Unless you’ve been excommunicated from the world on the greatest Netflix binge of all time, the first wave of bands have been announced for Slam Dunk Festival’s tenth anniversary…and holy hell fire is it good!
Headlining this year are the mighty Panic At The Disco, who are also celebrating ten years since releasing the seminal A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. So be sure to expect them to dust off a few classics on the main stage. Joining them are pop punk heroes New Found Glory, Real Friends, Every Time I Die, Four Year Strong, Of Mice and Men, Memphis May Fire and Issues.
That’s a heck of a decent start, so we thought we’d start the wheels of the rumour mill turning by picking some bands we think may join the line up this year. This, of course, is only the speculation (and hope) of us here at The Pop Punk Days, so lets not all lose our minds just yet….
1. Hit The Lights
These guys have played numerous Slam Dunk festivals in the past and always draw a big crowd, therefore it wouldn’t seem right to leave them off the bill for the 10th anniversary. They’re also celebrating ten years since releasing their début record “This is a Stick Up…” so we could possibly see them playing this album all the way through.
2. Set Your Goals
Hiatus’ are awful. Being left in musical limbo, not knowing if or when you’ll ever get another song. Well pop punk gods be praised, this month pop punk fan favourites Set Your Goals announced a few comeback dates in The States. These boys have also graced the Slam Dunk Stages multiple times, so fingers crossed they’ll come back this spring to join the party once again.
3. Man Overboard
a brief stint to the UK this year left most of us without getting to see one of our favourite bands, so why not use Slam Dunk as a chance to showcase the new album and get drunk with our best friends all over again.
4. Sum 41
OK, so this isn’t as much as a guess, it’s rather hoping for a miracle. Maybe the Pop Punk gods will look favorably on us, given that this is a 10th anniversary show and the organisers promised us bigger and better than ever. Sum 41 have recently announced they are playing Grozerock at the end of April, could they make it to the UK again for the end of May?
5. Good Charlotte
What’s bigger and better than having one of the best pop punk bands who have recently reunited and started touring again. Maybe if we all close our eyes, cross our fingers and wish really hard for a Christmas miracle, all our dreams will be answered.
6. The Starting Line
The best Christmas present this year was from The Starting Line releasing their first recording in over 8 years. With a 7″ released the start of 2016 could we see one of the pioneers of pop punk make it to SDF16, it’s possible!
Bonus Pick – This is what I like to call the Pop Punk Pick ‘n Mix – From February to April there are two jam-packed tours hitting the UK. First is Neck Deep with support from State Champs, so it’s possible that either of these bands will return in May, especially since both bands have put new albums out this year. The Second Tour is Knucklepuck with support from Seaway and Boston Manor. Again, both Knucklepuck and Seaway put out new records this year and Boston Manor have just signed to Pure Noise Records, so expect a big push from all these bands who are dominating the scene at the moment.
It’s difficult to make assumptions at this stage and it’s essentially throwing names into a hat and hoping for the best. There’s a huge surge in UK pop punk growing with Roam, Trash Boat and Waster all being signed to major labels so you’d expect to see them on the bill next year. However, there’s also room for a few bigger bands to be added especially from the world of Ska and Metal and a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Drop us a comment on who you think will be playing or who you’d like to see play.
