Slam Dunk Festival 2024:
The South Recap.

by NICOLA O’CONNELL

WHAT an event! Slam Dunk has started off the festival season strong, with the South date bringing beautiful sunshine, fantastic music and some great core memories for everyone in attendance. As the day began and the crowd started to arrive, you’re met with a Monster Energy truck booming music whilst handing out free cans of Monster to festival goers (we definitely snagged a couple cans at the end of the festival for a last legs energy boost). The day ran super smoothly and if you were there we hope you had as incredible of a time as we did.
With terrific performances from every artist & band we saw, join us in recapping those moments and maybe we can tease you into wanting to get a ticket for next year.

After scoping out the festival site and catching a few songs from bands on other stages, I made my way over to the Kerrang! Stage to watch Honey Revenge. These guys were visually so cool and the music was fantastic. Playing crowd favourites such as Airhead and Rerun, Devin Papadol exudes charisma and her vocals just do not falter. Guitarist Donovan Lloyd graced the stage with the most wholesome and infectious smile that barely leaves their face the entire set. You couldn’t help but smile watching Honey Revenge. 

HONEY REVENGE

Next in the tent on the Kerrang! Stage was Taylor Acorn. After seeing her set at Download Festival 2023, I looked forward to seeing her pull another incredible crowd as she did then, now. Taylor Acorn is someone who even if you’re new to the music, you’re sure to get into it. She’s an absolute firecracker and despite recent illness, Taylor doesn’t let that stop her from going all out and giving 110%. Despite a couple technical difficulties with mic’s it simply pushed her fans to sing even louder. Taylor Acorn fans are unmatched with how they show up and scream those lyrics back at her.

Sticking to the Kerrang! Stage, (you’ll notice we spent a lot of time here as the line-up was impeccable haha) we were graced with the presence of RØRY. As someone who was late to the discovery of this artist, I missed out on her tour dates earlier this year so I was beyond excited that I would get to witness her live AND for her first festival appearance. RØRY owned the stage oozing a cool and edginess whilst performing songs ALTERNATIVE, FAMILY TREE and UNCOMPLICATED (to name a few). With hard-hitting lyrics she pulls a specific kind of crowd that relate and invest in the music. I’d love to see RØRY again, she was brilliant.

Next up I headed over to the Monster Energy Stage in search of The Skints. When I previously posted about bands on the line-up I mentioned that The Skints were a band I was hoping to catch whilst at Slam Dunk and I’m really glad I got to. They’re true to their music and the vocals are so crisp and clear. Marcia Richards’ voice is to die for and the band altogether have a good, fun stage presence. A couple favourite songs from the day would be Rat-at-at and Rise Up. The Skints truly are worth getting to see live and the crowd on Saturday clearly loved their vibe. Having ska artists on the line-up was a good move. I enjoyed it.

As soon as The Blackout stepped out the crowd went crazy. Sean Smith brought quite the character to the stage and alongside Gavin Butler & band, they whipped the crowd into a frenzy for their set. For the song Save Our Selves (The Warning), frontwoman Charlie Rolfe of As Everything Unfolds joined the band offering up her brilliant vocals. At one point Sean Smith could be seen down in the crowd singing before falling forward into a crowd-surf. The Blackout really came out all guns blazing at Slam Dunk and gave it everything.

Back to the Monster Energy Stage the iconic The Selecter came to show they’re still killing it at the game. Slam Dunk really does bring together everyone of all ages with artists/bands new and old. I knew I had no choice but to check out The Selecter or else my Dad might disown me for missing out on such an opportunity. Luckily I didn’t. It was like being in the presence of music royalty. I was happy bopping away to familiar favourites. Pauline Black looked incredible as ever, the whole band dressed cool as can be in a 2 Tone fashion. I’m grateful to have gotten to see them.

Guess where? You got it, back to the Kerrang! Stage for Pale Waves. Pale Waves are one of those bands that visually look so cool. I love their all-round aesthetic. Having found them through the 1975 years back I was looking forward to seeing them again and they did not disappoint. The crowd was huge in the tent, splaying outside with people sat in the sunshine just enjoying the music from a distance. A few songs played were Lies, Television Romance and There’s A Honey. I expected nothing less than an electric performance from these guys and they provided.

Following Pale Waves was Palaye Royale. This is my second time seeing them live and again in a festival environment. They were nothing short of phenomenal. The three brothers have quite the cult following and that shows in places like Slam Dunk. They pull a big crowd and I live for the energy frontman Remington Leith brings to the stage. He’s notorious for climbing the stage and he stayed true to that scaling amps. The band interact with the crowd loads, getting down to the barrier and even into the crowd at one point. The whole band put on a fantastic show playing Little Bastards, Dead To Me and Fever Dream amongst many others. Palaye Royale are really entertaining to watch and the music is solid.

The penultimate band of the festival for me. On the main Slam Dunk Stage we are graced by the highly entertaining The All-American Rejects. Frontman Tyson Ritter walks to the front of the stage and throws out a sort of bouquet of flowers. The AAR was probably one of the most anticipated bands on the line-up since they were a lot of the crowds childhood/teen years. They were definitely a huge part of mine. So you can imagine how wild the audience went for every song but especially for Swing, Swing, Dirty Little Secret, It Ends Tonight and Move Along. But nothing prepared me for the roar of the crowd singing when they played their last song of the night: Gives You Hell. The nostalgia this band brought was unmatched. I honestly think that they may have been the best performance of the entire day with Tyson’s ridiculous and fun behaviour. My younger-selves heart inside of me left fulfilled that evening. What a brilliant set from The All-American Rejects.

Finally, to end the day, You Me At Six headlined the Slam Dunk Stage. Once again, absolutely grateful to have had the opportunity to be there capturing photos and content for this. Slam Dunk would be their last festival appearance before they disband following their tour which is set to end next year. When you reach this point of a festival, you’re knackered and exhausted from the sunshine. But as soon as YMAS hit that stage the crowd came back to life as if they’d only just got there. The whole band came out and played a phenomenal gig. Honourable mention to bassist Matthew Barnes who had a big smile on his face the whole time. The setlist was great and I was so happy with the choice of starting with Save It For The Bedroom. It had the crowd instantly involved and excited. I loved the stage design and lighting (obviously it made for good photos) but I appreciate a good set up in general.
The whole feeling was bittersweet really, because they put on an incredible show and it just makes you wish they weren’t splitting so that you’d be able to see this again. But maybe it’s perfect to be going out in style and with a bang, rather than like some bands who tragically fizzle out. You Me At Six looked at though they were having the best time on stage and I hope it makes for a great memory for them as it did for those in the crowd who grew up listening to them.

This was my first Slam Dunk experience and honestly it was fantastic. I know last year they received quite a bit of backlash but it looked as though this year they managed to remedy those problems. It seems they listened to all last years issues and tackled them. As someone who was having to run back and forth between stages, it didn’t feel overcrowded at all. I had no problem getting round, grabbing food, or just finding somewhere to sit and chill for a moment. I travelled by train and once at Hatfield the walk was a fairly easy one through the park, especially when you’re greeted with a Monster Energy truck handing out free drinks as you come through the gates.

I most definitely will be attending another Slam Dunk Festival after that one. Whether it’s with a press pass or as a casual festival attendee. I’m jumping the gun here but I’m really looking forward to when the next one is announced and seeing what kind of line-up there’ll be.

Keep an eye out for our next post with a photo gallery of the day!