Download Festival Brings Heavy Sounds to Brighton for The Great Escape 2025
Download heads to the seaside this May, taking over The Volks for three days of future festival firepower.
Download Festival is making a bold move beyond Donington this year, setting up shop under the seafront arches of Brighton’s The Volks venue from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 May. As part of The Great Escape 2025 – the UK’s leading festival for new music – Download is curating a stage that champions the next wave of heavy music’s elite.
Fans can expect an electrifying bill across the three-day stint, with sets from chaos-laden Mouth Culture, genre-jumping provocateurs Twenty One Children, the mystique of Zetra, and punchy live acts like BEX, Jayler, and James and The Cold Gun. It’s the kind of raw, unfiltered energy that defines early festival season and marks a major moment for fans to catch rising stars in an intimate setting.
This collaboration underscores Download’s commitment to new music. Artists like Sleep Token, who once played a modest set at TGE in 2018, now find themselves headlining Download 2025 – a full-circle moment that highlights the importance of early exposure and festival platforms.
Adding to its mission, Download partners with Kerrang! Radio on The Deal, a unique initiative that gives unsigned bands a shot at opening the Avalanche Stage at Donington – a real-deal breakthrough opportunity.
The Great Escape itself runs from 14–17 May across Brighton, with more than 450 acts lighting up over 35 venues. As the industry descends on the coast, Download’s stage at The Volks will stand tall as a loud and proud celebration of what’s next in rock and metal.
Access to the Download Stage is included with a TGE festival wristband, but entry is subject to venue capacity – so get down early.
Weekend, day, and camping tickets for Download Festival 2025 – aka DLXXII – featuring headliners Green Day, Sleep Token, and Korn, are available now at www.downloadfestival.co.uk.
