Photo Credit: Ant Hunt
On a sunny late May bank holiday weekend, Slam Dunk South returned to Hatfield Park and was even better than 2023. The vibe was there from the get-go and the crowd could not wait to kick off. With such an amazing line-up, fans ran to and from different stages to get a glimpse of the artists. This year focused on gender balance and showed new and old fans that women and non-binary rock. With the likes of Honey Revenge, As Everything Unfolds, RØRY, Pale Waves and The Interrupters, festival organisers should be the envy of other festivals. Of course, other big names to grace the stages were I Prevail, Boys Like Girls, Mallory Knox, Goldfinger and The Wonder Years. For those who were full of nostalgia, Slam Dunk didn’t disappoint – they brought out The All American Rejects. Despite visa issues in the past, the band made it! And if that was not for you, fans could catch Waterparks over at the GoPro stage all before the final act; You Me At Six. As the first festival to bill the band, it was fitting that their last festival appearance would be here.
To kick off the coverage of the festival, Honey Revenge took to the Kerrang stage. With the release of their debut album, Retrovision (2023), the band have acquired a massive fan base across the globe. Hailing from California, USA, the band blends elements of pop and rock with elements of disco, almost like ornamentations. There is a Disney-esque element to their sound and an emo-ness of Paramore. They are proving that although the heyday of 2000s emo pop isn’t what it was, they have cracked the code on renovating and evolving the genre. Guitarist Donovan Lloyd came out early to help the sound technicians set up an epic set. Fans were shouting praise for Lloyd and they made sure fans knew how much this meant to them. At one point, the band turned and was visibly surprised to see the number of people who came to support them on their first-ever festival appearance.
The energy grew as the time approached and vocalist Devin Papadol ran and jumped out as she launched into Seeing Negative. There was so much going on with the first song, the crowd loved the high energy and the band did not stop. They launched straight into Habitual. Of course, Papadol said hello to fans, and introduced the band before saying “We just released a new song yesterday and we’re going to play it… but I’m pretty sure a lot of you know the lyrics already”. And she was right! Fans knew the lyrics to Recipe for Disaster. The band bounced around, Papadol danced, and the crowd jumped to the beat.
The band were genuinely happy to be there and so appreciative of their fans, the energy at the Kerrang Stage is hard to describe because you had to be there to understand. They played Worst Apology and Papadol is an incredible front woman. With so much passion, bubbliness and a can-do attitude, she commanded the crowd by getting crowd surfers going, and fans to sing “Guilty, guilty, your conscience is filthy” in the bridge section. As for Lloyd and their touring band, they were dancing and laughing with each other and the crowd. Unfortunately, they had to restart Rerun because a fan at the front fainted, but they wanted to ensure the fan was safe. The response by security, welfare, the band and first aider was quick and fans also wanted to help the person where they could. Of course, the band then asked if everyone was happy to continue before restarting Rerun. As they only had two songs left, fans chanted Airhead and of course, the band obliged. Papadol wanted fans to all get down low and as the last chorus hit, to go wild when bouncing along. And to end their set, they played Distracted.
Undoubtedly, the band makes so many bangers, no wonder the tent was packed at 12.30 pm! They are unstoppable with their social media presence and ability to write catchy songs. For a band that formed only in 2021, they are taking over the world, one show at a time. 9.5/10
Over at the Go Pro stage, alternative rock band Set It Off was up to the challenge of reminding the audience what they came here for. As the band entered the stage, ethereal music played over the sound system and a beat countdown got faster as the band entered the stage shouting “Slam Dunk, are you fucking ready? We are Set It Off”. They launched straight into Parasite and knew the energy had to be high. They were getting the crowd to clap, crowd surf and mosh within the first song. Vocalist Cody Carson finished the song before saying he wanted to see the crowd go for it before announcing they were playing Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. It was a fan favourite and there were many children on their parents’ shoulders swaying their arms about, smiling at fellow fans as they enjoyed the band’s performance. The band quickly launched into Fake Ass Friends, a new song and fans enjoyed it. Halfway through Evil People, Carson asked for a massive mosh pit and to create a wall of death just in time for the breakdown. Fans happily obliged.
