Slam Dunk Festival officially celebrated its 20th anniversary this weekend as thousands headed to Temple Newsam for another huge day of pop punk, hardcore, emo and alternative music.
Safe to say, it was a sweaty one. For anyone who’s done Slam Dunk North before, the layout felt familiar overall this year, although there were a few slight stage and area changes across the site. With the heat pushing hard all day, those walks between sets still felt especially brutal at times.
Thankfully, the festival seemed well prepared when it came to hydration. Water stations were easy to find across the site and queues for food and drinks moved surprisingly quickly throughout the day. One issue that did stand out though was the lack of shaded areas for general admission ticket holders, with the only real escape from the sun being the VIP area.
The Monster stages especially became heavy traffic areas throughout the day with crowds mixing into food queues, causing a few human traffic jams during busier set times.
Musically, this year’s lineup definitely felt different compared to the classic Slam Dunk years many longtime attendees are used to. There was a much heavier focus across the lineup this time around which is not a bad thing at all, but it did make the overall atmosphere feel a little unfamiliar compared to the more pop punk heavy editions OG Slam Dunk fans will remember.
Even so, there were still a handful of standout performances that completely delivered.
Dead Pony were easily one of the biggest highlights of the weekend. The energy, stage presence and crowd reaction all pointed towards a band ready for much bigger stages in the near future.
Punk Rock Factory ended up being the perfect reset during the middle of the day. After the heat started catching up with us, hiding out in the big top for their set turned out to be exactly what was needed. Ridiculously fun, massive singalongs and one of the best atmosphere shifts of the festival.
Cartel also massively impressed. After recently covering the band, we headed over to check the set out and they absolutely nailed it. One of those bands that somehow sound just as good live as they do on record.
Then there was State Champs who brought exactly what everyone expected. Pure energy from start to finish with limbs flying everywhere.
To close out the weekend, Good Charlotte absolutely delivered. Huge visuals, pyrotechnics, massive singalongs and a serious wave of nostalgia made for the perfect festival closer and reminded everyone exactly why they’ve remained one of the most important bands in the scene for over two decades.
Looking back on the weekend as a whole, Slam Dunk 2026 was still a great time. But with this being the festival’s 20th anniversary, there was definitely a feeling that it could have pushed things a little further. Some of the main stage production felt scaled back compared to previous years and there were acts, especially PRESIDENT, that probably deserved a bigger stage slot. The crowd for PRESIDENT was absolutely massive, but if you were stood further back, it was difficult at times to properly hear the band over the surrounding festival noise. The lack of delay speakers further into the crowd area was definitely noticeable during some of the busier sets.
At the same time, with festival costs continuing to rise across the board, some compromises were probably inevitable. That said, as always, the festival itself ran smoothly throughout the day and bands remained largely on time outside of a medical emergency delay which obviously can’t be helped.
Even with the heat, aching legs and occasional traffic jams, Slam Dunk still managed to remind everyone why it remains one of the UK’s most important alternative festivals after two decades.
Roll on next year.
