As one of the largest outdoor city festivals in the North, Slam Dunk Leeds is always a highly anticipated event for regional alt-music fans. Year in year out, it has continued to grow and outdo itself, ultimately becoming the closest thing the UK has to the Vans’ Warped Tour. A quick look at this year’s line-up confirms this theory. By mixing seasoned veterans with must-see newcomers on a one day-long bill, the team pulling the strings at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 have not only succeeded in created a cracking event – but also a real tricky fest to schedule your day around. So many ace acts, so little time. First world problems, eh?
Of course as the popularity of Slam Dunk has increased so has its size, with the venue once again utilising the airy First Direct Arena to house a portion of its fun. It’s a necessary jump (With both Jimmy Eat World and Good Charlotte headlining, more space was certainly needed) but one that’s admittedly still a little jarring, even in its second year. Swapping the sun-kissed Monster Energy Stage (the festival’s former central hub) for a dark, cavernous and security-heavy arena does change the vibe a little – not to mention add some confusion as to which venue is indeed Slam Dunk’s ‘main stage’, especially if the latter holds far more than the former. These are minor grievances though. It’s the music that counts at festivals and as soon as the amps are on, you quickly forget about surrounding.
Maryland’s The Dangerous Summer opened up Millenium Square following their recent reformation last year, while Chicago’s Knuckle Puck started things off across town at the Arena. This two-hitter of a beginning summed up much of the day’s dilemmas concerning band clashes, with the majority of the must-see acts split at each end of the festival. That’s not to say the remaining stages had nothing to offer. New Jersey’s post-punk outfit Can’t Swim battled power-cut issues to deliver a ferocious set on the Signature Brew Stage’s car park tarmac before Australian metalcore act Northlane brought a storm into the O2 Academy-housed Impericon Stage. The beer-charged antics weren’t limited to the ground either, with an overly brave/stupid (delete as appropriate) couple deciding to scale a nearby crane, much to the eye-popping dismay of Slam Dunk’s onlookers.
However this went over the heads of a large chunk of attendees (both physically and literally), as pop-punk quartets Four Year Strong and State Champs gathered mammoth crowds back to the Arena. A quick detour to the Monster Energy Stage and Kent’s Moose Blood continue their rise, bringing some welcome new tracks from their latest I Don’t Think I Can Do This Anymore to Leeds. Emo-faves Taking Back Sunday make a welcome return shortly afterwards joining the sunshine in Millenium Square before its time to make the hardest decision of all and pick a headliner. For us it’s Good Charlotte, a band who helped lay the foundations of a genre back when they arrived in 2000 and likely inspired Slam Dunk’s creation. With this year’s celebratory mixture of old guard and new arrivals, it felt like a very fitting end to Slam Dunk Festival 2018.
Words by Simon Bland (@SiTweetsToo).
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