With conditions close to reaching 2016 levels due to a downpour of what has been described as "biblical proportions", everything at Download Festival has been encased in mud. That mud is then covered by hay or wood chip, which is then trodden deep into the mud below. In some areas, it is as deep as your ankles. We aren't letting that stop us though.
Arriving Thursday afternoon, I took a trip over to the Village, which is in a new place this year. Previously, you would walk through the Village to get to the Campsites, but it's the complete opposite this year. You have to traverse the slurries and sucking mud to get through Black campsite to get to the Village. There is a free shuttle bus that connects you from the entrances to the campsites, and the drivers are quite obviously enjoying themselves, hitting the turns on the Donington track like professional race car drivers. It's nice to see people enjoying themselves performing tasks like ferrying back and forth between two points all day long.
After an enjoyable journey, including a wonderful sight of a man in an inflatable canoe paddling his way across the slurry, I make it to the Village and to the Doghouse for the Boardie Takeover.
I missed a couple of the bands playing, but I arrive in time to catch Sweet Little Machine, The Five Hundred, Neshiima and TheCityIsOurs. From start to finish, this preview of bands that are set to explode is hectic. From the pop punk tones of Sweet Little Machines, to the frantic hardcore sound of The Five Hundred, this is definitely the future of rock and metal.
Credit to all involved, for a show that makes the Thursday of Download unmissable on a yearly basis. Now, onto the "club" night!
Keep your eyes peeled for further updates, see if Adam will make it out alive...
All photos provided graciously by Download Festival