Alternative Music’s All-You-Can-Eat Buffet: Slam Dunk 2025

Words & Photography: Sam Drake

As Dizzy Mag’s resident emo kid and metalhead, it only felt right for me to write about the other festival that occurred this past bank holiday: Slam Dunk 2025!

I want to preface this with: I have never been to a Slam Dunk before. I had actually never been to a festival before Download XXI (2024). And I found that - not too unlike Download Festival - Slam Dunk North is an all-day party infused with an entire all-you-can-eat buffet of alternative music; from the Welsh kings of pop-punk, Neck Deep, to the scene queens of MySpace days-gone-by, Millionaires, and everything else in-between. I couldn’t wait to dig my heels into Temple Newsam and firmly secure my spot at the festival that I had only heard about in legends: Slam Dunk.

My day began part-way through Swedish metal sweethearts, Imminence’s set (learn from my mistakes and take the Big Green Coach, don’t rely on the train). I was able to catch Desolation, The Black, and the song that turned me on to their hypnotic, orchestral-metal sound to begin with, Temptation. Eddie Berg’s live violin echoed almost-hauntingly through my bones, as he showed the crowd what true multitasking looked like - effortlessly playing as he fronted the band with an inciting vocal performance. What an awesome way to kick off the day!

From there, with a cooled cider in hand, I headed into the Key Club Stage where the Leicester trio, Mouth Culture, were preparing a pop-punk party to remember.

Mouth Culture played Stoke’s Underground, in March 2024, and, after having witnessed their uncapped-energy at Slam Dunk, I regret not seeing them locally. Though the majority of the crowd seemed to be curious festival-goers, who were simply checking out the smaller band’s midday set, Sharkbait and Don’t Pull Up were well received by an enthusiastic chorus of voices singing and shouting the lyrics back to the guys. The opener and closer (respectively) were clear fan favourites and are very reminiscent of the underground alternative scene in the early 2000s, that they have captured like lightning in a bottle. If you can, absolutely go and support this budding trio on their headline tour in October, either at Asylum in Birmingham or The Deaf Institute in Manchester. Nothing but unadulterated, home-grown, pop-punk.

Next was a brief stop with Movements, over at Main Stage West. Admittedly, I spent my time with them searching for friends in the crowd but that isn’t to say that they weren’t worth the attention. It was an eagerly responsive crowd, calling back the rage-filled lyrics with fists raised in unison towards vocalist, Patrick Miranda, during I Hope You Choke! - a danceable post-hardcore anthem about wishing the worst upon an egotistical narcissist. Just another day in the alternative scene! From the crowd’s response alone, you can tell how well-loved this band is; everyone was dancing and singing along, with next to no phones in sight. It was an entertaining three songs worth of a set to be a part of.

Another band that I didn’t know of, Free Throw, were next on the agenda. All I knew, returning to the Key Club Stage, was to expect pop-punk and that “they just sing about drinking” - sold!

If you’re looking for textbook midwest emo vibes but from a Tennessee-based band, Free Throw are the band for you. In fact, they’re the band that I think Dizzy readers would enjoy the most from my Slam Dunk lineup. They wear their hearts on their sleeve, with Cory Castro’s emotional vocals and raw lyrics, paired with indie-rock sounds that invoke a natural bounce in the crowd. If I were to recommend just one song from their set to you, reader, it would be their closer, Two Beers In. Its slow build sways you, lulling you into a sense of security, until the sudden release of emotions hits like a brick, in the best possible way - you’ll find yourself cathartically shouting along and, in a sea of voices that love and appreciate this band, it is such a gratifying feeling.

And while we’re talking about textbook midwestern emo, we can’t forget the kings of midwest emo, Hot Mulligan.

I’m sure that if I say the word ‘emo’ you have a clear idea of what that might mean. And more specifically if I say ‘emo music’, you’ll be able to hear or even imitate the voice that is associated with the phrase. That’s Hot Mulligan. And to my surprise, they sound just as good live as they do in the studio! The vulnerability in their lyrics paired with indie-rock and pop-punk riffs makes for an energetic yet raw performance that keeps everyone on their toes.

