News

Gavin Rossdale, Grunge-Tinted Hooks And Donington Getting A Proper Nostalgia Hit Some bands arrive at Download Festival to start a pit. Some arrive to flatten your internal organs with breakdowns. Some turn up with fire, corpse paint, confetti, pop-punk chaos, Welsh thunder or riffs tuned so low they sound like the earth having a bad day. Then there is Bush....

Groove, Grit, Legacy And Donington Getting A Saturday Morning Slap In The Face Some bands ease a festival crowd into the day. Some bands bring warm smiles, big choruses, gentle greetings and a sensible amount of early-morning energy. Snot are not that band. Snot hit the Opus Stage at Download Festival 2026 like someone had kicked open the door of...

While thousands of Downloaders are marching across Donington armed with camping chairs, waterproofs, questionable sleep schedules and enough cider to sink a battleship, one battle is already raging across the festival site. ⚔️🍻 No, we're not talking about circle pits. No, we're not talking about who has the best merch. We're talking about the legendary Download can recycling vote! In...

The Maiden drum hero is bringing stories, laughs and heavy metal history to the stage in November & December 2026 Iron Maiden fans, grab your battle jackets, polish the Eddie patches and prepare yourselves for a night of pure heavy metal storytelling — because Nicko McBrain is heading out on a UK & Ireland spoken word tour in November and...

Metalcore, Dance Beats, Daft Fun And Donington Absolutely Losing Its Collective Mind There are bands who come to Download Festival to be heavy. There are bands who come to be serious. There are bands who come to look mysterious under moody lighting while everyone in the crowd nods respectfully and pretends they understand the deep artistic meaning behind the fog...

Big Choruses, Heavy Hearts And A Friday Afternoon Crowd Getting Fully Pulled In There are bands that wake a festival up with chaos. There are bands that do it with breakdowns. There are bands that do it by running around like they have been powered entirely by caffeine, adrenaline and a suspicious campsite breakfast bap. Then there are Caskets. Caskets...

Rival Sons frontman Jay Buchanan is heading back to the UK this July for a run of intimate solo shows — and he’s bringing that voice, that soul, and probably enough emotional damage to make a grown rocker stare into a pint like it owes him money. Yes mun, the man with one of the most thunderous voices in modern...

What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s happening… Well, Cardiff, here’s what’s bloody happening. One of the most famous rock musicals ever created is heading back to Wales, and this time there’s one hell of a voice at the centre of it. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR will take over the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff from Tuesday 2 March to Saturday 13...

The wait is over, the tents are packed, the cool boxes are loaded, and enough snacks have been purchased to survive a small apocalypse. The Riff Report crew has officially arrived at Download Festival 2026! 🔥🎸 After months of lineup announcements, camping debates, weather watching, packing guides, and counting down the days like excited kids waiting for Christmas morning, we're...

Download Festival Fans Urged To Help Keep Donington Looking Lush Among the walls of amps, mountains of camping gear, inflatable dinosaurs, and enough cans of energy drink to power a small city, there’s one message popping up around Download Festival 2026 that deserves a bit of attention. Keep Castle Donington Tidy. Together We Can Make A Difference. Now, we know...

Rock fans, metalheads, and internet keyboard warriors have been going ten rounds over the announcement of an AI-powered Ozzy Osbourne avatar, but now Sharon Osbourne has stepped into the ring and delivered a response that was about as subtle as a Black Sabbath riff through a stadium PA system. And let's just say she wasn't exactly in the mood for...

"Neil was with us on this drum riser last night." There are gigs. There are legendary gigs. And then there are those rare moments in rock history where thousands of fans witness something truly special. That's exactly what happened when Rush returned to the stage for the opening night of their hugely anticipated Fifty Something Tour, with drummer Anika Nilles...

A Piece Of Rock 'N' Roll History Is Coming Home Download Festival is already shaping up to be one of the most emotional weekends in rock and metal this year, and now organisers have confirmed something truly special for Motörhead fans. The legendary Lemmy Forever Ceremony is returning for its seventh year, and this time it will take place at...

Rock fans of South Wales and beyond, this is not a drill! The countdown to one of the UK's most beloved rock weekends has officially begun as day tickets for Planet Rockstock 2026 have gone on sale, giving fans another chance to be part of the annual pilgrimage to Trecco Bay Holiday Park in Porthcawl. If you've never experienced Planet...

The Godfather of Shock Rock launches a new fan campaign celebrating one of the greatest summer anthems ever written There are songs that become hits. There are songs that become classics. And then there are songs that completely escape the boundaries of music and become part of everyday life. Alice Cooper's School's Out sits firmly in that final category. More...