LATEST BLOODSTOCK NEWS INCLUDING FINAL BANDS ANNOUNCED
16th July 2024So many cool things to share, with just over 3 weeks to go to BLOODSTOCK 2024! Read on and get excited!!
If you’re still planning your outfits for BLOODSTOCK and fancy something new, EMP are here to lend a hand with a 20% off discount code! Just enter the code BOA20 at the checkout, before 4th Aug (minimum order value £30, one use only). They’ve also got a competition running for free tickets which you can enter here
Have you been paying attention to Planet Rock Radio of late? BLOODSTOCK is pleased to share that their highly contested battle to open the Sophie Lancaster stage on Sunday morning has been won by triumphant Welsh headbangers BLACK | LAKES. Get up early and go show some support, they might be just what your ARCHITECTS hangover needs.
The riotous, hotly fought Metal 2 The Masses finals covering 28 regions have now concluded for another year and BLOODSTOCK is delighted to reveal the final group of winners earning their spot on the Hopical Storm New Blood stage. Do check out some grassroots metal while you’re at BLOODSTOCK, you might just discover your new favourite band! Friday’s line-up welcomes Stoke champions SMOTHER and ABSOLENCE who clinched first place in the Burnley final. Saturday adds Oxford hard rock victors STONE SOUP, Cheltenham’s nu-metal/hardcore conquerors CONVEY, and Brighton’s top pick CHUB. A bumper crop join Sunday’s fun, including South Wales winners ROOT ZERO, Hitchin deathcore chiefs DEAD FLESH, SPACE PISTOL who took the gold for Northants, plus Devon & Cornwall heroes ATOM SMASHER, Bristol defeaters FROGLORD, and last but not least CRUCIBLE, who claimed Coventry’s crown.
When the bands are done for the night, it doesn’t mean BLOODSTOCK is! Late-night ents kick off on both the Hopical Storm New Blood and Sophie Lancaster stages ‘til the early hours.
On Thursday and Saturday nights from 11 pm – 2 am, New Blood hosts BLOODSTOCK’s biggest silent disco to date, with 3 live channels from Little M, Rich Harris, and Lloyd playing club/dance bangers, rock & metal, or party cheese respectively. Just grab a headset and choose your vibe or a bit of all three! Friday’s New Blood late-night fun cranks it up with DJs Darren Smith (Deadsoul Promotions/Stahlsarg) and Dawn Debenham (Raise Your Horns) joining forces, for a full-volume night of extreme, black, folk, and power metal.
Over in the Sophie tent from 12am – 2am, on Thursday, DJ Pressplay mixes it up with an array of tunes from upcoming bands and other metal bangers, while Friday brings The Blood Rave with DJs Little M and Lloyd, offering a fine choice of EBM, industrial, techno, and heavy beats. The Sophie tent on Saturday is taken over by DJ Arockalypse and the mighty SEETHING AKIRA, fresh from their main stage demolition last year with an exclusive DJ set! Expect remixes, metal, and more. Sunday sees DJ Rich Harris (Desertfest) with the ultimate in-closing parties to get you all fired up to do it all over again at BLOODSTOCK 2025!
If you’d rather have your fun back in the campsites, head over to Midgard for late-night inflatable shenanigans and newly Official Bin Jousting from 11 pm – 2 am, Thu – Sun. If you’ve nabbed an early access ticket to arrive on Wednesday, expect DJs (from 2 pm), inflatables, and a couple of movies!
Speaking of movies, if you managed to get a VIP ticket, there’s also a family movie screening every day Fri – Sun at 9:30 am in the Serpents Lair (The Never Ending Story, The Goonies, Hocus Pocus) and a metal comedy movie at 2:30 pm on Fri & Sun (Wayne’s World 2, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure). VIPers can also look forward to exclusive bands & DJ sets, Pop Up Puppet Cinema, face painting from Alice Bizarre benefitting the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, Never Mind The Bloodstocks pub quiz, and more, in the Serpents Lair! Not to mention your own bar with more ales & ciders than you can count.
Need something to get your blood pumping again in the morning after your late night? Drag yourself into the arena’s battle area for 10:15 am on Fri, Sat, and Sun, for a fun, friendly, free RockFit class! What’s RockFit? A heart-pumpin’,fist-bumpin’ combo of dance, cardio, and toning set to an all-rock and metal soundtrack featuring iconic tracks that compel you to move! Designed for every level of ability, just turn up and join in.
For something a bit more intense, don’t miss the special War Master Class with UFC & combat sports titan JOSH BARNETT, taking place at the battle area on Sunday at 4:30 pm. Join the legendary MMA champion for an exclusive fighting master class. Unleash your inner warrior and learn from the best in this unforgettable experience! The limited spots to join in have been instantly snaffled, but anyone is welcome to watch! There are also some special War Materials x Bloodstock merch items, like these exclusive chain wraps which you can click & collect – see the full range here!
And don’t forget, the Vikings will also be back there twice a day Fri – Sun at 11:30 am and 2:30pm delivering more full-on contact body blows! The battle area is located near the fairground rides (let’s hope they don’t get the two areas confused).
When you’re not watching bands or battles, why not squeeze in a spot of axe-throwing with your mates (at the BattleAxe stand) or visit Firehound Forge, the local blacksmith stall, that may even forge your item right in front of you? There’s also the Rock And Metal Gallery (reputed to be the coolest place onsite, metaphorically and literally – look out for more details about exhibitors in this very soon) and the Nordic Spirit Gaming Arena with modern and retro video games to play! Don’t miss the awesome new VR gaming additions in there this year: Beat Saber, Space Pirate, and Richie’s Plank Experience! The Beat Saber game will run as a competition across the duration of the festival, with the Top 3 scores at the end of the weekend winning prizes and the top scoring player will land themselves a pair of tickets to BLOODSTOCK 2025! Plus there’s Planet Rock Signing Tent where you can meet your favourite bands (and Josh Barnett).
