By Sheila H
With less than three months to go, Slam Dunk Festival 2020 has revealed it’s final list of 14 new names for the May Bank Holiday Weekend extravaganza.
Stand Atlantic, With Confidence, ROAM, Wargasm, Static Dress, I Am The Avalanche, Vukovi, Sleep On It, The Bottom Line, 30H!3, DJ Jacky P, Elder Brother, Vinnie Caruna and Derek Sanders have joined the bill, . In addition to these new names and following closely on from the final Jägermeister stage line-up announcement earlier this week, Slam Dunk has also revealed this year’s full stage splits.
Breaking new ground in a fresh decade, Brit rock titans Don Broco are set to make both festival and career history with their first-ever festival headline performance on Slam Dunk Festival’s new ‘Rock Scene powered by Amazon Music’ stage. Playing host to a storming set by Pure Noise Records’ State Champs, standout singalongs with Mayday Parade and the highly-anticipated reunion of We Are The In Crowd, the freshly-made over stage has an undeniable line-up mixing up contemporary rock’s frontrunners. Also joining the bill are genre-melding Issues, new additions Stand Atlantic and Aussie rockers The Faim.
Returning to the festival, Stand Atlantic’s Bonnie Fraser said: “We are so damn excited to be playing our favourite festival in the world. We can’t wait to bring some new songs baby – we’re gonna give ya everything we’ve got UK!”
Sum 41 are set to spark a punk-fuelled performance on this year’s Fireball Stage, with their debut Slam Dunk Festival headliner set, ahead of exhilarations from Canadian icons Billy Talent, melodically-infectious The Story So Far and Brit grungers Basement. Returning to the festival after a short break, Zebrahead will be in attendance with Trash Boat, following an opener by Dream State. The Fireball stage will not clash with the Punk In Drublic one.
After their raucous party-starting debut last year, NOFX will return with Punk In Drublic for the second year, alongside Californian punk kings Pennywise, punk supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Reel Big Fish will return for another year gracing the Slam Dunk stages while Face To Face, The Vandals and Suicide Machines make long-anticipated debuts.
Announcing completion of the Jägermeister stage will welcome a headline performance from Sheffield’s favourite sons While She Sleeps, a true masterclass in punk from Refused and give way to the visceral Stray From The Path. Canadian brothers Counterparts and Comeback Kid will return to the festival, as will Your Demise on the 10 year anniversary of their prolific album The Kids We Used To Be. Deez Nuts promises an unmissable set of brutality following an opening performance from the critically acclaimed Blood Youth.
Setting the bar with a headline set from British metalcore masters Bury Tomorrow, the Impericon stage is set to deliver the heavy-hitters once again. Soon to reveal their fourth studio album Underneath, Code Orange will bring a cutthroat performance alongside We Came As Romans, the thrilling Ice Nine Kills and the persevering Dance Gavin Dance. ’The Death Of Me’ noisemakers Polaris and Fit For A King are sure to warm up the stage with their commanding performances. With an arsenal of unmissable heavy-hitting mixes and the promise of special guests, Scarlxrd’s DJ, DJ Jacky P, will play out the night on the Impericon stage.
Headlined by The Wonder Years, the Dickies stage will play host to the Philadelphia natives playthrough of their classic album The Upsides as well as some of the most exciting names in emo. American stalwarts Motion City Soundtrack and Four Year Strong make their return alongside energetic youngers Knuckle Puck and ROAM. They will be joined by With Confidence, Bayside, I Am The Avalanche, Greyscale and Dollskin. Closing the party in Slam Dunk Festival style, crunk-core wizards 3OH!3 will round off the night with a special set packed with their anthemic hits.
Alex Adam from ROAM told us: “Slam Dunk is by far one of our favourite festivals to play. Come and watch us again or we’ll never come back and then everyone will cry. ROAM doesn’t suck anymore”
Jayden Seeley of With Confidence added: “We’ve been busy working on our new sound in the past few months. We are super excited to play Slam Dunk this year and bring in the next era of With Confidence!”
Pushing the boundaries with two stages in one, The Key Club stage, paying homage to the Leeds club, will see incredible alternative names on the line-up. Topping the bill and celebrating the 10th anniversary of their critically acclaimed album ‘All Our Kings Are Dead’ will be UK rock legends Young Guns. Joining them will be Aussie melody makers Hands Like Houses, post-rock troupe Movements, Swedish favourites Normandie and Parisian mob Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! will meet Free Throw on the notorious stage ahead of ska showdown between Spunge and Popes Of Chillitown. Yours Truly and Days and Daze complete the line-up alongside new additions Vukovi, Static Dress, Wargasm, Sleep On It and The Bottom Line.
Vukovi said: “It’s been a while Slam Dunk…the Slam Dunk crowd is always bursting with energy. We are so ready for our sets.”
Hosting must-see sets from Mayday Parade’s Derek Sanders, I Am The Avalanche’s Vinnie Carauna and Elder Brother, the Acoustic stage has teased a few more names heading to Leeds and Hatfield, dropping the calm and coveted spot. Vinnie Caruna will play a set featuring classics from The Movielife as well as solo material while Derek puts an acoustic twist to Mayday Parade’s singalong anthems. Set to join Bedouin Soundclash and This Wild Life, the acoustic stage is the go-to destination for stripped back singalongs with beloved Slam Dunk Festival names.
Infamously recognised for hosting only the hottest, heaviest acts on the planet, Slam Dunk Festival’s Jägermeister Stage is set to continue their legacy in 2020 with eight extraordinary acts. Celebrating 10 years of the now-synonymous Slam Dunk x Jägermeister pairing, the hosts previously announced Sheffield’s favourite sons While She Sleeps as the stage headliner. Slam Dunk and Jägermeister have now revealed the full line-up, completed by Canadian tour de force, Counterparts and Brit metallers Blood Youth.
Speaking on their return to Slam Dunk and Jägermeister appearance,
Counterparts’ Brendan Murphy said: “Slam Dunk is one of the best festivals we’ve ever been a part of, and we’re so stoked to do it again. If we got asked to fly across the world for 2 shows for any other festival, I’d be pissing myself laughing but for Slam Dunk, we’re there. Not only does the fest rock but we get to see some of our closest friends and some of our favourite bands as well. Literally cannot wait.”
Blood Youth added: “We’re stoked to be playing Slam Dunk 2020, this festival took a chance on us four years ago when we were first getting started and we’ve been eager to return ever since. We’re coming back to SD with a heavier sound and even bigger show. See you there.”
General Admission tickets to Slam Dunk Festival are £75.90 (including booking fee). VIP tickets to both Slam Dunk North and South are now sold out. Tickets to the Slam Dunk Festival Opening Party, at the Leeds O2 Academy on Friday 22 May. are £12 + booking fee.
More information, and tickets, can be found HERE.
Big Green Coach Company is the official travel partners for Slam Dunk Festival UK 2020. Travel packages can be found HERE.