Festival Review: Slam Dunk South // May 2026
Slam Dunk’s 20th anniversary delivered pretty much everything you could want from the festival (besides maybe a reappearance from Fall Out Boy!), as blistering heat, relentless nostalgia, chaotic pits, emotional singalongs, and enough pyro to probably concern local authorities combined into one hell of a day.
“I love playing the UK,” grinned Youth Fountain frontman Tyler Zanon as he opened the Monster Energy Stage beneath a merciless midday sun. Despite the heat, the crowd packed tightly together, screaming along to ‘Deadlocked’, ‘Century’ and newcomer ‘Before We Go’, while ‘Roses In My Backpack’ and ‘Blooms’ hit with their usual emotional weight. Opening a stage at Slam Dunk always feels daunting, but Youth Fountain looked abundantly thrilled to be there.
Over on the shaded Key Club Stage, Dead Pony drew a packed tent. Gearing up for an imminent UK run, the Glaswegians tore through material from ‘Eat My Dust!’ with real menace. Blair Crichton’s pulsing guitars underpinned Anna Shields’ piercing vocals as “Freak Like Me” twisted electronic undertones into something genuinely sinister, while “MANA” erupted after the crowd crouched low at Shields’ command. A delightful showing from one of the UK’s newest and best.
Then came SiM, who remain practically impossible to explain succinctly. Nu-metal, ska-punk, electronics, alt-rock — it all collided gloriously. ‘Kiss Of Death’ veered from crushing screams to skanking melodica sections within seconds, while ‘FIVE TIMES DEAD’ and ‘T X H X C’ somehow became even more chaotic, the ska portions of the latter feeling like a Jonathan Davis-inspired explosion of vocals, even as MAH mimed choking on a toke. Throw in Attack On Titan’s ‘The Rumbling’ and you’ve got one happy, already sweat-drenched crowd. 'You've got to see it to believe it' might be a cliché, but in this case it's very well-earned.
Technical problems plagued Bayside, but the Queens veterans still drew one of the loudest singalongs of the day. Even as Anthony Raneri’s vocals intermittently disappeared from the mix, the crowd effortlessly carried the likes of ‘Devotion and Desire’, ‘Go To Hell’ and ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’ for him. “I’d have been watching Unpeople if I’m completely honest!” Raneri joked, visibly stunned by the reception as the band played their first Slam Dunk since 2015 — hopefully prompting another UK tour in the near future?
It’s been even longer for Hands Like Houses, absent from Slam Dunk since 2013. Their new frontman Josh Raven (formerly of The Faim) immediately proved why he’s slotted so naturally into the Australian outfit, effortlessly flipping between soaring croons and ragged screams. ‘Perspectives’ felt triumphant, while ‘ICU’ saw Raven descend into the crowd demanding a pit around him, accompanied by a dinosaur-headed Jesus because, apparently, why not? A haunting cover of ‘Wicked Game’, the crushing, menacing weight of ‘DEAD’, and euphoric closer ‘Heaven’ made the set feel like a teaser for a long-overdue headline return… although there still doesn’t seem to be anything on the horizon.
Celebrating ten years of ‘Nothing I Write You Can Change What You’ve Been Through’, Trash Boat transformed the Key Club into an elder emo reunion. Normally you’d mention deep cuts, but the set felt entirely composed of deep cuts — ‘How Selfish I Seem’, ‘Catharsis’, ‘The Guise of a Mother’, all ones not played since the ‘10s. The more common ‘Strangers’ closed things out with Tobi Duncan balancing atop the crowd barrier, screaming the words alongside fans beneath him. Afterwards, he wandered the barrier handing out setlists and chatting to fans, sweat understandably having completely soaked through his shirt. Catch their headline show at Koko for the rest of the album!
Saosin whipped the crowd into a frenzy before they’d even hit the stage, atmospheric intro music building anticipation for one of their first UK appearances since 2016. ‘Sleepers’, ‘Voices’ and Bury Your Head’ reminded everyone exactly why the post-hardcore veterans remain so beloved, while newer track “Starting Over Again” slotted seamlessly before ‘You’re Not Alone’ and ‘Seven Years’. So, when the band promised they would be back next year with a new record, the reaction was understandably deafening.