Once again, a united crowd cried out the lyrics back to frontman Tades Sanville, who looked at home on the West Main Stage, with a passionate performance that took control of his body. It was hit after hit, with the setlist; Shhhh! Golf is On, Fly Move (The Whole Time), and Gans Media Retro Games to name a few. Equip Sunglasses proved to be a crowd favourite as bodies surfed to the stage and every lyric could be heard so clearly from how loud they were collectively sung. There was such a strong sense of community in the crowd, from start to finish, and I think that’s what defines Hot Mulligan the best. The sense of community. And Tades telling the crowd to steal from big corporations, but that best remains un-documented.

After vibing with Hot Mulligan, there was a leisurely walk to the Kerrang! Stage to catch As It Is, back from their two year-long hiatus. And it appeared that they were well-rested, as vocalist Patty Walters bounced around the stage like a caffeinated puppy, swinging the mic with reckless abandon, having the time of his life.

As It Is are celebrating ten years of their album Never Happy Ever After - a part of the soundtrack to my teenage years - and the setlist reflected that as they played the album in full, with guests to boot! Joe from Beauty School, Rae from ARTIO, and NOAHFINNCE all joined the guys on stage for a song each, taking the classic tracks from 2015 and breathing new life into them live. Teenage Sam is very happy that they were finally able to catch this band from their formative years, but adult Sam was even happier about running across the field to catch a band from their current years.

Electric Callboy. Main Stage East’s headliners. In theory, these five guys from the small city of Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, should be outcasts in the metal community. They combine futuristic techno synths and EDM drops with heavy guitar riffs and insane metal breakdowns, which don’t sound like they would work on paper. But! In practice they are a match made in a wig-wearing, technicolour heaven.

These would-be outcasts have carved their own spot in the scene with their signature ‘electrocore’, garnering fans from every corner of the world and every walk of life. In the crowd, there were young children on shoulders bopping along to the likes of Spaceman and Hypa Hypa and older metalheads dressed up like frontmen Nico Sallach and Kevin Ratajczak from their various playful music videos, with the disco ball helmets from RATATATA (with BABYMETAL) and the work out gear from Pump It. Of all the crowds I found myself in, it was the most inclusive and it felt like the safest collection of music-loving souls.

Leading with their recent hit, Elevator Operator, it was immediately abundant that, like an electrically charged ouroboros, Electric Callboy’s energy fed the crowd and the crowd’s energy fed the band. They didn’t come to play - well, they did and they were reveling in every moment on stage but they were deadly serious about hosting the most memorable party of the weekend - and hit after hit they carried the crowd through with explosive pyro, vibrant confetti, and impressive vocals from both Nico and Kevin. And their second ever performance of Revery, their newest and darkest single to date, showed off Kevin’s ridiculous range with a crispy vocal fry that tickles the gut with angry little techno-butterflies. The drop is intense and aggressive but so much fun to be a part of live.

Nico typically provides the clean vocals on all of their tracks and acts as the second shouter for the band but his clean vocals were showcased in their entirety, when they rolled out a piano for Ratajczak, Daniel Haniß brought out his acoustic guitar, and a fire pit was brought on stage for a fireside sing-along of Linkin Park’s Crawling and Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way. I recommend you watch these online, as I don’t believe my words can do his voice justice, but to give such an unbelievable performance whilst he was supposedly harbouring a cold is insane. The crowd’s response to Crawling had Sallach taken aback, as he exclaimed “wow, holy shit” off-mic and was visibly impressed and awestruck by the situation. Followed by a “I really wasn’t expecting that” on mic, as he drank it in and the crowd began to chant “Chester”, honouring the late and great Chester Bennington, the former vocalist of Linkin Park who the metal community lost in 2017. A truly beautiful moment.

