Witch Fever have joined those calling out Download Festival’s policy regarding toilet access for trans people.
British singer-songwriter NOAHFINNCE and pop-punk band Pinkshift have both criticized the festivals policy, prohibiting trans women from using women’s restrooms and trans men from using the men’s room.
NOAHFINNCE shared a screenshot of an e-mail from Download which outlined their stance on the issue: “We are proud of the reputation the Download community has in terms of diversity, and will always look to promote the safety and comfort of all festival attendees including transgender and non-binary customers.
“We will be following the interim guidance issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on 25 April 2025 here. Their guidance states that ‘trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men’s facilities’”.
Hey @DownloadFest what the fuck are you doing. How have you got the gall to invite trans people like me to play your festival and then ban them from using the toilet? If the only way we can piss is by outing ourselves then you’ve created an unsafe environment… pic.twitter.com/W0oLIa5P4U
— NOAHFINNCE (@noahfinnadams) May 27, 2025
While sharing the message from Download, NOAHFINNCE responded: “Hey @downloadfest what the fuck are you doing inviting trans people to play your festival but not allowing them the simple right of using the correct bathroom?”
“I had a great time playing last year but will not be attending again if I have to queue up for the ladies’ bathroom and my trans sisters have to risk outing themselves in the men’s bathroom. All this does is put trans people in danger,” he continued. “If you’re playing @downloadfest, attending it or even just aware of it, say something about it.”
Now, Manchester four-piece Witch Fever have also spoken out against Download’s policy. In an Instagram story on Tuesday, a fan asked them “Have you read the Download Festivals policy regarding trans fans toilet access?”
They responded: “The threat to trans people’s safety by forcing them to enter toilets that are assigned to a gender that they don’t associate with is a complete fuckin tragedy. We are hoping this decision gets changed.”
Download’s policy seems to be in adherence to the UK Supreme Court ruling on April 16, where judges unanimously ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex under the Equality Act. This ruling means that trans women won’t be able to use women’s facilities in places open to the public.
Witch Fever have recently released their first single in over two years, titled ‘Dead To Me’. A dark, sludgy number that oozes with emotion and resilience, vocalist Amy Walpole touches on her traumatic childhood in the Charismatic Church, something she also wrote about on the group’s debut album, ‘Congregation’.
The doom-punk bands bassist, Alex Thompson, shared some insight into the sonic ambition behind the new track: “We really wanted to sound bigger. We wanted to push our sound in ways that we wouldn’t be able to do if we were just playing in a room together.”
Download Festival has a stacked lineup this year, with Green Day, Sleep Token and KoRn all confirmed as headliners. Other artists to perform at the festival include Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Sex Pistols and Bullet For My Valentine, to name a few. You can read MXDWN’s latest coverage on the festival here.
