A GROUP of hard-working musicians will join rock and metal legends including Metallica, Iron Maiden, KISS, AC/DC and Aerosmith in having performed at one of the UK’s biggest music festivals next month.

Rockers Altered Sky are fulfilling their ambition of playing at Download Festival, Britain’s premier hard rock and heavy metal festival, on Thursday, June 7, with plans for a UK summer tour also set to be announced in the coming weeks.

The band, which includes Haddington’s Ana Nowosielska and Amy Blair, will be the main support in the Doghouse Tent, with the gig taking place the day before the main festival gets under way.

Ana, the band’s lead singer, was excited “beyond words” ahead of the festival, which is celebrating its 16th year.

She said: “It is up there with a childhood dream.

“You would go to Download and see Slipknot and Metallica and we are going to be playing there as well.

“It is absolutely amazing.”

The band is looking at hiring a van and staying for the four-day festival at Donington Park, which this year is headlined by Avenged Sevenfold, Guns N’ Roses and Ozzy Osbourne.

Ana added: “Download is definitely one of our goals.

“It is one of the biggest music festivals in the UK, especially for our type of music.

“It is very much suited to where we want to be.”

Currently the band’s attention is focused on creating their second album, the follow-up to Without Wonderland.

The five-piece will soon head down to Wales to record the album, with a view to it being released in the New Year.

Ana, 28, said: “Everything has been a lot easier this time.

“We were joking the other day and saying we had a good five years to write the first album and now we have had six months to write the second album.

“The difference is we are definitely going to see that the album is going to stand by itself.”

The band are then hoping to get back on the open road, with a UK tour being organised and the band keen to venture further afield again.

Last autumn, the band enjoyed a 19-date tour which saw them performing in the Philippines and Japan.

Ana told the Courier: “We are obviously talking about going back to Asia again. We met so many good people and made so many wonderful relationships.

“We would like to tour Europe – hit up Germany and we had an Italian tour in the works a year ago which fell through.

“Then, of course, we would like to get over to the USA.”

Ana grew up on Haddington’s Alderston Meadow and met drummer Amy, who lived on the town’s Long Cram and attended Knox Academy, during a night out in the town’s Mercat Hotel.

The band is completed by Ross Archibald, Ryan Zdrojewski and Tara Behran.

On the band members’ friendship, Ana added: “We love going for sushi together and try to practice twice a week, maybe for five hours.”