Blink-182 to make Download debut as 2027 festival headliners

The trio are among more than 100 rock and metal acts set to play the event at Donington Park, Leicestershire from 9 to 13 June. Other acts on the bill include The Prodigy, 5 Seconds of Summer and a special performance by heavy metal legends Mötley Crüe. US pop-punk band Blink-182 will be making their Download debut, while Evanescence will become the festival's second female-fronted headliner.

The American rock band were founded by singer Amy Lee in the mid-1990s and had a UK number one with their best-known single Bring Me to Life in 2003. The nu-metal group have reformed with Emily Armstrong as their lead singer, after the death of former frontman Chester Bennington, who took his own life in 2017. The choice of Emily upset some fans , who pointed to her alleged ties to the Church of Scientology and past support for convicted rapist Danny Masterson - someone she distanced herself from.

Their drummer Travis Barker is married to Kourtney Kardashian and survived a plane crash in the US that killed four people in 2008.