Rock Sins

Over the years, 2000 Trees has developed a reputation for being a totally unique and utterly enchanting festival experience, with a consistently stacked and varied line-up, a distinctively inimitable stage set in a forest for huge names to cultivate sets that feel intimate and special and an incomparable feeling of community, and it comes as no surprise that 2026 was no different.

After a day’s break for some sightseeing following Friday nights fantastic perofrmance. As well as some hasty mortgage applications being made to cover our bills at the pop-up shop. We’ve returned, along with thousands of other Metallica fans, to London Stadium. Where, despite the blazing heat, we’re ready for round two of the bands no repeat weekend in the nation’s capital.

East London is ablaze with glorious sunshine and awash with black t-shirts as metallers aged 8 to 80 and beyond descend on Stratford. Their destination: The London Stadium to take in the first night of the Metallica M72 World Tour London double header. It is a Friday, and a relatively early start time, which means there is a sparse-ish but rapidly growing crowd in the door by the time Knocked Loose kick preceedings off at 5:30.

Following on from Thursday nights rather extensive festivities in District X (read our review here), it’s time for the first day proper of Download Festival 2026! After some horrible conditions until about 4pm Thursday, the Donington skies are filled with blue and glorious sunshine, so let’s get down to the action! From the way P.O.D. (8) burst onto the main stage you’d never think they’ve been going for 34 years. They have all the energy, power and excitement of bands half that age.

In the first of what we hope will be a new monthly series here at Rock Sins, the returning Connor Morris is going to guide you through some of the bargains of the UK live music scene for the month of July (and slightly beyond). Take it away Connor! Feeling a bit sick when you see the cost of live music at the minute? In disbelief when you see a ticket for an arena or stadium show costs the price of a small holiday? Same. But that doesn’t mean you should be priced out of seeing some great live music.

Instrumental innovators Polyphia made a welcome return at Download Festival last weekend. However, not with a dazzling display of guitar gymastics on the main stage. It was a much more subtle and subliminal effort. With the band instead choosing to tease us with clips from their first single in four years, Can You Feel It. Which was pumping through the PA between acts for most of the weekend. As we’ve come to expect from the troupe of six string virtuosos.

The village is absolutely heaving in all directions as we make our way to The Doghouse at the top of District X – which looks to be even bigger than last year! A rapidly swelling crowd is very much enjoying the tunes being picked out by our host Kyden Fire in one of multiple DJ sets by her, before handing over to Cancer Bats Ozzy inspired alter egos. Bat Sabbath (9) were absolutely brilliant.

The home straight for the 2026 Download Festival! If you’ve made it this far, you may (or may not) have read our previews for both the Friday and the Saturday of the annual Donington bash. If you haven’t, here’s some links so you can catch up: Download Festival 2026 Friday Preview Download Festival 2026 Saturday Preview With that out the way, let us turn our attention to Sunday’s action.

Ah, middle Saturday of Download. The sight of so many wonderful performances, and more than a few hangovers brought on by fantastic Donington Friday nights over the years. We are sure that Download Festival 2026 will be no exception to both of these things. If you are yet to catch our Download 2026 Friday Preview, we suggest you do so. Once you’ve done that, it is time to dive right in with our recommendations for the second day of our annual Donington party.

It’s almost time to hit the hallowed Donington turf once again! Download Festival 2026 is upon us in less than a weeks’ time, and so the Rock Sins team has been pouring over the line up to bring you what we think will be the acts not to miss as the first full day of Download 2026 burst into life! Where / When: Apex Stage, 8:50pm Fred Durst and his merry men finally headline a Download Festival, 23 years after they were first meant to.