Sorry Everyone, That Download Festival Line-Up Poster Is Probably A Fake
So close, but so far.
We still have a little while to go until Download Festival reveals their line-up for 2019, which means that now is the prime time for the fake and sometimes-hard-to-tell-if-they’re-fake line-up posters to do the rounds.
One such poster landed in Music Junkee’s inbox this morning, sent from an anonymous person who promised us the “scoop”. It’s promising a massive line-up, with headlining sets from System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold, Marilyn Manson, Jimmy Eat World, and Rob Zombie.
Local heroes like Northlane, Tonight Alive, Hands Like Houses, and Deez Nuts are also listed.
Mysterious poster that landed in our inbox.
“Heres the scoop, thank me later,” the mysterious sender wrote. “It is still subject to change, isn’t meant to go out until next week. Don’t ask where I got it ;)”
Curiously, the usual signs of a fake line-up poster (misspellings, wrong dates/venues, high billings for bands that shouldn’t be that high) aren’t there — leading us at MJ to genuinely be on the fence about whether this could be (gasp!) legit. Granted, the billing for Jimmy Eat World is a ~little~ low, but it’s not too low that it’s an immediate poster disqualification.
Further research reveals that none of the headlining bands listed on the poster have any clashing tour dates elsewhere — so they could potentially be available for Download. Marilyn Manson told triple j last year that he wanted to tour Australia in support of his latest record, Heaven Upside Down, although he added he didn’t want to perform at an outdoor festival.
But there is one tell that reveals it as ~probably~ a fake: the Download logo on this poster reads “Australia 2019”, while on the official website it reads “Sydney & Melbourne 2019”. There’s also the fact that Dallas outfit Hellyeah are scheduled to be playing — which is unlikely given the tragic passing of their drummer Vinnie Paul only two months ago.
Close, but no cigar.
Download Festival takes place March 9 at Parramatta Park in Sydney, and March 11 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Get all the (actually legitimate) details on their website.