Push to Fire: Slam Dunk 2010 Preview

Push to Fire Preview: Slam Dunk Festival 2010

There we were thinking that the Slam Dunk promoters had done it all, then we heard that this year's festival is going to take place not once but twice..and have SEVEN stages. Slam Dunk is becoming one of the most talked about one dayers in the UK and here at Push to Fire we have seen it go from strength to strength since its creation in 2006.

Prior to 2006 'Slam Dunk' was just a phrase associated with a weekly club night specialising in the best of alternative music at The Cockpit in Leeds. The club night still takes place every Tuesday and has also made its way to London a few times.
The first Slam Dunk festival was held outside Millennium Square and featured some incredible bands, including Thursday, Capdown (also playing 2010) and Hundred Reasons (also played 2009) and headliners Fall Out Boy. The line up was small and on a single stage. The whole experience was great from the location to the bands to the atmosphere.
Moving on to 2007, the festival was moved indoors to the Refectory in Leeds Students Union, with an abundance of ska from the likes of Mad Caddies, Sonic Boom Six, The Beat Union, Reel Big Fish, along with up and coming acts Failsafe, Paramore, and the then unsigned You Me at Six. What's notable about Slam Dunk Festival is that it isn't afraid to give lesser known bands the opportunity to perform at such a high profile event. After 2007 You Me At Six shot to fame and have since played numerous festivals and toured with Paramore. The underground metal, ska and punk scenes are also typically well represented.

And onto 2008 where the organisers did something new - they introduced additional stages and were able to dramatically increase the number of bands on the line up. Over 25 bands played across four stages including Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Boys Like Girls, The Blackout, Zebrahead, Kids In Glass Houses, You Me at Six and Fightstar. The atmosphere was crazy and there were various meet-and-greet opportunities, a merch village, BBQ, and an after-show club night, all for under Ł20, 2008's Slam Dunk was certainly big, but 2009 was even bigger.

Slam Dunk Crowd by Suzy Witts

Last year's Slam Dunk (the fourth one) was the most popular yet. People travelled miles and stayed in hotels just to attend, and fans were queuing for hours in the May Bank Holiday sunshine to get into the venue. The six stages were filled with so many bands that most people were finding it hard to decide who to go and see. You Me at Six made a welcome return, headlining the festival's main stage and showing us how far they had come. Political punk band Anti-Flag headlined another stage, Hundred Reasons also returned (they also played in 2006) and took the headline spot on the Punktastic stage. The Dropdead stage was headlined by The Ghost of a Thousand and The Blackout completed the line up on the Eskimo stage. Other bands on the line up included The Skints, Farse, Defeater, The Slackers, Polar Bear Club, Hexes, Tonight Is Goodbye, Attack! Attack!, Silverstein, All Forgotten, Me Vs Hero, Save Your Breath and Young Guns. There was DJing from a number of artists and the traditional aftershow event.

Slam Dunk by Suzy Witts

So 2010. We didn't think it could get any better, but it has. On Tuesday 16th February the first bands were announced at the Rebel Alliance gig and the Slam Dunk clubnight at The Cockpit in Leeds. So far confirmed are:
* New Found Glory (UK 2010 festival exclusive)
* The King Blues
* Capdown (exclusive UK reunion show)
* Four Year Strong
* Set Your Goals
* RX Bandits
* Out Of Sight
* Every Avenue
Festival Promoter Ben Ray says "I am extremely pleased that the success of previous years has allowed me to launch Slam Dunk South which allows even more people to get the chance to see so many quality bands. I think people enjoy the fact that it isn’t just one or two big stages and instead people can move freely between 7 stages, all with music they like, and see everyone from large international bands to great new UK talent. I really think I owe a lot to the small upcoming UK bands!"
This year there are going to be 7 stages and 40+ bands. The event is a huge one-dayer which will take place on Saturday 29th May at the University of Hertfordshire (‘Slam Dunk Festival South’) and again on Sunday 30th May at the University of Leeds ('Slam Dunk Festival North'); 10000 people will be able to attend and the additional southern venue will make the event more accessible to people across the country.
It's clear that Slam Dunk is well on its way to once again offering an exciting mix of both established and up-and-coming bands and an amazing experience for all those attending. The event brings people into all kinds of alternative music together and this year will be no exception. We think you would be a fool to miss this.

