Last year they were on the Opus, but this year kicking things high on the huge Apex. With a career spanning longer than most and more collaborations with the creme de la creme under his belt than fingers can count, Kennedy hits the hammer once more with another appearance at Download. Here he was back in his rock ‘n’ roll domain alongside Alter Bridge main man and vocalist/guitarist Myles Kennedy. The last time I saw the guitarist of the group, Mark Tremonti, was at his charity gig singing as Sinatra in full-suited and booted bow tie attire.

I also caught more than a glance at Alter Bridge on the main stage. Right after their show, I looked up their next touring dates which happen to be through October this year. No wonder they picked up an award for Best UK Live Artist at the Heavy Metal Music Awards a few weeks ago. Webbe is the master of the show, keeping everyone on their toes whilst conducting his knuckle-dusting crew of hard-rocking musicians. New song Love goes down a treat, and their eclectic mixture of roaringly good riffs and ska vocals sits perfectly as the sun goes down. Samplings of Back In Black and Jump just add to the excitement as we never quite know what Skindred will throw at us next. Their set runs like a full theatrical show against the well-tuned Metal music talents of the band.

Entering the stage to the uncanny sound of the Darth Vadar march, lead man Benji Webbe marches out in his signature over-the-top edgy coat. Whether you like Metal, rock, reggae or drum and bass means absolutely nothing when experiencing their performance. Good as it was (if you’ve ever had one, you’ll know), it wasn’t half as good or entertaining as Skindred’s set was, which I delightfully settled into whilst finishing the gravy-soaked crumbs of my dinner. Download Festival 2023 – Thursday Evening Download ’20 – 2023. So taking a few moments out, I popped up to the Yorkies stand to grab me a whole load of cholesterol-testing Sunday roast packed into one. When coming to a festival, I feel there are two necessities: music (of course) and food.

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