Download 2026

[rock_on]

2 minutes ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

Haven’t Whitesnake retired from touring? Coverdale's too ill to tour but there's the Whitesnake Experience that could have still been booked.

Halestorm are ‘older’ than Black Stone Cherry who subbed in 2018. They aren't a suitable sub for GNR though and they haven't been popular as long as BSC. 

Plenty of people seem to want to see Emily in Linkin Park, that’s why they sold out Wembley Stadium. Most of them would have just been buying ticket on name alone and been left disappointed by her ruining their hits.
 

The Maiden Knebworth undercard is absolute crap. I've addressed this above, the Maiden undercard is a solid as anything you could expect; Airbourne are a great booking and The Darkness would be fun. 
 

Agree about GN’R being awful live, but they’re still arguably bigger than Maiden. Sold more records maybe but Maiden are the superior live band which is what matters in this case seen as we're talking about live gigs in this case.

 

As I said I probably won't be going to either but Maiden at Knebworth is objectively the better option if you care about the quality of the bands your seeing. 

[TWY2911]

3 minutes ago, rock_on said:

 

As I said I probably won't be going to either but Maiden at Knebworth is objectively the better option if you care about the quality of the bands your seeing. 

 

The darkness would be the only band I'd be bothered about seeing and that's saying a lot with how bad they were at download this year but to be fair to them I don't think that was their fault

[Gingerfish79]

2 minutes ago, rock_on said:

 

As I said I probably won't be going to either but Maiden at Knebworth is objectively the better option if you care about the quality of the bands your seeing. 

There's nothing objective about it, its just your opinion. I have the opposite opinion. Neither of us is wrong.

[Andre91]

Stop feeding the troll, guys. 

[rock_on]

4 minutes ago, TWY2911 said:

 

The darkness would be the only band I'd be bothered about seeing and that's saying a lot with how bad they were at download this year but to be fair to them I don't think that was their fault

 

The Darkness will be bloody good fun. If you're not interested in The Hu or Airbourne as well that's your loss, both great bands that would have been good bookings for Download. Yes they could have  booked a better undercard but a day out at Knebworth is still the better of the two options for those who will have to choose between one or the other. 

 

4 minutes ago, Gingerfish79 said:

There's nothing objective about it, its just your opinion. I have the opposite opinion. Neither of us is wrong.

Nonsense. It's very objective; Maiden are the best of the 4 bands - almost anyone will agree with that. Anyone placing LB or LP above Maiden needs a hearing test, and anyone placing GNR above them has clearly lost the plot. 

Edited November 5, 2025 by rock_on

[TWY2911]

1 minute ago, rock_on said:

 

The Darkness will be bloody good fun. If you're not interested in The Hu or Airbourne as well that's your loss, both great bands that would have been good bookings for Download. Yes they could have  booked a better undercard but a day out at Knebworth is still the better of the two options for those who will have to choose between one or the other. 

 

Nonsense. It's very objective; Maiden are the best of the 4 bands - almost anyone will agree with that. Anyway placing LB or LP above Maiden needs a hearing test, and anyone placing GNR above them has clearly lost the plot. 

 

My hearing tells me that Maiden are boring and I'd rather watch paint dry that's my "objective" opinion 

[rock_on]

2 minutes ago, TWY2911 said:

 

My hearing tells me that Maiden are boring and I'd rather watch paint dry that's my "objective" opinion 

You're being very subjective. Get back to me when Limp Bizkit, GNR or Linkin Park can sell out a 125,000 cap venue like Knebworth. Maiden are the biggest draw of those 4 bands for a live gig these days - that's a fact. 

[rock_on]

11 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Stop feeding the troll, guys. 

Having a differing opinion to you is not trolling.

[Gingerfish79]

Just now, rock_on said:

Having a differing opinion to you is not trolling.

Having no respect for the opinions of others is trolling.

[rock_on]

Just now, Gingerfish79 said:

Having no respect for the opinions of others is trolling.

 

No it's not - trolling is making posts you don't believe just to get a reaction from others - I'm not doing that, my opinions are genuine. People are allowed to disagree with you and to explain why they disagree with you, that doesn't make them a troll. And I've hardly shown a lack of respect for others opinions. I'm just patiently defending my views which is called a discussion. 

[korokband]

9 minutes ago, rock_on said:

You're being very subjective. Get back to me when Limp Bizkit, GNR or Linkin Park can sell out a 125,000 cap venue like Knebworth. Maiden are the biggest draw of those 4 bands for a live gig these days - that's a fact. 

I dont think Knebworth is 125k anymore, and Maiden havent sold that out either

[rock_on]

3 minutes ago, korokband said:

I dont think Knebworth is 125k anymore, and Maiden havent sold that out either

 

It is 125k according to their website and the most recent articles they'll find. They will sell it out you can be sure of that.

[alexs7]

The price for a Maiden Knebworth ticket is roughly the same as a Download day ticket.

 

Yeah GnR are not the best now but your main supports will probably be Halestorm, Babymetal and possibly Volbeat, three arena bands. Plus so much to see throughout the day.

 

Your main support at Knebworth is The Darkness, who played theatres and academies last tour and subbed second stage at Download.

 

Everything is subjective but I know which is better value here

[rock_on]

6 minutes ago, alexs7 said:

The price for a Maiden Knebworth ticket is roughly the same as a Download day ticket.