Fans were treated to a surprise cover of Linkin Park’s Wicked Punk, even Carson got too excited and started singing early. Of course, the band restarted without any hitches. So many fans were hyped by this and many were singing along with their arms up and enjoying the nostalgia. After about two-thirds in, Carson said “Thank you for singing along, you’re amazing. Your voices, they sound awesome. I wanna hear more” before commanding the crowd to follow him as he imitated the famous “ayyyy ohhh” of Freddie Mercury. Crowds followed until Carson showed fans his range… many could not compete. As the set closed, he reminded fans that there is a lot to celebrate in life and that the last song was special as it was the song that made their name in the UK, that song was Why Worry.
As one of the earlier sets in the day, Set It Off competed with other talented spread across stages, but many wanted to experience what they had to offer. And they were not disappointed. As the set went on, more and more people joined the crowd to catch a glimpse of them or heard them and thought they were bringing something else to the table. The band knows how to get a metal crowd going and even if metal is not your thing, they are worth checking out. 8/10
Following the Set It Off, Welsh rockers, The Blackout were taking to the stage following their February comeback tour. Like the previous act, they came on to an ethereal-sounding track to add to the dramatics and said “Slam Dunk, let’s see you move” and sang ShutTheFuckUppercut, followed by one of their biggest tracks, Save Our Selves (The Warning). During the song, vocalist Sean Smith invited Charlie Rolfe (lead vocalist of As Everything Unfolds) to join them for the bridge. She is an incredible singer and her screams show that women deserve a spot in the metal and rock scene. Alongside Smith, they had a blast as fans moshed.
The band are genuinely funny and has great banter as Smith asked the crowd “How many of you have unfortunately seen us before? And you didn’t learn, haha.” Then vocalist Gavin Butler asked, “How many of you have heard of a little album called The Best in Town?” before Smith retorted “And how many of you illegally downloaded it? I’ll fight you all in the pits” to which many hollered and laughed. They immediately played Top of the World, The Fire and Children of the Night. As their set went on, it was clear that the band loved their fans and just wanted to have a great time with them. With a lot of “when we say move, move.” They know exactly what Slam Dunk is about and with the sun beating down on Hatfield, they knew how to get people moving. 8/10
Back at the Kerrang Stage, the tent was filled to the brim; there was an overspill outside the tent. The lights went down and immediately Pale Waves launched straight into Lies. The Manchester quartet were sharp on their cues, professional and polished. Starting their set with this song was a strong statement as they reminded fans they could blend indie with sick breakdowns. There was no break between songs as they went straight into You’re So Vain and the crowd knew what to do and get their phone torches out to sway. There was a moment after the song, vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie gave a shout out to where the band originated from before throwing back to their first album, My Mind Makes Noises, with Television Romance and Eighteen.
The songs kept both old and new fans happy. There were so many faces who looked at the band with such adoration. Although Baron-Gracie seemed a bit distant at first, she soon warmed up by the time they played their new song Perfume. The song is reminiscent of their first album and made a perfect addition to their setlist. Unwanted was up next and this song saw Baron-Gracie donned a blue feather boa, strutting around the stage and having fun before showing the crowd how talented she is as an instrumentalist. Playing an acoustic guitar, Change allowed fans to unite their voices and Baron-Gracie kept quiet to hear the crowd. Baron-Gracie asked “Do we have any queer people out there? I love to hear it” before dedicating She’s My Religion to those who are LGBTQ+. The band is immaculate, they sound like they do on record. 8.5/10
The Kerrang Stage kept a lot of fans after Pale Waves had left. They were waiting for Palaye Royale. Bassist Logan Baudean, drummer Emerson Barrett, guitarist Sebastian Danzig and guitarist Andrew Martin played a long intro to get the crowd buzzing. Vocalist Remington Leith did not mess around, and launched straight into their top song, Mr. Doctor Man. Despite being behind the drums, Barrett engaged the crowd by leading them to clap above their head as he picked up the groove. At the same time, Leith had so much energy, running around the stage, and giving the crowd what they wanted. Up next, they played You’ll Be Fine. This time, Danzig led the clapping above his head to get fans to copy. And then Leith took the lead leaning into big hand sways. However, the most impressive thing about this song was Leith’s screams near the end of the song. They were clear, crisp and downright impressive. Throughout the middle of the set, Leith was up to his old tricks. Climbing on whatever is possible and giving the crowd enthusiasm as he ran, dived and bounced rapidly across the stage. He has incredible vocal control as he did this and never stopped once.
