Clear Channel Entertainment (CCE) has confirmed Swedish neo-garage band the Hives will perform at its second annual Download Festival. The rockers will play the opening day of the June 5-6 event, which takes place at England’s Donington Park.
Others confirmed performers on the bill include Metallica, Linkin Park, Korn, Slipknot and Iggy Pop & the Stooges.
For the first time, a separate festival featuring many of the same headlining acts will take place at Glasgow Green in Scotland on June 2-3. CCE, CPL and DF Concerts will jointly promote the Scottish leg.
The Hives, however, will play only the Donington event. The performance will offer British fans their first chance to hear tracks from the band’s long-awaited album of new material, its first release through Polydor. According to a spokesperson, the album, currently being recorded in Sweden, is scheduled for release this summer.
The Hives rose to prominence following the October 2001 release of the compilation “Your New Favourite Band.” That record, their most recent U.K. release, was licensed to Alan McGee’s British Poptones label from the band’s former label home Burning Heart Records/Epitaph. The Hives went on to sign with Universal Music U.K. in 2002 in a worldwide deal rumored to be worth £7.5 million ($11.5 million).
