Since I first started going to Slam Dunk in 2023, the festival made its mark on me. And this year was no exception. After seeing the lineup with Arm’s Length, One Step Closer, Guilt Trip, The All-American Rejects, You Me At Six, State Champs, and more, I knew I needed to go. Because these were bands I had loved since childhood, Guilt Trip, One Step Closer, and Arm’s Length were added over the years. So, I packed my bags, jumped on a flight, and made my way to England.
Festival Atmosphere
It was late May, but being in England, the weather is always tricky. As with the year before, the sun was high in the sky, and it was warm. But unlike last year, I had forgotten my sunblock. Oops. As I arrived, the queuing was much better than the previous year; you could basically walk in, and that was a nice feeling after I was yearning for some live music. Once inside, everyone was having the time of their lives, with Monster Energy being amazing and supplying free energy drinks as my coffee intake had been limited on one of the days compared to my… well, my coffee intake is not a newsworthy story, so let’s move on.
In my opinion, the layout has changed for the better compared to last year. Actually, much had changed; after the fallout of last year’s bad luck with parking, they seemed to have had it more under control, and everything seemed much easier to find.
Arm’s Length – The Key Club Stage
As Arm’s Length took the stage, they kicked their set off with a bang with their 2023 single, “Up In Smoke”. The pop-punk Canadians may have encountered a few technical problems in the beginning, but they were quickly fixed. As they hit “Object Permanence,” from Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, the third song out of eight songs on their setlist, I felt like I was floating. As Allan Steinberg’s vocals were on point, the rest of the band, consisting of Jeremy Whyte, Jeff Whyte, and Benjamin Greenblatt, were energetic, as if they had been run over by the Monster Truck and shotgunned three cans each before hitting the stage. Disclaimer: They are one of my favorite bands, and I’ve discovered them in the past few years, but seeing them for the first time blew me away. And the songs flew by, as they hit “Overture”, once again from the 2022 album, Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, tears did shed from my eyes as I sang along, as the lines “You know exactly where I’ll go when I’m gone / Know that it’s been in the works for so long”, I was in pieces, exactly like the first time I heard it. There was something about their live performance that just hit home. They worked so well together while acknowledging they were playing Slam Dunk. It felt more like friends having the time of their lives playing their instruments, and we were lucky enough to witness them. They were the highlight of my year, and they deserve all the greatness that comes to them.
Guilt Trip – The Key Club Stage
As my heart was still racing from Arm’s Length, I didn’t have to wander far for the next act on my schedule: Guilt Trip. And two months after they visited Denmark with Landmvrks, I got to see them again. I thought I knew what I was in for, but frankly, this was peak Guilt Trip. They had zero technical difficulties, but what I loved the most was how quickly mosh pits managed to get going. Once again, the banter was top-notch, but it doesn’t beat their well-curated setlist, which gets the crowd going. They continue to stay at the top of their game because they are one of the best hardcore bands around right now. Much like when I saw them in March – I can’t deny that they put on one hell of a show. From song to song, vocalist Jay Valentine was living his best life while the rest of the band had a grin from ear to ear. The fact that they are so well rehearsed gives one an excellent idea of why they are selling out shows around the world. If you can catch them, you must!
One Step Closer – The Key Club Stage
Hardcore outfit One Step Closer is here! THEY ARE HERE! I nearly had to pinch myself. You’re asking why, but over the past year, I’ve found much amusement in hardcore, and with their sophomore album All You Embrace that was released earlier in the month, it was only fair that I canceled all my plans to have lunch and see them in full glory. While there’s an ongoing discussion that All You Embrace leans much more toward the grungier sound, it’s not stopping the band from digging out their hardcore roots. I’m not the only one excited to see them. In fact, it seems that the whole band is picking up on the energy from the crowd and making sure that they match it. The stage isn’t the biggest, but that doesn’t seem to matter because they are having the time of their life as they go from song to song on their setlist. Ah, to be young and full of energy.
State Champs – Slam Dunk Stage
Albany pop-punkers State Champs entered the stage, and they actually played their 2013 album, The Finer Things, which is, in total, a treat for those of us who are experiencing the band for the first time. And what a joyous treat indeed! It’s the tenth anniversary of the album, or it was back in October 2023, but that didn’t make it any less memorable. As it was my first time seeing them live, I was pretty excited. I couldn’t help but notice how alive they were, mainly after saying they were once a “baby band”, and now they are “old”. It simply didn’t feel like that at that moment.
As they made their way through their setlist, which, once again, was their sophomore album and a big deal, “Hard To Please” was a trip to hear live. They were flying from one end of the stage to another, with no moment of standing still for them, and it was, in fact, one of the best performances I had seen all day at that point. They indeed marked themselves as pop-punk royalty!
L.S. Dunes – The Key Club Stage
This is probably the coolest band I’ve seen to date. The emo supergroup consisting of Frank Iero, Anthony Green, Travis Stever, Tim Payne, and Tucker Rule was on the minor stage for some reason. After the crowd kept growing, it confirmed my suspicion that it was a poor choice, but with such a packed line-up, someone had to pull the short stick. There’s no denying how good they sound. While I wasn’t blown away entirely by their album, their performance was excellent for me, and Green sounded perfect while belting out their songs. But for some reason, their set was cut short, and we never found out why.
