Bloodstock Open Air is a heavy metal-based rock festival held yearly each August since 2005 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England. It is described as the United Kingdom's largest independent metal festival, with more than 100 bands playing on several stages and around 20,000 attendees. It is similar to Leicestershire's Download Festival, but Bloodstock is smaller, traditionally focuses on heavy metal, and includes underground bands as well as mainstream ones. Bloodstock has a New Blood stage, reserved for at least thirty new and unsigned bands; these are chosen through 'Metal to the Masses' regional battle of the bands contests held throughout the UK and Ireland.
Bloodstock began in 2001 as an indoor event at the Derby Assembly Rooms, gradually growing in size and becoming an outdoor festival in 2005. It is one of only two open-air heavy metal festivals in the UK, although in recent years it has begun to include non-metal bands as headliners. Bloodstock's main stages are named after Ronnie James Dio and Sophie Lancaster. Bloodstock also hosts a bust that holds the ashes of Lemmy from Motörhead.
History Bloodstock Open Air was conceived as an extension of the original Bloodstock indoor festival which ran from 2001 until 2006 at Derby Assembly Rooms. After an amicable parting in 2006 with his business partner Vince Brotheridge, in 2006 Paul Gregory brought his daughters Vicky Hungerford, Rachael Greenfield and son Adam Gregory on board as directors.
Originally on one stage only, the festival expanded to incorporate a second stage in 2006. Known simply as The Unsigned Stage, it was designed to provide a platform for the next generation of metal talent to reach a wider audience. In 2010 it was renamed The New Blood Stage.
2007 saw further expansion with the addition of a third stage, originally called The Lava Stage, which in 2009 became the Sophie Lancaster Stage. In 2010 the capacity of this stage was increased and it became the festival's second stage.
In 2010, Heaven & Hell was scheduled to headline Bloodstock Open Air, but pulled out due to the death of singer Ronnie James Dio. The main stage at the festival was subsequently renamed as the "Ronnie James Dio stage" in tribute to him.
In an interview in 2014, festival director Adam Gregory stated, "We're not trying to be Download and we're not trying to be Sonisphere ... Bloodstock is and always will be a metal festival". He said that "Bloodstock's got its own identity and its own branding and we want to make it different to everywhere else you might go". He also voiced his dislike for pop metal bands such as Babymetal.
The 2020 festival was planned to be a celebration of "20 years of Bloodstock" however the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ticket holders were given the option either to have a refund on their ticket or to roll it over to the 2021 festival which saw three stages expanded to include an extra day.
Overview by year + Overview of Bloodstock by year Event Year Date Headliners Notes 1st 2001 28 May Saxon and Orange Goblin indoor festival 2nd 2002 31 August Blind Guardian and Return to the Sabbat indoor festival 3rd 2003 29–30 August Saxon and Nightwish indoor festival 4th 2004 3–4 September Gamma Ray and Children of Bodom indoor festival 5th 2005 24–25 June (open air)2–3 September (indoor) Sebastian Bach and Children of Bodom (open air)HammerFall and Within Temptation (indoor) both indoor and open air 6th 2006 14–15 July (open air)29–30 September (indoor) Stratovarius and Edguy (open air)Primal Fear and My Dying Bride (indoor) both indoor and open air 7th 2007 16–18 August Testament, Lacuna Coil, In Flames, Arch Enemy became a full open-air festival and extended to three days 8th 2008 15–17 August Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Nightwish 9th 2009 14–16 August Carcass, Cradle of Filth, Blind Guardian, Europe 10th 2010 13–15 August Twisted Sister, Opeth, Children of Bodom, Fear Factory main stage named after Ronnie James Dio following his death 11th 2011 12–14 August W.A.S.P., Immortal, Motörhead 12th 2012 10–12 August Behemoth, Machine Head, Alice Cooper 13th 2013 9–11 August King Diamond, Lamb of God, Slayer 14th 2014 8–10 August Down, Emperor, Megadeth 15th 2015 6–9 August Trivium, Within Temptation, Rob Zombie 16th 2016 11–14 August Twisted Sister, Mastodon, Slayer 17th 2017 10–13 August Amon Amarth, Ghost, Megadeth 18th 2018 9–12 August Judas Priest, Gojira, Nightwish 19th 2019 8–11 August Sabaton, Parkway Drive, Scorpions — 2020 — — cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 20th 2021 11–15 August Devin Townsend, Kreator, Judas Priest extra day added for this year 21st 2022 11–14 August Behemoth, Mercyful Fate, Lamb of God 22nd 2023 10–13 August Killswitch Engage, Meshuggah, Megadeth 23rd 2024 8–11 August Opeth, Architects, Amon Amarth Lemmy's ashes displayed for the first time 24th 2025 7–10 August Trivium, Machine Head, Gojira 25th 2026 6–9 August Saxon, Lamb of God, Slaughter to Prevail, Judas Priest main stage opened for four days 26th 2027 5–8 August Mercyful Fate, Electric Callboy, Motionless in White first year featuring mostly metalcore headliners
