Wednesday
While the main arena at Liquid Death presents Download Festival (Yes the festival really is sponsored by a canned water company, although I do love their imagery) opens officially on the Friday, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty to do if you’re lucky enough to afford camping. The festival actually starts on Wednesday, and this year my group was able to secure Campervan Plus, so we got to enjoy all the pre-music festivities to the fullest (While also being warm)!
Papa Fox arrived the night before in his brand new campervan, Binky, and it’s a real beauty! The four of us (Me, Papa Fox, Farnie, and Tom) had no trouble fitting in with all our bags thanks to it being a 6 berth. The drive in was easy, with clear signs, and we were parked in our pitch within 40 minutes of leaving the house. Two of our group had a problem with getting our tickets scanned, but it was quickly resolved, and they let us sort out the campervan before going back to do this, so top marks.
If you want to attend Download Festival in future years you can do so by buying your tickets from Ticketmaster, the image below is a link!
After setting up the campervan, we decided to explore the campervan site facilities which was in the middle of Donington race circuit (Pretty damn cool). I was initially unsure about what to expect, but to my surprise, the 20 toilets and 20 showers were impeccably clean and well-maintained. Throughout the weekend, we had no problems with them whatsoever (except for a minor mishap on the first day less said about that the better).
The campervan site was in a great location, just a 5-minute walk to the arena and the walk to the village for Papa Fox and Tom took 10-minutes while for me and Farnie it was more like 15 as we ambled somewhat. As we found ourselves back in the familiar village, a sprawling, paved area that feels like paradise. It had everything a rock and metal fan could dream of – music, comedy, bars, food, clothing stalls, and of course, thrilling rides. This year, they even added The Ace of Spades, a pub with entertaining activities like silent discos and bingo, alongside The Doghouse (Music) and The Den (Comedy).
The festival experience isnt in full swing until I snag the newest festival shirt of the year. So, I made my way to the merchandise stand. To my delight, the line was short and I only had to wait for 5 minutes. It must have been because we arrived early in the day, unlike the long lines I’ve witnessed later on. We was definitely lucky not to be standing in those! On my journey, I had the pleasure and good fortune to encounter a friendly axolotl, whom I’ve affectionately named Axl after the lead singer of Guns N’ Roses.
After grabbing a bite to eat it appears we were lucky enough to avoid food poisoning after our meal which has since been reported massively since Download (thanks to dodging a sketchy chicken vendor and a questionable Yorkshire pudding vendor), we enjoyed a pint from the Ace of Spades Tavern.
We witnessed a chilli eating competition and were truly impressed by the incredible mental fortitude of the participants. It’s safe to say that they probably didn’t have the best time at the festival the next day after putting themselves through that challenge (Rather them than me, that’s all I’m going to say!).
The rest of the day was spent catching up with our friends Sharon and LuckyLuke before heading to The Doghouse to enjoy some live music.
The best of which was the Wednesday’s headliners Bleed Again, who have recently dropped their newest single “Parasite” check it out below. Bleed Again are a metalcore band from Brighton, that formed in 2010.They have so far released two albums “Momentum” from 2017 and “Resurgence” from 2021.
From the latter I particularly like “Forgotten Ghost” I think it has a great melodic quality to it and the chorus is very catchy! If I had to pinpoint another band that they sound like I would say the Howard Jones Era of Killswitch Engage so if you’re a fan of them maybe Bleed Again will be for you!
After returning to the campervan, taking a refreshing shower, and getting a good night’s sleep, we were fully prepared for Thursday.
Thursday
The delicious sausage and bacon cobs (Yes it really is called cobs not anything else!) made by Papa Fox definitely helped boost our energy. Our day began with a visit to the Download Megastore, where we found a wide range of merchandise, including exclusive items not found anywhere else.
After waiting in line for an hour, we finally made it inside and were welcomed by a gigantic Download Duck and a large crowd of people. We looked around, found what we were looking for, and then regrouped with the rest of our gang.
After a while I went to meet up with my friend from last year Sophie and her festival buddy and lifelong friend Ria. It was a really lovely catchup filled with comedy, a bit of food (Pork and stuffing baguette was amazing). Post going to the merch stand with Sophie there was plenty of jokes as Ria decided to disappear for what seemed like an hour back to the campsite as well as the pairs choice of very cool hats. There were also various discussions about Sophie’s 10 man tent just for her…
We witnessed the hot dog eating competition, and the winner could easily pass for a member of Electric Callboy, despite being a bit of a cheat… Yeah we all saw you pouring water on your hotdog mate!
As the rain began to pour, we said our goodbyes, knowing we would keep in touch throughout the weekend and eagerly anticipate our reunion next year.
After reuniting with the crew a few hours later, we enjoyed a performance by The Old Dirty Brasstards, a fantastic group playing popular rock tunes on brass instruments. It was a blast and a whole heap of fun!
At last, the day and the time in the village before the actual festival began was completed by the performance of the band Halocene. I had completely forgotten that they were the main act at The Doghouse on Thursday and had decided to skip them in the main arena, so I was thrilled to be able to see them!
The band is known for their fantastic covers, however it would be 100% remiss to describe them as a cover band. Their own music is also brilliant and I truly think in a couple of years time they are going to be huge as their already impressive 480,000 monthly listeners on Spotify would suggest!
Following a walk in the rain and encountering a tired character from the Pixar film Cars on our way back to the campervan, we decided to end the night, eagerly awaiting the madness that was to lie ahead.
That’s all for the Wednesday and Thursday review from Download 2024. Catch the review of the Friday next week!
Review written by Fox Reviews Rock
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