Download Festival 2026: second wave adds A Day To Remember, The Primals and Miss World Chile — download festival 2026 lineup grows
The organisers announced a second wave of artists for download festival 2026 and published day splits, expanding the Donington Park bill ahead of the June event. The new additions — and fresh ticket and day-split details — reshape the weekend schedule for the festival’s return to Leicestershire.
Who was added in the second announcement
The new list adds 14 names: A Day To Remember, THE PRIMALS, Daughtry, Creeper, Hot Milk, DECESSUS, Silly Goose, Marmozets, BAND-MAID, Stampin’ Ground, Frozemode, Conjurer, Annisokay and Private School. DECESSUS is described as a Chilean death metal band whose singer, Ignacia Fernández, won Miss World Chile in 2025 and went viral after showcasing ferocious death-metal vocals.
The Primals, Final Fantasy and Masayoshi Soken
THE PRIMALS are presented as Final Fantasy XIV’s official band and a Japanese heavy metal act officially endorsed by Final Fantasy, bringing heavy versions of classic franchise anthems. Composer Masayoshi Soken is the group’s figurehead; he said last year that "Normally the artist onstage is the protagonist but with those shows, the player’s game experiences are the protagonists. We’re just there to light a fire towards their memories. " The Primals will be performing iconic songs from the gaming franchise’s soundtrack and are set to play their first show outside Asia at the festival.
Day splits confirmed and A Day To Remember headlining The Opus Stage
Organisers confirmed day splits for the weekend: A Day To Remember will headline The Opus Stage on the Sunday. Creeper, Hot Milk, Marmozets, Frozemode, Daughtry and Conjurer are scheduled to appear across the weekend alongside Annisokay, Band-Maid, Decessus, Private School, Silly Goose and Stampin’ Ground. The announcement accompanied ticket updates: one update said day tickets are now officially on sale from the festival website; another detailed a PayPal 48-hour exclusive presale from 10am ET, with a general on sale at 10am ET on Wednesday 25 February; a separate note said day tickets will be made available on Wednesday (February 25). Weekend tickets are on sale now.
Organisers and the chief booker on the second wave
Live Nation's Kamran Haq, chief booker for the festival, framed the second announcement as widening the bill. He said, "We’re really proud of our line-up this year, and our second announcement brings further depth and diversity to DLXXIII. We have huge artists like A Day To Remember, Daughtry, Creeper and Hot Milk, as well as bringing Final Fantasy XIV’s official band THE PRIMALS to Download for their very first show outside of Asia. " He added that, "due to popular demand, Miss World Chile - Ignacia Fernández - will be performing with her band Decessus after surprising the world with her incredible death metal vocals a few months ago, " and teased "even more surprises" while warning that tickets are selling out faster than ever.
How the additions fit the wider Download bill and recent history
The new names join headliners Limp Bizkit — making their first appearance as Download headliners — Guns N' Roses and Linkin Park at Donington Park. They supplement a roster already featuring Cypress Hill, Trivium, Bad Omens, Halestorm, Architects, BABYMETAL, Electric Callboy and Ice Nine Kills. More than 90 artists were confirmed last year for the festival, including Bad Omens, Cypress Hill, Tom Morello, Trivium, Halestorm, Pendulum, Mastodon, BABYMETAL, Architects, The All-American Rejects and Feeder. For context, Download 2025 was headlined by Green Day, Sleep Token and KoRn and also featured Weezer, Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, The Darkness and Poppy.
Download Festival 2026 runs at Donington Park in Leicestershire from June 10 to 14, with organisers continuing to release stage assignments and ticketing windows as the event approaches.