Bloodstock UK Metalfest Bloodstock originally began as an indoor festival held in Derby Assembly Rooms which ran for six years, 2001 to 2006. In order to associate the festival roots with Derby, where founder Paul Gregory lives, the festival's mascot/logo was based on the tale of The Derby Ram; a beast so large that, when a butcher finally slaughtered it, he drowned in the Ram's blood. A competition was run to name the beast and 'S-tan' was selected, he has appeared on almost all Bloodstock artwork since only missing from the first three BOA festivals when the S-tan snake featured instead.
2001 The first year was a one-day event headlined by Saxon, whom Paul Gregory had known personally since being commissioned to do the artwork for their 1984 Crusader album. Attendance for the festival topped 700 people and, despite taking an (expected) financial loss, a second festival was arranged for the following year.
Monday 28 MayMain StageDarwin StageSaxon Glenn Hughes Blaze Skyclad Primal Fear Dirty Deeds Area 54 ShadowkeepOrange Goblin Return to the Sabbat Freebase Consumed Underule Evoke Occupational Hazard Bloodstream
2002 2002 saw Blind Guardian headlining, again a band Paul Gregory knew through producing their artwork, which was their first UK show. Bringing metal acts to the UK for the first time become a regular occurrence for Bloodstock and the stronger line-up which also included Gamma Ray as second billing doubled the festival's attendance to approximately 1500.
Saturday 31 AugustMain StageDarwin StageBlind Guardian Gamma Ray Diamond Head Threshold Balance of Power Freedom Call BiomechanicalReturn to the Sabbat Bal-Sagoth Elvenking Primordial Enemymaker 888 Twelvepointhead Infobia
2003 2003 brought the first of many expansions to the festival as it stretched across two days. The first day was headlined by a returning Saxon and the second by Nightwish whom like Blind Guardian the year before were playing their first UK show. Paul and Gregory had gone on tour with Saxon the previous year and it was then that Vince first saw Nightwish which convinced them they should be booked for the Bloodstock festival. This year also featured Edguy's first UK show as they were drafted in to replace HammerFall after guitarist Oscar Dronjak broke his arm in a motorcycle accident only weeks before the show. The full line-up was:
Friday 29 AugustMain StageSaxon Blaze Power Quest 5th Man Down Biomechanical
Saturday 30 AugustMain StageDarwin StageNightwish Paradise Lost Edguy Masterplan Saracen DragonForce Illuminatus Mercury RainBiomechanical F.U.L.C. Waylander Fourwaykill Invey Bates Motel Ninedenine Cruel Humanity Bumsnogger
2004 2004 saw continued growth in attendance with the festival selling out and brought Gamma Ray back to headline the first day and Children of Bodom headlined the second day. The full line-up was:
Friday 3 SeptemberMain StageFemme Fatale StageGamma Ray Threshold Sinergy Illuminatus InfobiaSeason's End Invey Liquid Sky Super Massive Object
Saturday 4 SeptemberMain StageDarwin StageChildren of Bodom Sonata Arctica Primal Fear Balance of Power Evergrey Edenbridge Panic Cell IntenseFourway Kill Cruachan The Prophecy Gutworm Nowhere Near the Garden Humanity Seven Years Dead Rezin 69
2005 2005 was the first year which saw both the indoor and outdoor festivals running. HammerFall were booked to play, now with a headline slot on the first day, and Within Temptation headlined the second day. The full line-up was:
Friday 2 SeptemberMain StageBattle Metal StageHammerFall Stormwarrior Metalium Reckless TideConquest of Steel Warchild Deliverance Zillah
Saturday 3 SeptemberMain StageDarwin StageWithin Temptation Amon Amarth After Forever Bob Catley Raven Iron Savior Suidakra Season's End Rise to AddictionCathedral Soliloquy Balance of Silence Jesus Fix Kingsize Blues Kyrb Grinder Dreadnought Mfkzt Pro-jekt Osmium † Kyrb Grinder were not originally booked to play, but the band members were working at the festival and delays in the running of the Darwin stage left a gap, so they played a short sell to fill in the gap.
