Slam Dunk North 2026 – Festival Review

Slam Dunk North
Temple Newsam, Leeds
24th May 2026

Louder Than War writer Dave Beech, assisted by Sally Hirshman, heads to the Northern leg of the UK’s premiere punk, ska and metalcore festival to celebrate 20 years of Slam Dunk.

For most, Slam Dunk weekend signifies both the start of summer, and the start of festival season and, given the weekend’s forecast across both sites, there’s little doubt that summer is indeed finally upon us. Queueing up at wristband exchange, there’re as many people liberally applying suncream as there are downing rapidly warming cans before entering the festival proper.

The first thing we notice on getting through the gates is the change in layout of the festival. Familiar to those of us for whom this isn’t the first rodeo, the site has been extended, stages modified and walkways opened to provide less risk of the bottlenecks that plagued previous iterations a few years back. It’s a welcome touch from the organisers, who each year take on feedback from fans and act on it.

Of course, the bands are the reason we’re here, not infrastructure and, fittingly, the first band of the day are Slam Dunk mainstays and local lads, Beauty School. Having seen them several times in recent years, to see the Leeds five-piece opening festivities on the Main Stage is a welcome way to kick things off.

It’s a joyous half hour; a perfect dose of pop punk that sets the tone for what promises to be a scorcher of a day. Pawn Shop Jewels, arguably the band’s breakthrough single, is dedicated to The Key Club founder and integral member of the Slam Dunk team, Scott Hickinson, who sadly passed away from cancer at the start of the year. His legacy lives on with Scott’s Key Club Stage being named after him this year, continuing to champion many of the bands who have played at the Leeds venue over the years.

While one of the most appealing factors of Slam Dunk Festival is the relatively short trip between stages, sound bleed is often an issue at the festival. While this year the slight repositioning of stages means this isn’t as pronounced as it has been, the quieter moments of Beauty School’s set are marred by the sound carrying from across site on the Monster Energy Stages; something that continues across the day’s entirety.

It’s not an issue that following band unpeople have to contend with however. For a band who has been on an upward trajectory since they formed in 2023 (and who are making their Slam Dunk debut) we remain on the Main Stage, noticing that the crowd is fairly sparse as the opening riff to Waste starts up.

It’s still early however, and with four other bands and two signings going on at the same time, it’s not too surprising. Thankfully, the sound is clear front and centre, and the off-kilter nuance of the band’s idiosyncratic alt-rock is crystal clear. With poppy hooks, considered harmonies, and the occasional metal breakdown thrown in for good measure, there’s reason for their Main Stage billing. With a debut album still to be announced, the band storm through their entire back catalogue plus an as-yet unreleased track during their 35-minute set.

By this point the heat has well and truly reared its head, and a trip to the bar is in order as emo titans Hawthorne Heights hit one of the two Monster Energy stages. The sound is clear, the crowd receptive, and Ohio Is For Lovers still hits as hard as it did back on its release 22 years ago.

We linger around the Monster stages, unsuccessful in our pursuit of shade, but able to at least find a decent spot for pop-punk legends Set Your Goals. Their first time back in the country in a decade, but certainly not the first time at Slam Dunk, the Californian outfit draw an impressive mid-afternoon crowd. While some in attendance are seemingly impervious to the weekend’s heat, crowd-surfing inexorably forward or pitting like their lives depend on it, for the majority a singalong to classics such as Mutiny, Goonies Never Say Die, and To Be Contiued… is just about all we can muster.

Speaking of Slam Dunk regulars, this weekend Goldfinger make their Main Stage debut, and while the crowd they draw is impressive given the other sets happening across site, the lethargy that leaked into the crowd during Set Your Goals feels even more present here.

That’s through no fault of the band, or indeed frontman John Feldman, whose natural showmanship is always impressive. “I picked the wrong day to wear a suit” he quips, before launching into Here In Your Bedroom. With just eight songs in their set, three covers might seem disingenuous, both with The Cure’s Just Like Heaven and Nena’s 99 Red Balloons being live staples for years now, it’s only a cover of NOFX’s seminal single Linoleum that proves to be a surprise. What isn’t a surprise is the response to Superman. Arguably the band’s breakthrough offering (and the reason this particular writer found their love of ska punk) it’s the first time we see a crowd spurred into action; skanking and singing as if their lives depend on it.

Back across to the Monster Stages now, for a band we’ve seen play to a packed-out tent before at this very festival. We’ve been looking forward to seeing Boston Manor since they were announced, and they start strong. A call for three pits for second song Sliding Doors is answered maybe a little too enthusiastically, as we only get as far as the second verse before frontman Henry Cox calls for the band to stop playing. There’s a moment or two of confusion as one by one each member of the band stutters to a halt, unsure of what’s happening. After about a minute of quiet bewilderment, Cox informs us, “Somebody’s quite hurt, we’re just waiting…”.

