Sleep Token will play what is perhaps the biggest show of the band’s career when they headline England’s Download Festival Saturday.
Back when the Download 2025 lineup was first announced in November, some were skeptical that Sleep Token could credibly lead the bill for what’s self-described as “the U.K.’s premier rock festival” alongside veterans Green Day and Korn, so much so that the creator of Download had to defend the booking in interviews.
Now, a sold-out U.S. arena and a #1 album on both sides of the Atlantic later, making Sleep Token a Download headliner feels downright prescient. John Fleckenstein, COO of Sleep Token’s label, RCA Records, tells ABC Audio that the skepticism around the Download booking is reflective of the general skepticism that a masked band that blends metal, alternative, pop, R&B and hip-hop in songs routinely over five minutes long has faced.
“A lot of people had that opinion [about Sleep Token headlining Download], but I think a lot of people had that opinion about this band all along the way,” Fleckenstein says. “It’s kind of part of what’s happening.”
“Obviously we’re super biased, so we weren’t surprised by that booking, but I understand why the rest of the world would be,” he laughs.
Sleep Token’s Download set will mark their third show supporting their aforementioned #1 album, Even in Arcadia, following their sets at Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park over the weekend.
“I think people are gonna be really rocked — and I mean, like, emotionally rocked — when they see the scale at which Sleep Token is gonna go in a live perspective,” Fleckenstein tells ABC Audio.
The Even in Arcadia live experience will come the U.S. in September.
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