2006 2006 was the last year an indoor festival was hosted allowing for full focus on the outdoor festival from then on. Primal Fear headlined day one with My Dying Bride headlining day two and thus being the last ever band to play at Bloodstock as an indoor festival. The full line-up was:
Friday 29 SeptemberMain StageDarwin StagePrimal Fear Axel Rudi Pell Savage Circus Majesty Marshall LawTo-Mera Eden Steel Tormentor Captive Audio Awaken
Saturday 30 SeptemberMain StageDarwin StageMy Dying Bride Deathstars Onslaught Brainstorm Machine Men Omnium Gatherum Sworn Amongst Spellblast IlluminatusVanden Plas Deadfall Enemy Unknown Died Smiling Tourettes Syndrome Beyond Afterlife Agankast Mael Mórdha Isaiah H.O.S.T.I.L.E. The Boy Will Drown † Tourettes Syndrome had originally been booked to play the main stage. However, their flight was delayed and they did not arrive in time. Sworn Amongst were bumped up from their scheduled Darwin Stage slot to fill the gap, and Tourettes Syndrome played on the Darwin Stage later in the day when they eventually arrived.
Bloodstock Open Air Bloodstock Open Air is the outdoor venture for the festival after selling out the indoor festival which had a maximum capacity of 2500. Catton Hall was selected as the venue to allow growth in size without losing the festival's established friendly atmosphere and also maintained its link to Derby.
2005 The festival featured only one stage which was headlined by Sebastian Bach (Friday) and Children of Bodom (Saturday).
Main StageFriday 24 JuneSaturday 25 JuneSebastian Bach Mostly Autumn Breed 77 Gotthard Panic CellChildren of Bodom Paradise Lost Edguy Masterplan Evergrey Humanity Fourwaykill
2006
Bloodstock Open Air 2006 brought in a second stage called simply "Unsigned Stage". This was to showcase new unsigned acts to a wider audience like the indoor festival did previously to on their second stage. Now backed by Wacken Open Air, the festival was able to attract more European metal bands to the line-up which was headlined by Edguy (Friday) and Stratovarius (Saturday). It was the last year which had both the indoor and outdoor festivals running together.
Friday 14 JulyMain StageUnsigned StageEdguy Metal Church Atheist Nocturnal Rites Rage PyramazeEvile Kingsize Blues Headless Cross Pitiful Reign Nephwrack
Saturday 15 JulyMain StageUnsigned StageStratovarius Turisas Bal-Sagoth Ensiferum Callenish Circle Gorilla Monsoon Season's End Ashtar 19th CenturyDeadweight Sicfelt State of Serenity Nekkrosis Kyrb Grinder Spitting Blood Beyond All Reason Isaiah Deadeye Solace Luna Pin Phat Jerusalem Cycle VI Black River Project
2007