 

Yeah GnR are not the best now but your main supports will probably be Halestorm, Babymetal and possibly Volbeat, three arena bands. Plus so much to see throughout the day.

 

Your main support at Knebworth is The Darkness, who played theatres and academies last tour and subbed second stage at Download.

 

Everything is subjective but I know which is better value here

Just because a band can sell out an arena it doesn't make them a better band.

[Andre91]

Maiden aren’t as huge as you think they are, chief. They were strictly an arena band in this country who tried one stadium in 2008, didn’t sell it out and didn’t bother trying one again up until this year (coincidentally during the massive ticket boom we’re currently seeing). They’re not a Metallica or a GNR who have been bonafide stadium sellers for ages. 

Edited November 5, 2025 by Andre91

[rock_on]

4 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Maiden aren’t as huge as you think they are, chief. They were strictly an arena band in this country who tried one stadium in 2008, didn’t sell it out and didn’t bother trying one again up until this year (coincidentally during the massive ticket boom we’re currently seeing). They’re not a Metallica or a GNR who have been bonafide stadium sellers for ages. 

 

Metallica, I'll give you. GNR were giving tickets away for Wembley.... not a stadium band these days - Maiden have overtaken them due to being a better live act. 

[partypirate]

2 hours ago, rock_on said:

I still can't understand how people are finding this Download line-up more attractive than Maiden at Knebworth. GNR are awful live whereas Maiden are one of the best live bands around. Limp Bizkit are a joke of a band and Linkin Park aren't the same band they once where even if From Zero is a competent enough album who wants to hear Emily singing their older stuff? Can't be many people.  The only thing that might have swung it Download's favour is Maiden at Knebworth being a bit over-priced but Download's gone up steeply in recent years so that's not even a valid argument. The lack of classic rock bands at Download is a real problem, where are the likes of Whitesnake as potential subs for GNR, Halestorm and The Pretty Reckless as GNR subs is far too modern for a GNR day. They got the balance right in 2018 but have absolutely failed to this year. 

I’m 52 and grew up with classic rock. That was my era. I went to the original MoR festivals. Do I want more classic rock this year? Aside from Alice Cooper, no. I saw Maiden twice in the last few years so that itch is scratched. I’m at Download to watch bands like Halestorm, Trivium, Blood Incantation, and yes, Linkin Park as I think they are great with Emily.

 

You can keep Bad Omens though, but that’s just my taste. I would have loved Lorna Shore there too but it wasn’t to be.

[rock_on]

2 minutes ago, partypirate said:

I’m 52 and grew up with classic rock. That was my era. I went to the original MoR festivals. Do I want more classic rock this year? Aside from Alice Cooper, no. I saw Maiden twice in the last few years so that itch is scratched. I’m at Download to watch bands like Halestorm, Trivium, Blood Incantation, and yes, Linkin Park as I think they are great with Emily.

 

You can keep Bad Omens though, but that’s just my taste. I would have loved Lorna Shore there too but it wasn’t to be.

 

[DomDom1984]

😴

[alexs7]

28 minutes ago, rock_on said:

Just because a band can sell out an arena it doesn't make them a better band.

Of course it doesn't make them better but when ticket prices are £145 I would expect some bigger nanes.

[LoadDown Podcast]

1 hour ago, rock_on said:

 

It is 125k according to their website and the most recent articles they'll find. They will sell it out you can be sure of that.

It'll be less than that with camping. I'm a Maiden die hard and I think they'll struggle to sell out Knebworth with that lineup. 

 

I do agree that Maiden have edged ahead of Guns n Roses as GnR's star has fallen a bit. 

[korokband]

If youre lucky Maiden might have one more Download in the tank, I wouldnt be suprised if they save it for their final show.

[rock_on]

7 minutes ago, korokband said:

If youre lucky Maiden might have one more Download in the tank, I wouldnt be suprised if they save it for their final show.

 

Given their advanced age, I think there's a realistic chance Knebworth ends up being their final UK gig whether that's intentional or not with them taking a break in 2027 - I certainly wouldn't bank on them still being around to do Download in 2028/2029. If Knebworth wasn't so expensive I'd seriously consider it due to the fact it might be the last chance to see them but it's impossible to justify £250 for tickets and travel for a one day gig, it's still better value than Download though. 

Edited November 5, 2025 by rock_on

[northernangel]

18 minutes ago, korokband said:

If youre lucky Maiden might have one more Download in the tank, I wouldnt be suprised if they save it for their final show.

They likely have one more but their undercard for Knebworth is poor. Their attendance this year though over LB or GNR would be the difference of at least two days, maybe just a weekend depending how it goes. Neither of them are going to get £135 for a ticket now, not even close.

[Siddey1994]

To hit on the specific point that “surely” not many people are up for new Linkin Park - they’ve got to be the biggest band on the lineup right now. Reunion hype still fresh, fully sold out Wembley Stadium show, successful new album (the first two singles especially did major numbers for them), this only being their third UK show since reforming - I don’t see by what metric they can be downplayed as a headliner. Sure if you don’t like it that’s fine, but denying that people do is weird.

 

As someone who’s seen the new configuration live, Emily is a fantastic singer. Complete powerhouse. It’s going to be an amazing show.