With Emily Armstrong Linkin Park make Download history

For the first time in its long history, the Download Festival will be headlined by a band with a woman on vocals. To achieve this important goal already reported by – among others – the BBC, are the Linkin Parkannounced on the bill of the 2026 edition of the festival scheduled from 10 to 14 June 2026 at Donington Park, in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. The band enters Download history thanks to the singer Emily Armstrongalready at the center of their return to the scene in 2024.

In addition to that of the band once led by the late Chester Bennington, who returned last year with the album “From zero” (here our review) and was the protagonist of a world tour in recent months which also stopped in Italy last June (here our story), the other two leading names announced for the Download Festival 2026 are those of Guns N’ Roseswho will take the stage on Saturday, ei Limp Bizkitwho will open the weekend as headliners on Friday, for the first time in their career.

For Linkin Park it will be about third time as a headliner at Donington, after the 2004 and 2014 editions. But this time the meaning goes beyond the music thanks to the presence of Emily Armstrongmarking the first time That a band led by a woman takes to the stage as headliners.

It is an achievement that comes after more than two decades of male dominance. In the past it had already been reported by – among others – “Music Festival Explorer” that “no woman has ever led the festival in its 18 years of history”, while the British edition of “Sky News” in 2023 recalled in an article that “Download has not had a headliner with a woman on the microphone since 2018” asking in the title: “Why are female headliners still considered too big a ‘risk’ for big festivals”. In 2021, a campaign, “Loud women”, was even established to promote greater female representation in large rock festivals, denouncing the total absence of female artists at the top of the billboard.

The 2026 edition will therefore mark a symbolic turning point for the festival and for the world rock scene. Alongside the three main names, the billboard will host more 90 artists including rock, metal, punk and emo Bad Omens, Halestorm, Mastodon, Babymetal, Trivium, Cypress Hill, The Pretty Reckless, Tom Morello, Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides, Dogstar and many others.