Watch PRESIDENT Launch Live Campaign with Download Festival Debut

PRESIDENT made their first-ever live appearance at Download Festival 2025 with a five-song set of anthemic proportions.

Download Festival 2025 marked the live debut of one of the year’s most talked-about new mystery bands: PRESIDENT.

Taking to the Dogtooth Stage on June 13, the masked and mysterious group delivered a dramatic five-song set that pulled thousands of punters into their orbit, officially kicking off their much-anticipated “campaign trail.”

Announced ahead of time by Download organisers as an inauguration (with no music released at the time), PRESIDENT’s first show arrived after months of cryptic teasers, a pair of shadowy singles (‘In the Name of the Father’ and ‘Fearless’), and a lot of online speculation about who might be behind the masks.

While some have thrown around theories linking the band to Sleep Token – who headlined the main stage the night before – others have pointed to Charlie Simpson of Busted and Fightstar. A recent unmasking in the ‘Fearless’ video only added fuel to the fire, with many fans convinced it was a deliberate red herring.

During their set, PRESIDENT’s frontman, dressed in a suit and trademark rubber mask, delivered a series of brief speeches between songs while flanked by bandmates in black masks and pink armbands. The setlist included the two released tracks alongside three unreleased songs: ‘Dionysus’, ‘Rage’ and ‘Destroy Me’.

For now, fan-filmed clips from Download offer the only full glimpse at PRESIDENT’s theatrical live experience – check them out below:

Here’s PRESIDENT’s setlist at Download Festival, June 13 (via setlist.fm):

• ‘Fearless’
• ‘Dionysus’
• ‘Rage’
• ‘Destroy Me’
• ‘In the Name of the Father’

PRESIDENT’s next appearance will be a sold-out ‘headline rally’ at The Garage in London on July 30, with support from dark dream-pop act Zetra – likely with plenty more surprises to come.