Danzig and Leith then reminisced about their first time at Slam Dunk in 2018 and compared that experience to 2024’s Slam Dunk. They were so grateful to the crowd for supporting them then and coming out to see them this time before beginning a crowd favourite, No Love In LA. During Fucking With My Head, there was a circle pit and Leith wanted in. Getting the crowd’s attention and announced “when I say let’s go, go.” It was chaotic, but fans had fun and throughout the song, the lights pulsated in time with the music and added to the atmosphere.
The last song of the set was Fever Dream. Leith dedicated it to his mum, who had passed away recently. As he began to sing, he welled up and they had to restart. Many fans cheered them on as they went out with everything they had. They are returning to the UK in autumn, so if you can catch them, they are worth a watch. 9/10
As the sun set over Slam Dunk, people had a few options before You Me At Six. The All American Rejects, Gold Finger, I Prevail and Waterparks. Some people were running between the sets, but Waterparks were popular for those waiting for the headliner. Opening their set, guitarist Geoff Wigington and drummer Otto Wood got the crowd going before vocalist Awsten Knight took to the stage while singing Watch What Happens Next. Knight donned a red diamante mask, matching red shirt and red-tipped hair, pivoting from what fans expected before removing the mask and donning green and red face paint for Blonde. Loads of people knew every word of the songs and could keep timing with Knight’s rapping. The band have a fairly wide song catalogue to choose from, and they were throwing it back with Stupid for You, You’d Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You), and other hits such as Ritual, where the band often held and extended their mic stands out to the crowd to sing back to them, something that seems reminiscent of 70s and 80s rock concerts. Their music might not be for everyone, but nobody can deny that Self-Sabotage isn’t a banger and ending on Real Super Dark is a bad shout to close the stage as the last act on the Kerrang Stage.
The band is very self-aware of how lucky they are and appreciative of those who played before them. One thing to note about Knight is how kind and charismatic he is to fans. He spoke directly to fans at the front, those crowd surfing and joking with the audience. On one occasion, he repeated what a fan said and added “you didn’t know I could sing, haha. Well, this is a bit awkward considering it’s like the one thing I’m good at.” He can take a joke, dish them out and not take himself too seriously. Likewise, he is super expressive as he sings and gives it his all. As for Wiginton and Wood, they had some dance moves and would give smiles, and claps. 9/10
Ending the night, You Me At Six took the headliner spot at the Slam Dunk Stage. There was a mix of older millennials, Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha supporting the band on their last festival appearance. In particular, a little boy sat on his parent’s shoulders with a sign that read Love you Josh. If you stood to the side, the band had their huddle and got in the zone just before they came on and immediately launched into 2008’s smash hit, Save It For The Bedroom and followed up with another banger, Reckless. There was no stopping them as they wanted to give fans a night to remember and had a relatively short time to get through the hits. During Lived a Lie, vocalist Josh Franceschi asked fans on the right to sing “we are believers, we are believers” before asking the left to join before coming to the middle. They wanted fans to feel involved.
After a full-on start to the set, Franceschi teased the audience with “If I remember, 2009 was a good year”, leaving fans wondering what song would appear next. It was Kiss & Tell. The band followed up with Straight to My Head and Liquid Confidence before asking the audience to mosh for them to the next five songs. Fans obliged as the band launched into Bite My Tongue, No Future? Yeah Right, The Consequence (which saw The Blackout’s Sean Smith come out and sing with Franceschi), Loverboy and The Swarm.
They were giving fans a night to remember by bringing out all their top songs, but one poignant moment was when Franceschi spoke about the last twenty years and never giving up on their dream. They also proceeded to thank the crowd for their support over time. It was quite an emotional moment for fans and the band. It then went from there, to even more emotional as the band threw back to their 2007 track, Always Attract. As one of the slower songs, it was sombre. Franceschi introduced his sister Elisa Franceschi onto the stage and tt was haunting and beautiful to watch. Looking around the crowd, many were in tears at the realisation that the band would disband soon. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend. Of course, they did not want to close on a downer, so they played Underdog and Beautiful Way as their departing gift. It was full of adrenaline and a love for their fans that kept the band together. The band has released their tour dates for Final Night of Six for 2025 and if you love the band, catch them while you can. 9/10
Photo gallery features As Everything Unfolds, As December Falls, Head Automatica, RØRY, We The Kings, The Blackout, The Ghost Inside, Asking Alexandria, Palaye Royale, Funeral For A Friend, I Prevail and You Me At Six.
