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Headliners revealed for Download Festival 2021
KISS, Biffy Clyro and System Of A Down will take to Castle Donington from 4 - 6 June 2021.
Download Festival will return to its Castle Donington home from 4 – 6 June 2021, headlined by stateside rock royalty KISS, Scottish trio Biffy Clyro and Californian metal outfit System Of A Down.
The headliners will be joined by Florida rockers A Day To Remember, Sacramento metallers Deftones, nu-metal pioneers KoRn, punk rockers Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, French heavy metal band Gojira and Danish cult heroes Volbeat.
Across the festival’s four stages, fans will also see performances by metalcore veterans Killswitch Engage, the Brody Dalle fronted The Distillers, Welsh post-hardcore returners Funeral For A Friend, and a UK exclusive acoustic performance by Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy.
Download Festival 2021 Line-up
Download Festival 2021 will be headlined by KISS, Biffy Clyro and System Of A Down.
Friday 4 June 2021
Main Stage
- KISS
- A Day To Remember
- Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes
- Black Veil Brides
- Theory
- Wayward Sons
Second Stage
- The Distillers
- Airbourne
- Lacuna Coil
- Myles Kennedy & Company
- Hatari
Avalanche Stage
- Sleep Token
- Tiny Moving Parts
- Hot Milk
- Gender Roles
- Press Club
- Wargasm
The Dogtooth Stage
- Electric Wizard
- Blues Pills
- Bokassa
- Tempt
- A.A. Williams
- Cellar Door Moon Crow
- JJ Wilde
Saturday 5 June 2021
Main Stage
- Biffy Clro
- Deftones
- Gojira
- The Pretty Reckless
- Those Damn Crows
Second Stage
- Killswitch Engage
- Mastodon
- Dauughtry
- Bush
- The Wildhearts
- Poppy
- Stone Broken
Avalanche Stage
- Funeral For A Friend
- Creeper
- The Faim
- Employed To Serve
- Holding Absence
- Loathe
- Puppy
- Blackout Problems
The Dogtooth Stage
- Sepultura
- Obituary
- Dying Fetus
- Bleed From Within
- Will Haven
- Higher Power
- Joyous Wolf
- Lotus Eater
- Dead Label
Sunday 6 June 2021
Main Stage
- System Of A Down
- KoRn
- Volbeat
- Rise Against
- Alestorm
- Powerwolf
- Wage War
Second Stage
- Steel Panther
- The Darkness
- Skillet
- Baroness
- Of Mice & Men
- P.O.D.
- The Last Internationale
- Control The Storm
Avalanche Stage
- Marianas Trench
- Jamie Lenman
- The Hara
- Cemetery Sun
- Dead Posey
The Dogtooth Stage
- Myles Kennedy (only UK acoustic performance)
- Haken
- Twin Temple
- Spiritbox
- Kill The LIghts
- Modern error
- Phoxjaw
- Anchor Lane
- Temples on Mars
Featuring founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, KISS take to Download Festival 2021 having originally been scheduled to headline in 2020. World renowned for their high-energy performance, the band have been taking to stages across the globe since forming back in 1973. Releasing their debut full-length a year later, their extensive catalogue includes hits such as Detroit Rock City, Beth, I Was Made For Lovin’ You, Psycho Circus and Rock And Roll All Nite.
No strangers to Download Festival, KISS will make their third headline appearance at the event in 2021, having first performed in 2008 and again in 2015.
They are joined on the bill by Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro who will be celebrating their ninth studio album A Celebration Of Endings, due for release on 14 August 2020. Part of the festival family, their headline slot at Download Festival 2021 will mark their seventh appearance, having made their debut on the main stage in 2004, three years before the release of their mainstream breakthrough Puzzle. They previously topped the bill in 2017 alongside fellow 2021 headliners System Of A Down.
Fronted by Serj Tankian and joined by co-vocalist Daron Malakian, System Of A Down have dominated the alternative music world since the release of their self-titled debut in 1998. Cementing them as rock club main stays with the likes of Sugar and Spiders, it would be 2001’s Toxicity that would solidify their legendary status. Both Chop Suey and the album’s title track remain firm fan favourites as well as defining an entire era of rock.
Firm stalwarts of Download Festival’s history, System Of A Down first headlined in 2005 alongside Black Sabbath and Feeder for the event’s first three-day outing. They returned in 2011 and 2017, delivering their characteristic style at the spiritual home of rock.
Download Festival prepares to once again bring the biggest names from across the world of alternative music to the central England location.
Taking over from Monsters Of Rock and Ozzfest before it, Download Festival first took to its regular home in 2003, welcoming headline performances from Iron Maiden and Audioslave, as well as appearances by the likes of A, NOFX, Marilyn Manson and Deftones, as well as a legendary guest slot by heavy metal pioneers Metallica.
Since 2003, the festival has welcomed the likes of Linkin Park, Black Sabbath, Tool, Def Leppard, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot and Guns N’ Roses to its various stages.
As well as boasting some of the most legendary names in metal and rock, Download Festival has established itself as a platform for rising artists, with early appearances by Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Architects, A Day To Remember, Don Broco, Twin Atlantic and IDLES peppered across the smaller stages.
Download Festival last welcomed headliners Def Leppard, Slipknot and Tool to the main stage in 2019, having been forced to postpone its 2020 outing due to the coronavirus outbreak. 2020 had been set to see KISS, Iron Maiden and System Of A Down take top billing. Instead, Download Festival announced the one time only Download TV, broadcasting exclusive live footage, special interviews and guest appearances on their YouTube channel.
Download Festival will return to Donington Park from 4 – 6 June 2021. More bands are expected to be revealed in the near future.
Tickets for Download Festival, headlined by KISS, Biffy Clyro and System Of A Down, are available from 9:00 on Friday 7 August 2020 through Ticketmaster.co.uk.
