Metal heads, open your calendars.  The second annual Download Festival Australia now has confirmed dates and venues. 

Presented by Live Nation, UNIFIED and Secret Sounds, the hard rock and metal fest will take place for the first time at Sydney’s Parramatta Park on March 9, 2019, and returns to Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse two days later, on March 11, coinciding with the long weekend. 

A line-up announcement is “imminent,” according to a statement issued today, which promises the bill will be a “corker.” 

Back in March, nearly 30,000 showed out to the inaugural Download Festival Australia for a nostalgia-heavy bill which included Korn, Limp Bizkit, Prophets of Rage, NOFX, Mastodon, Good Charlotte and Suicidal Tendencies. 

The Download brand is an extension of the long-running U.K. event at Donington Park, which has expanded into a multi-day goliath and rolled out into new territories, including France and Spain.  Download founder Andy Copping was on hand for the debut in Australia, of which he later said, “Seeing all the bands just hanging out and supporting each other on stage encapsulates the true camaraderie and spirit of this kind of music, this scene and this festival.” 

Download is now locked into a summer season which has a gaping void left by the disappearance of the Big Day Out, Soundwave and other touring giants.  Organizers have ruled out expanding Download Australia into a multi-day camping festival, though a third city — perhaps Brisbane — could be part of its future. “ The plan within the first three years is to at least get to three cities.  I think the smart move would be one city at a time,” Download Festival Australia booker Nigel Melder told Billboard. 

Visit dowloadfestival.com.au for more.