Situated right next door to the Planet Rock Signing Tent you’ll find this year’s new Kerrang! booth! If exclusive, limited merch drops are your thing, you’ll want to make a beeline for the Kerrang! x Bloodstock capsule collection plus other awesome pieces of K! apparel like tees, hoodies, caps and more.
Besides that, there’s all manner of shopping for heavy metal pirates who want some booty to go with their bands. You’ll be able to pick up patches and badges, CDs/vinyl, or official merch and alt clothing (leggings, tshirts, denim jackets, leather waistcoats, military surplus, belts, hats, wellies, onesies… you name it) to rock n roll home accessories (inc horror-themed drinkware from Planchette Place), wiccan wares, friendship bracelets, vegan beard oils, Wyldwood wood sculpture, all types of jewellery (visit the Guitarwrist for items benefiting charity made with used guitar strings and Black Feather Design to snap up the very last pieces of BLOODSTOCK’s official 925 silver jewellery range) and if you don’t have one already, surely a Viking drinking horn is an essential addition (available in sizes from 50 ml to 7.5 litres!). Dead keen for a chunky vertebrae steel choker? Nicola Hebson’s Curiosity Shop has you covered (and any ethical taxidermy art desires). Look out for the Canny Bonny stall for hair-braiding (with/without colour extensions – you can pre-book here), Viking warpaint, and henna! Camel’s Sheesha will be present, as will pro-mental health brand Radical, and don’t miss Charlie & Wilkie from MALEVOLENCE’s debut festival pop-up shop for their merch & music label MLVLTD!
As part of BLOODSTOCK’s continuing sustainability/green efforts, the cup redemption scheme returns to help keep BLOODSTOCK litter-free!! Open to those 18+, you can redeem prizes for collecting used cups! Hand in your stash at Lemmy’s bar to get a stamp on your collector’s card for every 50 cups returned. This year’s prizes are:
50 cups – 1 free pint / spirit worth £6
100 cups – 15% off Bloodstock merch or 1 meal voucher worth £12 (one transaction only)
250 cups – 1 Bloodstock festival shirt (size subject to availability)
600 cups – Jump the queue to the signing tent for one whole day
750 cups – Access to Serpents Lair VIP hospitality area for 2 people
1000 cups – Watch a band from side of stage or in the pit for first 3 songs (subject to no closed stage or pyro restrictions. Other T&Cs apply.).
Help BLOODSTOCK leave Catton Park as tidy as on departure as on arrival – campers, please take a free bin bag on entry. More bin bags can be picked up as needed from the tent info points throughout the weekend and there are recycling bins throughout the arena and campsites.
In addition, there will now be tent donation points in every campsite on Monday morning! Look for the tent donation flag (shown below) for the drop off point and read details on how to win one of five pairs of weekend tickets for BLOODSTOCK 2025. Winners will be announced on socials a week later. When you’re going home, if you can’t be bothered to lug your tent (or airbed, chair, mat, sleeping bag) with you, don’t abandon it for landfill! Put it to good use by donating it for charitable benefit.
If you’ve already snapped up your ticket and want to square away your travel arrangements for BLOODSTOCK 2024, BIG GREEN COACH offer a great solution, taking you directly on to the festival site with all your camping gear, from a town near you. There are 35 pick-up locations this year! Get full details here.
If you’re coming by train maybe you want to book seats on a shuttle to & from the festival site! BIG GREEN COACH have now got their shuttle service available for purchase, running to/from Tamworth station. Click here to buy your tickets while space lasts – a round trip is £14.
Standard weekend tickets for BLOODSTOCK, priced at £185 (+ booking fee) are available now in the 2024 ticket store. You can also snap up day tickets, child tickets (mini moshers under 4 yrs can come for free!), and if you want all the BLOODSTOCK you can get, add-on early arrival for an extra day of camping on Wednesday too – these are nearly sold out so don’t hang about! Early Bird, VIP, and campervan tickets are already sold out.
BLOODSTOCK’s 2024 Ronnie James Dio main stage headliners are AMON AMARTH, OPETH, and ARCHITECTS. Across the weekend you can also expect to see CLUTCH, HATEBREED, CARCASS, ENSLAVED, MALEVOLENCE, SATYRICON, ROTTING CHRIST, SYLOSIS, WHITECHAPEL, DEICIDE, GRAND MAGUS, DESERT STORM, THE VINTAGE CARAVAN, SOEN, GREEN LUNG, COMBICHRIST, XENTRIX, EXIST IMMORTAL, ETERNAL CHAMPION, GROVE STREET, MIMI BARKS, CRYPTA, FORBIDDEN, NERVOSA, BEAST IN BLACK, KORPIKLAANI, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, FLOGGING MOLLY, SEPTIC FLESH, IGORRR, GROVE STREET, UNPEOPLE, NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, HELLRIPPER, INFECTED RAIN, CULTURA TRES, SADUS, LUDOVICO TECHNIQUE, BURNER, RED RUM, EVERGREY, RAISED BY OWLS, TAILGUNNER, SOUTH OF SALEM, and ANKOR amongst many others!
Get full festival information over at bloodstock.uk.com. BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 8th-11th August 2024.