It was also fantastic to see Sum-41’s Frank Zummo on drums, who absolutely smashed his second festival performance with the band, after their former drummer, David Friedrich, left on good terms in April this year. It was a great joy to see him join in with the on-stage antics, where the guys dress up like their music video counterparts for Pump It, Hypa Hypa, RATATATA, and the ever iconic We Got The Moves. The latter of which closed out their set, with the crowd shouting “dop-död-död-dop” loud enough to rumble the earth under our feet - you always see videos of this moment online but being caught in the middle of it… It’s one of those moments when time freezes and that memory will stay with you forever.

As Vamos a la Playa by Loona played us out and I was dancing my way through the crowd, an eruption of cheers could be heard from Main Stage West, followed by a cacophony of “Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da, da-da. Da, da, da, da-da, da-da” (and so on) - the opening of A Day To Remember’s Downfall Of Us All. I hit the ground running and weaseled my way through the outskirts of the crowd to be in the thick of it, jumping and singing along with everyone at Temple Newsam that night.

A Day To Remember know how to perform. They’ve been in the game for twenty-two years so they know what they’re doing. And even if you think you don’t know any of their songs, with them having been around for that long, you probably know one or two. Which is why there was a palpable buzz of unadulterated joy through everyone at the festival. Jeremy McKinnon, frontman and vocalist, was on fire with better-than-studio vocals and an effortless stage presence. And you could feel the drums from Alex Shelnutt in your bones, coursing through you like an alternative-heartbeat. Their timeless combination of pop-punk and metalcore is what has kept them at the top of their game and I think they were the perfect choice for the headliner of this year’s Slam Dunk.

There was just the right blend of old and new in the setlist; from the golden oldies I’m Made Of Wax, Larry (2009) and All I Want (2010), to Resentment (2021) and a chunky handful of tracks from their latest release, Big Ole Album Vol. 1 (2025). There was definitely something for everyone; they even performed their cover of Kelly Clarkson’s Since U Been Gone, which went down a treat with the mass of metalheads and emo kids - proving that Kelly Clarkson is, in fact, universal.

The signature black and white beach balls came out for Right Back At It Again, crowd surfers were encouraged and then subsequently discouraged not even a minute later as, presumably, a health and safety officer gave McKinnon a scalding through his in-ears, and of course the crowd found a chance to chant “Yorkshire” at the top of their lungs, priding themselves on being the superior day of Slam Dunk Weekend. The engagement was chaotic and lively, and the band seemed to thrive off of it.

The highlight of the set was If It Means A Lot To You - an emotional ballad that explores leaving a loved one behind and not being able to return to them, due to life pulling the narrator and their loved one apart. It’s from their 2009 album, Homesick, and induces goosebumps and even tears when you listen to it at a vulnerable time. But nobody told me about the warmth and comfort of listening to it live, with phone lights glowing and a hushed chorus of voices singing and humming along around you. Then, at the climax of the song, there was a shower of confetti - that I am still finding pieces of in my jacket today - and the emotion of thousands poured out of their souls, with arms wrapped around each other and open hands reaching to the sky. It was absolutely another forever-memory kind of moment.

With the final bow of All Signs Point To Lauderdale (a very typical and iconic ‘I hate this town’ emo anthem), Slam Dunk was over… 

Or was it?

There was one final act, on the Monster Energy Stage, to close out the festival: Millionaires! They are described as “MySpace royalty” and I’m inclined to agree. Melissa Green and Meredith Hurley thanked A Day To Remember for opening for them, then proceeded to express how grateful they were to be headlining Slam Dunk, in cheeky electro-pop queen fashion. And their outgoing attitudes shined through in their performance, with songs like Stay The Night, Take Your Shirt Off and Talk Shit, before they dove into their DJ set to end the night. They brought in an abundance of characters to their tent and a lot of people who you wouldn’t usually peg as scene-pop fans, but everyone was having a ball as they danced about and made use of the space with friends both new and old. It was a fun way to round off the chaotic day with nothing but bubbly and lighthearted vibes.

For my first Slam Dunk, I’d say it was a total success. Plenty of drinks, delicious food, beautiful friends (old and new), and, above all else, an immense party from beginning to end.

Can I see the menu for next year, please?