Four Bands I Can’t Wait To See At Slam Dunk

Slam Dunk music festival is creeping up on us pretty quickly with two dates scattered over the late May bank holiday so just about 6 weeks away. Last year the festival made a huge change and moved the London/ Hatfield leg from the university into an outdoor space and I think the change was incredible. The whole event felt way more like a festival, there was more space, no queues to get to stages and generally really easy to navigate. They must have had good feedback on this as they’ve done a similar move with the Northern dates in Leeds, although sadly it means the Midlands date is no more which is a shame.

I’ve been to Slam Dunk every year since the South opened which is longer than I want to think about, and every year the line up shines. It might not seem like much from the first announcement but when everything is finalized I always find myself conflicted on who to see. For about 5 years I did two dates each year due to epic clashes but 2019 is the first year where I’ve gone back to just one. I’m already starting to regret this, but I need to be more sensible with my spending. Here are some of the bands I can’t wait to see.

Slam Dunk Must See’s: Gallows

Although the whole line up might be totally different, Gallows still reminds me of my youth. The band (previously fronted by Frank Carter) began in Watford and I remember seeing them when I was 15-17 in all the local jaunts so every time I think of them a pang of nostalgia pops up.

It feels like a long time since I last saw the band and the second they were announced last summer I was so excited to finally be reunited. I am really hoping that they bust out some super old tracks so I can feel like I’m a teenager again, but I’m sure they’ll have some great new material as well.

Slam Dunk Must See’s: Plain White T’s

Another band to emote loads of emotion is Plain White T’s who are a band who I’ve not yet had the pleasure of seeing live. ‘Hey There Delilah’ came out in 2006 when I was at the height of my emo phase and from the second I heard it I loved it. So much so that it’s probably in my top 20 songs of all time just because it reminds me of that time of my life. It seems that the world agreed as Time Magazine named it the 7th best song of 2007 after it’s Worldwide release and it was a nominated for 2 Grammy awards in 2008 which is pretty mental when you think about it.

There’s so much more to the band than this one song but for me, it’s one of the main draws and I can’t wait.

Image by Kennerdeigh Scott

Slam Dunk Must See’s: Simple Plan

It pretty much seems like my top to see list are all bands I listened to during my teenage years and to be honest I’m totally okay with that. Simple Plan are just brilliant and I do quite like some of their newer material, although ‘No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls’ and ‘Still Not Getting Any’ is more my kind of thing. They have so many great songs so I’m not too sure how they’re going to cram them all into a half hour or so set so I think it’s going to be banger after banger.

I last saw Simple Plan briefly at Download in 2017 when they headlined one of the smaller stages, but I actually was in Paris a few days before seeing them do a headline set as I did leave Download early to see Biffy Clyro.

Slam Dunk Must See’s: Seaway

My final must-see is Seaway who are definitely the most ‘modern’ and just a really feel good pop-punk band. They’re one of those bands who are great to put on if you’ve had a bad day and just need a smile. If the weather is anything like last year it’s going to be a winning combination of sunshine and pop-punk guaranteed to leave me with a smile on my face all day.

Are you going to Slam Dunk? Who are you most looking forward to seeing?

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