The All-American Rejects – Slam Dunk Stage
Hi, my name is Karina, and I’m a vast AAR fan. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of seeing The All-American Rejects, but I’ll try. It’s been ten years since they were there last, and as I wasn’t, I knew I needed to see them. They have, for the past decade and a half, when I first discovered them and screamed “Dirty Little Secret” as a teen in my room, been one of the bands alongside Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Motion City Soundtrack, and Something Corporate, been a pillar in my music taste.
The All-American Rejects kicked off their set with “Swing, Swing,” and no one in sight wasn’t feeling it. Here they were, with Tyson Ritter dressed to the nines and funny as hell, springing into life as the music kicked off. As they rip their way through the packed setlist consisting of “Gives You Hell”, “It Ends Tonight”, and even playing “Fallin’ Apart” to a much-overjoyed audience. They still got it, and of course, Ritter proved that they are one of the few pop-punk bands from the 2000s that still know how to hit the original notes of their songs.
As “Move Along” closed their set, an unexpected move on their part, as I was 100% sure that they would’ve closed with “Dirty Little Secret”, I didn’t want it to end. Selfish, of course, but their energetic stage presence, the setlist, gave me such an adrenaline rush. I’ll admit that halfway through their setlist, I am having a complete blackout, not because of alcohol but pure excitement. I felt I was the only one there, and I was living my best life because this was IT. They were everything I expected and more. While Ritter did go on some random rants, it was the moment I discovered he was funny as hell. I’m so sure that if it hadn’t been for You Me At Six calling it quits prior to Slam Dunk, The All-American Rejects would have been the headliners because they served a proper stage presence as if they were the headliners of this fantastic festival.
You Me At Six – Slam Dunk Stage
“KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF,” Josh Franceschi sings as they kick off their last festival appearance with “Save It For The Bedroom”. Yes, their last-ever festival performance. It’s frankly quite beautiful and full circle. You Me At Six’s first festival was Slam Dunk in 2007, and they signed to Slam Dunk’s record label back in the day. Tonight, many of us were taking a trip down memory lane, and their setlist was curated for their fans. As the band was ripping through their first single, “Save It For The Bedroom”, it clicked for me that I had been spoiled by many of the bands and their setlists, and YMAS was the icing on the cake, the cherry on top.
There’s no room for much talk, not that I mind, to be honest, because it’s a race against time. Overall, it felt like they wanted to cram as many songs into the set as humanly possible, and that meant keeping the chatter to a minimum. Still, some moments pulled at the heartstrings, from Franceschi saying, “It’s only right to finish where we started” in regards to their last festival performance to dedicating “Liquid Confidence” to their fanbase, and down to the moment when Elissa Franceschi, Josh’s sister came on stage to sing “Always Attract”. It somehow felt final, like this is it. Even though they have a string of tour dates for their Farwell Tour coming up, that was the moment that smacked me into reality, and tonight, You Me At Six pulled out all the stops to make this one of their best shows in history. From the showmanship Franceschi displayed to the stunning stage visuals, the rest match Franceschi’s energy. This was a night for the fans. As the sun sat over Hatfield, and they were ripping through their setlist, the audience was singing along to every song, and strangers were hugging and giving room to each other to let the emotions show.
Nostalgia wasn’t the enemy tonight. In fact, it was a welcoming friend, a friend that came in flashbacks to the moment when one first heard the different songs, the lyrics popping up as if they were subtitles to a movie. And suddenly, it was pitch black. The show ended with the finale song, “Beautiful Way” from SUCKAPUNCH, which actually served well to close a magical evening.
Final words.
While this typically serves as a conclusion, I’ll treat it like my final thoughts. I saw so much this year, and there weren’t many clashes of sets—though there were a few. I had always wanted to see The Wonder Years, but I caught only a few songs before heading over to the Slam Dunk Stage for You Me At Six. Waterparks was also on my list, but I had to prioritize L.S. Dunes, who ultimately won me over as my new favorite supergroup.
The lineup was more stressful than ever; I wanted to see so many bands, but it just wasn’t possible. Perhaps I’ll need to take both days at Slam Dunk next year! Overall, after addressing the minor issues from 2023, I have to commend the organizers. They came back stronger, listening to feedback from the audience, and for that, they’ve officially become my favorite out-of-country festival. They even fixed what my friend and I affectionately dubbed “toilet island”—a corner with so many toilets that I didn’t experience any queueing this year!
Slam Dunk brings back a lot of nostalgia for me, especially as it coincides with moments when I feel like I’m about to burn out from writing. This weekend away has become a way to recharge my energy for what’s to come, perhaps due in part to the incredible community surrounding it. You feel safe, and you often make friends you get to catch up with while there.
I’m excited to see how the festival grows in the future and how they’ll one-up this year’s lineup! While you’re at it, check out the stunning pictures from Nick Allan below!
