2025 would mark 21 years since I first attended Download Festival at Castle Donnington, and years later - a little bit older and unfit - I plan to do it all again this year.
Taking place at the former home of Monsters of Rock across June 13 to June 15 2025 this year, gone are the days where I’ll be up until the crack of dawn drinking with other campers - instead, I plan on getting a good night sleep somewhere, preferably with a shower and some nice bedding.
I can hear some of you using the term ‘glamping’ and I’m not afraid to admit yes, I think I’ll be glamping this year.
But this year’s line-up has a host of nostalgia for those of us who grew up during the era of P-Rock, Kerrang! TV and Scuzz, including headliners Korn and Green Day. But a look further down the bill, there are some hidden gems worth checking out too at this year’s event.
So who are the 21 acts I am looking forward to seeing already confirmed for Download 2025? Read on and find out!

1. Korn
One of this year's headline acts and one of my favourite sets of previous Download Festivals, the angsty young teenager in me is looking forward to seeing Jonathan Davis walk onstage in his kilt and bagpipes, before going into a rendition of Shoots and Ladders. | Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

2. Green Day
Having missed Green Day during their Saviours tour of the United Kingdom, including a date at the Isle of Wight Festival, I last caught Green Day at a festival during their set at Leeds in 2004, at the height of American Idiot fever. | Getty Images

3. Weezer
College rock/power-pop's most enduring group, I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Weezer for the first time since Leeds 2002, where I very fondly remember them opening their set with the classic Undone (The Sweater Song) and asking us to get out our muppets during the intro to Keep Fishin'. | Getty Images for The Recording A

4. Jimmy Eat World
Having been of age when Jimmy Eat World's first mainstream album dropped (Bleed American), I'm looking forward to finally seeing the group play at Download Festival this year - a nod to the emo-scene before becoming screamo. | Contributed