funk and disco, High Fade can already count Jack Black, Cypress Hill, Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes and Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine as fans. With over one thousand gigs now under their belt, High Fade’s refined, infectious live performances have become an integral part of the band’s DNA, allowing them to put on a show that supersedes anything their fans have seen before!
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NEWS: New additions for Download Festival
Download Festival, the greatest rock and metal festival in the country that just so happens to be on our doorstep, has this week announced a further wave of 22 artists for this year’s festival.
The new additions include Tom Morello, Enter Shikari, Black Stone Cherry, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, The Struts, Of Mice & Men, Busted, Wheatus, Electric Callboy and more. They will join previously acts including Queens of The Stone Age, Fall Out Boy, The Offspring, Avenged Sevenfold, Limp Bizkit, Sum41, Pantera and more.
Firmly established as one of the greatest live artists in the scene, Enter Shikari will grace the Apex Stage for a powerful performance. The band has carved a niche with their adrenaline-fuelled sets and socially conscious lyricism and saw huge success with their seventh album A Kiss For The Whole World, which earnt them their first ever UK Number One album.
Tom Morello, one of the world’s most iconic guitarists, will grace the Download stage for the first time as a solo performer. As a founding member of the groundbreaking bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, Tom Morello has consistently pushed the boundaries of rock and metal and will be sure to blow away audiences this year with an unforgettable set.
Electric Callboy will bring their unique electro-metalcore sound to the Opus Stage this year, in a well-deserved upgrade on the bill after impressing a huge crowd at the Avalanche Stage at last year’s festival. Hailing from Germany, this dynamic quintet is known for pushing musical boundaries and creating an electrifying party atmosphere with their genre-defying music.
Multi-platinum British pop-rock trio Busted will take to the Avalanche Stage for their Download Festival debut, bringing the highest quality of guilty pleasure nostalgia. Known for their infectious and relentless energy and chart-topping hits, the band have made a phenomenal return in recent years with their high-octane live shows filled with iconic hits. Wheatus, the American rock band that brought us the iconic song ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, is also set to take the same stage by storm with their infectious blend of punk-pop anthems.
Among the other stellar additions are the mighty Black Stone Cherry, local Derby rock ’n’ rollers The Struts, fiery punk rock rebels Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, metalcore maestros Of Mice & Men, eclectic experimental rock band Mr Bungle, indie rock heroes The Hunna, post-hardcore icons Escape The Fate, electronic sensation AViVA, noise-rock pioneers HEALTH, dynamic indie pop-rock act Cemetery Sun, death metal wrecking ball Asinhell, progressive violin-infused metal band Ne Obliviscaris, energetic punk band Zebrahead, Manchester hardcore quartet Guilt Trip, metallic hardcore troupe Ithaca, industrial heavyweights Code Orange and the infectious Royal Republic.
In addition to the thrilling band announcements, Download Festival is excited to unveil the eagerly anticipated day and stage splits giving fans an early chance to start planning an unforgettable weekend.
DLXXI will see Queens Of The Stone Age, Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold headline the festival with the line-up continuing with Limp Bizkit, Royal Blood, The Offspring, Sum 41, Corey Taylor, Machine Head, Pantera, BABYMETAL, Fear Factory, While She Sleeps, Billy Talent, Bowling For Soup, The Used, Hoobastank (playing ‘The Reason’ in full), Atreyu, Counterparts, Bad Omens, Dying Fetus, The Black Dahlia Murder, Those Damn Crows, Holding Absence, Silverstein, Charlotte Sands, Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For A King and many more.
This year’s festival will take place on 14-16 June 2024 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Tickets are available now at www.downloadfestival.co.uk.
WEEKLY PLAYLIST
Not sure which day to head to Download Festival? Check out the festival playlist below.
Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.
