{"id":478367,"date":"2026-06-15T12:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/478367\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:39:08","slug":"heres-what-linkin-park-played-when-they-made-history-headlining-download-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/478367\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s what Linkin Park played when they made history headlining Download 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Linkin Park<\/a> closed out Download Festival 2026<\/a> last night, making history in the process as they became the first female-fronted band to headline \u2013 check out what went down below.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0\u201cThis is not the end, this is not the beginning\u201d: Linkin Park look to the future with new faces<\/a><\/p>\n

Last night (Sunday June 14), Mike Shinoda<\/a>, Emily Armstrong and co. headlined the last night of the Donington Park festival, marking a UK exclusive for the band<\/a>, who last performed at the event in 2014, fronted by the late Chester Bennington<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They reformed in 2024, seven years after Bennington took his own life, in a move that proved incredibly divisive at the time, with Bennington\u2019s son Jaime accusing remaining members of \u201cquietly erasing\u201d his father\u2019s \u201clife and legacy\u201d<\/a>. Choosing Armstrong as his successor was equally controversial among some fans, who pointed to her alleged ties to the Church of Scientology and previous support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the wake of those allegations, Armstrong distanced herself from Masterson<\/a>, stressing that she did not condone any \u201cabuse or violence against women\u201d and had only attended an early hearing in his rape trial \u201cas an observer\u201d.<\/p>\n

While controversial, her addition to the band made her the first woman to headline Download on Sunday night, which some fans described<\/a> as \u201cbreaking barriers\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nodding to the milestone, Shinoda joked the crowd that Armstrong \u201chates this kind of attention\u201d, and invited the crowd to form an women-only mosh pit for \u2018Two Faced\u2019 to honour her.<\/p>\n

Mike requested a women only mosh pit in honor of Emily pic.twitter.com\/OmVa8ONRqj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2640\u2640 \u26a2 \u2735 (@EmptinessChaos) June 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

A Place For My Head \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n

Download Festival pic.twitter.com\/TlEUEm17dy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2640\u2640 \u26a2 \u2735 (@EmptinessChaos) June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

GEEEET IT, QUEEN \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc51 <\/p>\n

Two Faced
Download Festival pic.twitter.com\/cIGGRTYF27<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2640\u2640 \u26a2 \u2735 (@EmptinessChaos) June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

So you thought I wasn’t going to dance today?<\/p>\n

dancing baby \ud83e\udd0f\ud83d\ude0d
Faint pic.twitter.com\/SPujyc2ACa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2640\u2640 \u26a2 \u2735 (@EmptinessChaos) June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

mike \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d pic.twitter.com\/8mETHFm2hW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eline \ud83d\udcf8 (@elinehphotos) June 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude2d pic.twitter.com\/nqxjdj0qns<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Linkin Park Live (@LPLive) June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you guys, but I felt that \ud83e\udd75 pic.twitter.com\/6m8vpNdsyA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2640\u2640 \u26a2 \u2735 (@EmptinessChaos) June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the set, a short teaser trailer for their forthcoming film Unshatter played out, with Shinoda confessing in it that \u201cthe hardest part of ending is starting up again\u201d.<\/p>\n

Link Park at Download Festival 2026 played:<\/p>\n

\u2018The Emptiness Machine\u2019
\u2018Lying From You\u2019
\u2018Crawling\u2019
\u2018Up From the Bottom\u2019
\u2018Somewhere I Belong\u2019
\u2018The Catalyst\u2019
\u2018Burn It Down\u2019
\u2018Where\u2019d You Go\u2019 (Fort Minor cover)
\u2018Waiting for the End\u2019
\u2018Two Faced\u2019
\u2018A Place for My Head\u2019
\u2018IGYEIH\u2019
\u2018One Step Closer\u2019
\u2018Lost\u2019
\u2018Breaking the Habit\u2019
\u2018Overflow\u2019
\u2018What I\u2019ve Done\u2019
\u2018Numb\u2019
\u2018Heavy Is the Crown\u2019
\u2018Bleed It Out\u2019
\u2018Papercut\u2019
\u2018In the End\u2019
\u2018Faint\u2019<\/p>\n

Back in 2024, when they first announced their comeback<\/a>, Shinoda opened up about\u00a0the \u201cculture\u201d of the new Linkin Park line-up,<\/a> saying it felt like the \u201cbest we\u2019ve had\u201d. As well as Armstrong joining the line-up, drummer Colin Brittain has also joined the band, following the departure of founding member Rob Bourdon<\/a>. Founding guitarist\u00a0Brad Delson is also absent<\/a>\u00a0from the group\u2019s comeback tour, but is still working with them on new music.<\/p>\n

While some fans were divided over the comeback following\u00a0Bennington\u2019s death<\/a>, as the band started the live shows,\u00a0Shinoda explained that this version of Linkin Park was \u201cnot about erasing the past\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He then explained\u00a0why Linkin Park chose to keep their band name<\/a>\u00a0for the relaunched line-up, and added that he is \u201cnot sure\u201d if they will make new recordings of older songs that feature the late frontman.<\/p>\n