Castle Donington – 10 – 12 June 2022
I was so excited arriving at the Hallowed turf of Castle Donington on Friday afternoon; not only was this my first Festival since Covid, but this weekend was my first Download! I think I knew about Download before I even knew what a festival was. Two of the older girls in my school got tickets back in the early 00’s and well, I just thought they were the coolest ever, and now, nearly 20 years later, I’m finally here and joining another 85,000 rock fans for what promises to be an amazing weekend!
After the almost endless walk to the campsite, the tent finally went up. It always takes longer than you think it will, doesn’t it! I headed back into the main arena. I sadly missed Wayward Sons, who I believe did an amazing opening set, and Skindred brought the full might of the ‘Newport Helicopter’ to Donington, which sadly I missed as well!
I finally made it in time to catch a fist pumping, beer swigging set from Airbourne. These guys really know how to put a show on. They never, ever disappoint. The set list was quite compact, at just eight songs, but they well and truly delivered with guitarist and singer Joel O’Keefe coming out into the crowd atop someone’s shoulders and smashing a beer open with his head – Ok, we’ve all seen it done before, they are following in the footsteps of the masters, AC/DC, but it doesn’t matter. It was still an explosive show and I loved it.
I had to get over to see British Lion on Friday, I’ve seen Steve and co a few times and every time I’ve seen them they have gotten better and better and tonight was no exception! I thought Steve Harris might’ve been taking it a little bit easy given the Maiden headline set he was due to play the following evening, but no, he and the band were firing on all cylinders, a great prequel to tomorrow night’s Maiden set too!
I made my way over to the main arena to get my place for KISS. A Day to Remember had just started their set. I loved ADTR when I saw them a few years ago at Leeds festival, but this set just felt like they were going through the paces. Yes. it was heavy. Yes, it was vicious! This was everything I expected from Download but for some reason, it just wasn’t grabbing me. It had no soul! The whole set was just a bit forgettable, which really disappointed me.
Undeterred, I was ready for the spectacle that was about to hit the stage! KISS! I could barely contain myself as the first chords were struck and the band emerged on stage! What followed was a twenty three song spectacular that had the crowd eating out of the band’s hands!! This was unbelievable, a true lesson in rock and roll! Opening with Detroit Rock City, this was sure to be one of the last times to see this band in the UK and what a way to bow out! Stage risers, pyro, and Paul Stanley flying across the Download crowd! Awesome!
They played an epic set, finishing with an explosive encore culminating with ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’, and that we certainly did! Afterwards, it was the long hike back to camp, ready to do it all again on Saturday!
Saturday morning, I was under strict instructions to catch the opening set at the Avalanche stage. Aniimalia kicked the day off at 11 am and what a great young band. You don’t go to Download to discover ‘new music’ but Aniimalia were incredible. They now have a deal with Marshall records and believe me, you want to check them out, they are unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. I loved them. I will be keeping a keen eye on this very exciting band and I look forward to hearing what they produce.
Those Damn Crows were spectacular as always, I caught the last few songs of theirs before a band I was really looking forward to seeing play live headed out onto the main stage; Monster Truck. These guys really ‘brought it’ and delivered a killer set! Lead vocalist and bass player Jon Harvey’s vocals echoed across the hallowed turf, they unleashed their new song, ‘Golden Woman’ to an appreciative crowd, but set closer ‘The Lion’ was a real highlight and full on foot stamper!!
A band that I have overlooked over the last few years is Shinedown. I have never really listened to their stuff, but on Saturday afternoon, they really impressed me. They really got the crowd going and they really hit the ground running, with their second song ‘Devil’ proving to be a real fan favourite. They didn’t drop the ball once, singer Brent Smith got the crowd well and truly pumped and warmed up for Maiden. Then all too soon, the set was done, and the band were going off. I need to make a conscious effort to listen to some Shinedown! Future festival headliners for sure!
Next up, it was off for a beer before making my way back to the arena for Maiden. I was so excited, I’d never seen them before, the crowd were buzzing and so was I! They kicked things off with three new songs, but after that it was wall to wall Maiden classics. I was really pleased the band tipped their hat and gave a nod to the ‘Blaze era’, performing two Blaze Bayley songs, ‘Sign of the Cross’ and ‘The Clansman’, the latter making it to the band’s encore, coming out second, behind ‘The Trooper’! Those two Blaze albums, ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Virtual XI’ are just as much part of the band’s legacy as the early Bruce albums are. It’s great that the band are honouring their full legacy, it is the ‘Legacy of the Beast’ tour after all!
Talking of the early Bruce albums, the last hour of their set just grabbed you and didn’t let you go! ‘Hallowed be thy Name’, ‘The Number of the Beast’, ‘Fear of the Dark’ to name but a few. Absolutely amazing. The band were on fire and Bruce Dickinson’s vocals were top notch! The band finished after two encores, with a full size spitfire hanging above the stage and as they played the last chords of ‘Aces High’ a triumphant cheer emerged from the crowd! What a show!
I somehow managed to find an after party and in true rock and roll style, partied until the small hours of the morning, before staggering back to prepare for day three!
Sunday, I emerged, a little bit worse for wear, but raring to go! Brekkie and then my final day at Download. What a weekend it’d been so far, but it wasn’t over yet! I was really looking forward to Alestorm later and was somewhat curious as to how Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro would go down.
I headed out and as I was wandering across the site I checked in on Myles Kennedy’s acoustic slot and then as I meandered my way through the crowd, I hear something that grabs my attention:
Chords that lured me across the field. I was like ‘oooh! Let’s go see who they are’. They had a really interesting composition, did Baroness; another great band I’d never heard of, and what a band! How they are not a household name is just beyond me, a real festival gem! I need more Baroness in my life.
Massive Wagons always put a great show on and didn’t disappoint and then immediately following Baroness, the Darkness came on. The Hawkins brothers are fantastic, they have a super chemistry when they perform onstage together! It was quite busy for the Darkness’ set, I have always loved the band, but perhaps Justin Hawkins’ video series ‘Justin Hawkins Rides Again’ has seen a surge of popularity for the Darkness. What a great live band, the Darkness well and truly delivered!
Justin Hawkins would return to join Steel Panther toward the end of their set. Steel Panther played a fantastic set! This was my first time seeing them and I couldn’t get enough. They weren’t just a comedy rock band, they were proper! Fantastic guitar work with vocals second to none! I later learnt that guitarist Satchel was Rob Halford’s guitarist when he had the band Fight. There were boobs a plenty and even a crowd surfing blow up doll! A fantastic raucous live show!
Over on the main stage, Alestorm brought their unique blend of rum swigging, swashbuckling rock to Donington. Tortuga was a personal favourite of mine and in fact, one of the funniest moments of the festival happened during the Alestorm set; two guys punching each other in the balls when Alestorm sang ‘we’re going to punch you right in the balls’. They spent the rest of the set regretting their choices
As the sun set over Donington and my first Download was coming to an end, the evening played out to the considerably more chilled out vibes of Biffy Clyro. Possibly the perfect end to this crazy weekend! I reflected on what a great time I’d had and struggled to pick out an all out festival Highlight. Maiden were superb, Steel Panther were great fun, but the newer bands like Aniimalia well and truly held their own. They are the next generation and with KISS on their farewell tour, it did feel a little bit like the torch had been passed!
What an amazing festival weekend and bring on 2023, I’ll see you there!
