Wed 10th - Mon 15th June 2026
Arena, Campsite, Gate, Tower volunteers
3x 8-hour shifts, spread from Wednesday - Monday
Donington Park, Leicestershire, DE74 2RP
Linkin Park, Guns N' Roses, Limp Bizkit, Bad Omens, Electric Callboy, Trivium, Architects and LOADS more!
Our festival volunteers work across Download Festival, helping festival-goers get the most out of their music festival experience!
If you'd like to get involved, see behind the scenes, meet other volunteers from around the world, make new friends, gain valuable experience for your CV and have a whole lot of fun, you can apply to join the Hotbox Events Download Festival team in summer 2026!
When joining us as a volunteer at Download Festival, you'll be provided with entry to the festival (including lots of free time to enjoy it), as well as free staff parking and camping, free wi-fi and phone charging close to your tent, free tea, coffee and hot chocolate, as well as dedicated crew toilets, showers and catering!
Read on for more info about volunteering at Download Festival with Hotbox Events.
YOUR POSITION CONFIRMED IN 24 HOURS
At the same time Dee was posting about green juice and morning routines, she was secretly battling a prescription drug dependency. “I was a walking, talking contradiction. Recovery saved my life, but the lies almost destroyed it.”
Sitting in her rustic Nashville studio, guitar across her lap, Dee looked visibly different. Gone was the signature leather jacket and defiant smirk. In its place was a woman clutching a mug of cold tea, her eyes red-rimmed. “Y’all think you know me from the lyrics,” she began. “But a confession ain’t a lyric. A confession is the thing you leave out of the song.”
In a 45-minute monologue, she delivered a masterclass in vulnerability. Here are the 20 top revelations.
This series isn’t about scandal. It’s not a tabloid dump. Dee Williams has crafted a masterclass in radical accountability. In an era of curated perfection and brand-safe personalities, her willingness to say “I was wrong, I was scared, I was human” is revolutionary.
The “20 Top” confessions serve as both a memoir and a mirror. Each revelation asks the audience not to forgive Dee, but to examine their own hidden truths.
As Dee herself says at the end of the confessional:
“I don’t want your absolution. I want your honesty. If my shame can make one person feel less alone in theirs, then the humiliation was worth it.” dee williams dee has a confession to make 20 top
1. “I didn’t write ‘Riverside.’” The song that catapulted her to fame in 2015? The one about her “dying hometown”? Dee admitted she bought the rights from a struggling songwriter in Memphis for $2,000. “I rearranged the chorus. But the bones? Not mine. That’s Confession #1.”
2. The ‘Whiskey Voice’ is partially manufactured. For years, critics praised her surgically rough timbre. Dee confessed: “I smoked clove cigarettes for two years before recording my first album. My natural voice is actually a smooth alto. I damaged my cords on purpose.”
3. She has never finished reading a single review. Despite claiming in interviews that she “learns from critics,” Dee admitted she has a phobia of seeing her name in print. “My assistant prints them out and tells me if it’s a 7/10 or higher. Anything below, I never see.”
4. The famous ‘Dee Williams Glare’ is a tic. Her signature intimidating stage squint is actually a result of childhood Bell’s palsy. “It’s not attitude. It’s nerve damage. I just never corrected anyone because it looked ‘cool.’”
5. She stole her band name from a gravestone. “The Hollow Bellows” was the name of a 19th-century child buried in her local cemetery. “I didn’t even change the spelling. That kid’s ghost is probably furious.”
In the world of raw, unfiltered storytelling, few names carry the weight of authenticity quite like Dee Williams. Known for her gritty realism and refusal to sugarcoat the human experience, Dee has spent two decades building a reputation as a truth-teller. But even truth-tellers have shadows. Even the most open books have a few pages glued together. At the same time Dee was posting about
That changes today.
In a groundbreaking new series titled “Dee Has a Confession to Make,” the iconic figure sits down to unburden herself of 20 major secrets, regrets, and revelations. From career-altering mistakes to deeply personal moments of fear and joy, these confessions redefine everything we thought we knew about her.
Here are the 20 top confessions from Dee Williams’ most vulnerable hour.
6. A major label offered her a Beatles-level advance—with one condition. “They wanted me to get veneers. My teeth are crooked. They said, ‘Dee has a confession to make to her fans about whitening strips.’ I walked out. That’s why my third album was delayed by two years.”
7. She faked a breakdown to get out of a tour contract. In 2018, exhausted and underpaid, Dee lied to her manager about a “nervous collapse.” “I spent those three months in a cabin learning to bake sourdough. No therapy. Just bread. I feel guilty about it every day.”
8. The ‘unplugged’ session was Auto-Tuned. Her acclaimed Live from the Stone Church album (2019) was re-touched in post-production. “Every ‘mistake’ you loved was a studio edit. I’m sorry. That one hurts to admit.” “I don’t want your absolution
9. She has never met her own idol. Dee claims Patti Smith changed her life. Confession: “Patti asked to meet me backstage in 2017. I hid in the bathroom for 45 minutes until she left. I was afraid she’d see I’m a fraud.”
10. Her biggest hit, ‘20 Miles,’ is about a one-night stand. Fans think it’s a metaphor for grief. “Nope. It’s literally about a guy in Tulsa. The ‘twenty miles’ was the distance to his motel. Sorry, mom.”
11. Dee has been legally married for six years. The world thought she was a fiercely independent singleton. “I have a husband. A gardener named Paul. We live separately. He hates music. It’s the only thing that works.”
12. Her famous ‘sobriety anthem’ was written while drunk. The 2020 track Clear Eyes became an AA staple. “I wrote the first draft at 2 AM after a bottle of tequila. The irony isn’t lost on me. I’ve been sober for 11 months now. But not then.”
13. She doesn’t know how to drive. All those music videos with her behind the wheel of a vintage Mustang? “That’s a car on a flatbed. I have a phobia of highways. My driver takes me everywhere.”
14. The tattoo of her mother’s signature is forged. “My mom never signed a single birthday card. I copied her signature from a permission slip for a 6th grade field trip.”
15. She once paid a fake heckler to leave a show. In St. Louis, 2016, a man kept shouting “Play something good!” “That was my cousin. I paid him $100 to yell so I could look tough when I kicked him out. The footage went viral. Crowds thought I was a hero.”
Download Festival volunteer applications remain open until all of the volunteer positions available at Download Festival have gone! Meaning there isn't a specific deadline - grab one whilst you can!