Mike Shinoda recently spoke about Linkin Park making history as the first female-fronted band to headline Download Festival. He shared both his and new vocalist Emily Armstrong’s reaction to the milestone in a video published by BBC News.
When asked how it felt for Linkin Park to headline Download Festival as a female-fronted band for the first time, Shinoda began by redirecting the question to Armstrong herself.
“So, I’ll start with the fact that I don’t feel like I should be answering the question, that Emily should be answering, so I went and asked her, because she can’t be here right now,” Shinoda said.
He then shared Armstrong’s response to the achievement.
“I asked her and she said, ‘If it wasn’t us, it would’ve just been someone else, because there are so many great female-fronted bands,'” he continued. “But, she’s so grateful, she wanted you guys to know, she’s so grateful that she is the one and that she’ll remember it forever.”
Shinoda also reflected on the process of choosing Armstrong as the band’s new singer, emphasizing that the decision was never about gender.
“Even when it was, like, choosing Emily as a singer, the top priority was, like, whoever the person is, are they somebody that we can spend a lot of time with? Do we get along, both personally and creatively? We were all just a good fit that way,” he said. “Obviously, the person has to be a world-class singer, but they don’t have to be a world-class female singer. It’s just whoever’s the best singer. So, for us, all of those things connected us with Em.”
The Download headline set carries added weight in the context of both the festival’s history and the band’s own journey. It marks a landmark moment for female-fronted rock acts. It is also Linkin Park’s first appearance at Donington Park since the passing of Chester Bennington.
Armstrong came to Linkin Park with an established rock pedigree. She is the co-lead vocalist of Dead Sara, the Los Angeles-based rock band she fronted before joining Linkin Park. She brought with her a reputation as one of the most powerful voices in the modern rock scene.
The Download headline slot marks a significant milestone in the band’s long relationship with the festival. Linkin Park headlined the Apex Stage for the fifth time, cementing their status as one of the most enduring acts in the festival’s history.
The 2026 edition of Download Festival saw Linkin Park share the headline billing with Limp Bizkit and Guns N’ Roses. The full lineup spanned more than 90 artists across the event at Donington Park.
For Armstrong, stepping onto that stage represented far more than a festival performance. It was her first appearance at Download with the band — a moment she had already said she would carry with her for the rest of her life.
