Oh dear.
Not three weeks ago a wrote a piece questioning whether the Download Festival had lost it’s edge, thanks to a tired-looking and unimaginative roster of headliners that includes Aerosmith, Linkin Park and Avenged Sevenfold alongside other over-the-hill acts like The Offspring.
Now they’ve well and truly confirmed themselves as a pretty irrelevant festival with the announcement that Status Quo will be playing!
2014 will be the first time dad-rock titans Status Quo have played Download, although they have played at Donington Park before – headlining the Monsters Of Rock festival way back in 1982. In announcing the Download appearance, front-man Francis Rossi said (without a hint of irony):
That year (1982) saw the Falklands War, the launch of the Commodore 64, Aston Villa winning the European Cup and the raising of the Mary Rose. You might say a lot has changed since then – but we’re still rocking and still playing the Quo hits.”
Quite why Download have gone down this route is open to debate. One reason could be the apparent lack of current ‘big name’ rock acts out there who are capable of headlining such a huge festival. Another reason could be that, with the high competition between summer music festvals, Download may be positioning themselves as the only viable option for the middle-aged rock fan.
What do you think about the way the line-up for Download 2014 is shaping up? Join the discussion in the comments below…