Meanwhile, The Home Team continued their rapid ascent with one of the weekend’s most joyously infectious sets in the criminally small Key Club tent. ‘Hell’, ‘Brag’ and ‘Turn You Off’ transformed Hatfield into one giant dancefloor, frontman Brian Butcher’s silky vocals gliding over breakdowns and funk-filled grooves alike. Oliver Baxxter of Broadside appeared for ‘Somebody Else’s Face’ while ‘Walk This World With Me’ bathed the tent in phone lights. Catch the sexy, jazzy, pop-rock outfit yourself this November.
Then came The Menzingers, effortlessly anthemic as ever. Hundreds screamed every word to ‘America (You’re Freaking Me Out)’ before the band had even reached the choruses, while ‘Good Things’ was introduced simply as “a song about having a horrible time”. Naturally, everybody sang along grinning anyway. Finally, ‘After The Party’ closed the set in predictable fashion, in a wave of nostalgia and raised voices.
Love them or hate them, President are undeniably one of the scene’s hottest names right now. Despite technical issues gutting half their set, the masked quartet still delivered enough spectacle through ‘Fearless’, ‘Mercy’, ‘Destroy Me’ and ‘In the Name of the Father’ to satisfy their rapidly growing cult following -- although anyone lucky enough to be doing both days would likely have enjoyed Leeds' full-length rally a lot more.
Elsewhere, Slam Dunk played host to the return of the finally reunited Australian favourites Tonight Alive. Surprise appearances from South Arcade’s Harmony Cavelle during ‘Lonely Girl’ and Stand Atlantic’s Bonnie Fraser for ‘Disappear’ only amplified the communal atmosphere, while ‘The Edge’ and ‘Listening’ reminded everyone just how beloved the band remain. Let's just hope it doesn't take another 8 years for them to come back.
Echoing whispers and a dramatic parting-the-river motion from Daniel Winter-Bates introduced Bury Tomorrow, the six-piece emerging onto a stage that suddenly looked far too small to contain them — particularly clean vocalist Tom Prendergast, isolated at the back like a lone figure watching the chaos of 'Choke' and 'Abandon Us' unfold ahead of him.
'What If I Burn’ became a sea of fans on shoulders, a sense of catharsis emanating from the screaming crowd, while ‘Black Flame’ saw Winter-Bates descend into the crowd demanding “1,000 crowd surfers” as bodies instantly began pouring overhead. With O2 Brixton Academy awaiting them next February, the set already felt like a coronation, even if the band were shocked anyone made the effort to turn up.
By the time State Champs closed the left Monster Energy Stage, exhaustion should have been setting in. Instead, the crowd somehow found another reserve tank of energy. ‘Silver Cloud’, ‘Mine Is Gold’, and especially ‘All You Are Is History’ sent crowdsurfers continuously pouring over the barrier while Derek DiScanio windmilled a jumper above his head. It felt like every remaining ounce of energy at Slam Dunk being sacrificed to the altar of pop punk, fan favourites tossed to the crowd like hunks of meat to a pack of ravenous wolves.
Finally, it was time for the returning champions of Good Charlotte, headlining once more with a full-blown visual spectacle. A holographic skull loomed above the stage while dystopian cityscapes flickered behind opener ‘The River’, fireworks and pyro immediately setting the indulgently pyrotechnic theme. ‘Girls & Boys’ delivered pure nostalgic chaos, ‘The Chronicles Of Life And Death’ unfolded beneath storms and towering flames, while ‘Rejects’ saw flower petals raining down over imagery of graves and decay.
By the time ‘Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous’ and ‘The Anthem’ closed the weekend beneath absurdly excessive fireworks displays, even the stewards had their phones out recording. Sure, there were omissions — nothing from ‘Generation Rx’ or ‘Youth Authority’, or really anything pre-2010 — but when your greatest hits run this deep, nobody really cares.
Catch them in November with fellow Slam Dunk favourites Yellowcard for a nostalgia explosion.
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photography by James Kirkland