And wait we do, as the band exit the stage, five minutes pass. Then 15. Then 30. At this point we know it must be a serious medical incident and later find out that someone has broken their leg in multiple places.

As the band’s set time ticks away, we wonder if one full song is all we’ll get from them today, but after half an hour a cheer goes up as they finally return. With a thank you both for our patience and to the medical staff, Cox offers something to ease the disappointment of missing out on a set that was intended to be filled with ‘a bunch from our first album’; an announcement that they’ll be back on our stages in December for four full-album shows to celebrate 10 years since the release of their debut album, Be Nothing.

Though now running slightly over, they manage to squeeze in three more songs. An awkward few seconds of silence between each song as the band forgo the usual chat and intro tracks, they make the best of the situation and handle it with a good attitude, something not always displayed by bands when things like this happen.

Remaining over by the Monster Stages, we catch Aussie four-piece Stand Atlantic. Due to the slope up that flattens out at the stage, we can’t see an awful lot. The sound is clear as a bell, though, and the band’s electro-pop punk mixed with a decent breakdown or two offers plenty of chances to dance throughout their 10-song set. WARZ0NE is reminiscent of a WWE entrance theme, and there’s plenty of crowd interaction from Bonnie Fraser and co to keep us entertained. We can’t help but notice the amount of track used in their live performance though. The electronic elements and vocal effects are a core part of the music, but they do give the set less of a ‘live’ feel that jars slightly in the bright sunlight, and we can’t help but think it would work better in the shady tent of the Key Club Stage on a day like today.

Back across on Main Stage West, emo royalty Dashboard Confessional draw a modest crowd. A main stage booking we had some reservations about, despite being huge fans, the size of such a stage potentially dwarfing the acoustic emo of frontman Chris Carabbaa.

Any worries are soon quashed as Carrabba takes to the stage armed with nothing more than his acoustic guitar, launching straight into The Best Deceptions, solo at first, before being joined by his band for the remainder. It’s bold, it’s beautiful and though the crowd at Carrabba’s feet is modest in the scheme of Slam Dunk, the chorus of voices that rises up to meet the frontman is incredible, defying the hairs on the neck of anyone present not to stand up.

It’s something that continues throughout. Tracks such as Screaming Infidelities, Again I Go Unnoticed and Saints & Sailors all being met with a rousing response from those front and centre; the amount this band means to so many clearly not lost on those on stage.

It’s a quick dash from the Main Stage to catch Philidelphia punks The Menzingers, a band who we’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve seen. Always entertaining, they rattle through an early evening set of some of their biggest numbers, including new single Chance Encounters. Though likely due to the heat, the band, and more so the crowd, seem to be struggling, and while we do still get singalongs for the likes of The Obituaries and In Remission, the sheer energy of previous sets we’ve seen seems lacking, as do several of the band’s more popular tracks.

Of course, After the Party still gets an airing, but even this feels a little rushed, with Greg Barnett changing his delivery just enough to trip up all of us belting back the words. It’s by no means a bad set, but its short, sweet and sweaty and not the strongest we’ve seen them.

We dash as fast as our aching feet (and the heat of the day) will allow us over to Main Stage East for one of our most highly anticipated sets of the day, President’s inaugural Slam Dunk address. Bursting onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere last year, the band have been selling out venues without a full-length album yet released. They’ve already gained a cult-following, and as we approach, we’re met with the largest crowd we’ve encountered at any one stage so far today.

From the back the sound for opening track Fearless is not great, with far too much bass drowning out almost everything else. But as we make our way around the side to get closer, it becomes much clearer. The figure of the President in his waxy mask and tailcoat is rather eerie to watch on the mic, as he moves in a way contrary to the figure he’s portraying. Musically, they’re spot on, but from where we’re watching there feels like a disconnect between what we’re seeing and what we’re hearing, not helped by the fact that the President’s screams go on for a second or two longer than he appears to be giving them. For us, they’re another band who we don’t feel we’re gaining an awful lot from by watching live.

That said, we can’t ignore how utterly captivated the crowd in front of the stage is. It’s as if they’ve been hypnotised, forming pits at the silent signal from the President, roaring as each song ends and the next starts. A pre-recorded message of farewell and “Godspeed” is followed by the intro to the band’s debut single In the Name Of The Father, which garners the loudest crowd reaction yet and comes to a haunting conclusion as thousands of voices join in with the acapella closing line. We’re not sure what to make of the experience, feeling slightly bored on the one hand, but recognising how easy it might be to get sucked in if we were in amongst the hoard of fans front and centre.

After making it almost the whole festival without a visit to the shady relief of Scott’s Key Club Stage, we make a point of going over to catch VUKOVI’s sub-headline set. We’ve seen the Scots perform before and know we’re in for a good time; a sentiment that’s confirmed as frontwoman Janine Shilstone skips out on stage spraying a bottle of fizz (region unknown) into the crowd.

We experience a sudden and complete loss of sound towards the end of second song GUNGHO, and after the second time, the frontwoman shouts, “I’ll just have a drink with you guys while whatever the fuck is going on…”. There’s a cheer, and then a groan from the crowd as the sound dies again. “Woah, we’re fucking professionals; let’s start again and get this fucking pit open!”. And the third time’s the charm as the rest of the set goes off without a hitch, Shilstone spending much of it at the barrier or dancing with a Scottish flag she’s obtained from somewhere.

That said, the earlier songs do suffer somewhat from the sound being loud to the point of distortion at points, making us thankful we’ve brought earplugs (we have quite enough tinnitus to be getting on with already, thank you).

“Have we got time for four songs? Three songs? Okay, let’s keep this energy up!”. Shilstone is a captivating performer, if a little chaotic, swigging from her bottle as she dances around the stage. “Two more? Is that a yes? YES!” lets us know that our time with VUKOVI is almost up. It’s been a whirlwind, but undeniably one of the most fun sets of the day.

We tentatively remove our earplugs for regular set closer La Di Da and the sound is much better now. We join the rest of the crowd in singing the opening lines as the frontwoman throws herself backwards from the barrier (“Fucking catch me!”), and as we emerge from the tent a few minutes later, the heat of the day if finally starting to dissipate as the sun begins to dip.

Somewhat predictably, it’s across site to Main Stage West once more, to catch arguably one of the weekend’s biggest draws in the form of ska legends Sublime. The sun’s heat might have softened at least a little, but it’s still hitting 30 degrees and so a chilled set sat in the shade before tonight’s headline makes perfect sense.

Unfortunately, it also means the sound levels across the set are atrocious. Whether that stems from our position, or a bad sound quality in general, we never find out. But bigger tracks such as Date Rape, Ebin and Garden Grove are basically indiscernible and there’s not much in the way of crowd interaction from current frontman (and son of the original singer) Jakob Nowell either. Tracks bleed into one another, and the whole set has more of an air of a jam session of Grateful Dead fans than a slick stage performance from one the genre’s most legendary bands.

A quick dart across to the VIP area for a final flushable toilet trip and bar visit allows us to catch some of metalcore titans Malevolence, who in hindsight would have been a better choice than Sublime. Though the crowd feels smaller than it did for President, it certainly goes harder. Walls of death, mosh pits, crowd surfing, it’s impossible to tell what limbs belong to who, but the sense of energy and catharsis that radiates from a crowd benefitting from a setting sun is palpable.

While we’re torn between watching headline sets from both Knocked Loose and Good Charlotte, nostalgia ultimately wins, and we return back to Main Stage West for the final band of the day.

Having last seen Good Charlotte back on our 13th birthday, arguably longer ago than we care to admit, it’s interesting to see just how far they have come from the scrappy Maryland punks they were way back when. Indeed, from the first notes of opener The River, pyro explodes from the front of the stage, punctuating the set at regular intervals from here on out.

While clearly a set that’s hinged on nostalgia, it isn’t just the fans who are more than happy to look back. The band are clearly emotional at being back in the UK, and a sense of joy bleeds through into each and every track. Girls and Boys and Riot Girl throw things back to their breakthrough album and find an impressive sized crowd in full voice. The energy levels on the fringes do seem lacking, however, but this is undoubtedly down to 10+ hours spent in the sun, rather than a lukewarm reception.

Hold On provides a brief moments of tenderness; a soaring anthem that still feels as raw now as it did do over 20 years ago. Levity is soon restored with an outing of the tongue in cheek Keep Your Hands Off My Girl, though it certainly hasn’t aged as well as other offerings. Predictable and Wondering precede a double-header of new material in the form of Bodies and Rejects, both taken from last year’s Motel Du Cap. It’s here that the set suffers from its only real lull, though normal service is soon resumed as the set heads into its final quarter.

Five tracks that sum up the band’s career perfectly, the home stretch is spearheaded by The Young and Hopeless and Little Things, whilst the band’s sense of humour is obvious thanks to the back to back pairing of I Just Wanna Live and breakthrough hit Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous; the irony not lost on those of us of a certain age.

It’s final track The Anthem that earns the biggest reception of the set, and perhaps even the day, however. And though it’s obvious that the headline crowd has been split between stages more noticeably than in previous years, those of us here to celebrate the return of a band that soundtracked our youth are clearly in our element. And with the announcement that Good Charlotte will be back in the UK at the tail-end of the year, we’re thankful we won’t have to wait another 23 years to see them again.

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Words by Dave Beech assisted by Sally Hirshman

Dave Beech is a music writer based out of Manchester. Links to his work can be found over at his blog, Life’s A Beech, as well as his Louder Than War Author Archive. He also tweets as @Dave__Beech.

Photos by Neil Chapman