SLAM DUNK Festival official information:
Tickets are Ł25 per day
Official box office: www.lunatickets.co.uk
Website: www.slamdunkmusic.com (please note new site)
Presale: To people that have registered on www.slamdunkmusic.com - 10am, Saturday 20th February. General onsale Monday 22nd February - 9am

And if you feel like reminiscing, Push to Fire's coverage of previous Slam Dunk Festivals can be found here:
2009 - Review / 2009 photo gallery
2008 - Review / 2008 photo gallery

Push to Fire Preview: Slam Dunk Festival 2010 There we were thinking that the Slam Dunk promoters had done it all, then we heard that this year's festival is going to take place not once but twice..and have SEVEN stages. Slam Dunk is becoming one of the most talked about one dayers in the UK and here at Push to Fire we have seen it go from strength to strength since its creation in 2006.
Prior to 2006 'Slam Dunk' was just a phrase associated with a weekly club night specialising in the best of alternative music at The Cockpit in Leeds. The club night still takes place every Tuesday and has also made its way to London a few times. The first Slam Dunk festival was held outside Millennium Square and featured some incredible bands, including Thursday, Capdown (also playing 2010) and Hundred Reasons (also played 2009) and headliners Fall Out Boy. The line up was small and on a single stage. The whole experience was great from the location to the bands to the atmosphere. Moving on to 2007, the festival was moved indoors to the Refectory in Leeds Students Union, with an abundance of ska from the likes of Mad Caddies, Sonic Boom Six, The Beat Union, Reel Big Fish, along with up and coming acts Failsafe, Paramore, and the then unsigned You Me at Six. What's notable about Slam Dunk Festival is that it isn't afraid to give lesser known bands the opportunity to perform at such a high profile event. After 2007 You Me At Six shot to fame and have since played numerous festivals and toured with Paramore. The underground metal, ska and punk scenes are also typically well represented.
And onto 2008 where the organisers did something new - they introduced additional stages and were able to dramatically increase the number of bands on the line up. Over 25 bands played across four stages including Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Boys Like Girls, The Blackout, Zebrahead, Kids In Glass Houses, You Me at Six and Fightstar. The atmosphere was crazy and there were various meet-and-greet opportunities, a merch village, BBQ, and an after-show club night, all for under Ł20, 2008's Slam Dunk was certainly big, but 2009 was even bigger.
Last year's Slam Dunk (the fourth one) was the most popular yet. People travelled miles and stayed in hotels just to attend, and fans were queuing for hours in the May Bank Holiday sunshine to get into the venue. The six stages were filled with so many bands that most people were finding it hard to decide who to go and see. You Me at Six made a welcome return, headlining the festival's main stage and showing us how far they had come. Political punk band Anti-Flag headlined another stage, Hundred Reasons also returned (they also played in 2006) and took the headline spot on the Punktastic stage. The Dropdead stage was headlined by The Ghost of a Thousand and The Blackout completed the line up on the Eskimo stage. Other bands on the line up included The Skints, Farse, Defeater, The Slackers, Polar Bear Club, Hexes, Tonight Is Goodbye, Attack! Attack!, Silverstein, All Forgotten, Me Vs Hero, Save Your Breath and Young Guns. There was DJing from a number of artists and the traditional aftershow event.
So 2010. We didn't think it could get any better, but it has. On Tuesday 16th February the first bands were announced at the Rebel Alliance gig and the Slam Dunk clubnight at The Cockpit in Leeds. So far confirmed are: * New Found Glory (UK 2010 festival exclusive) * The King Blues * Capdown (exclusive UK reunion show) * Four Year Strong * Set Your Goals * RX Bandits * Out Of Sight * Every Avenue Festival Promoter Ben Ray says "I am extremely pleased that the success of previous years has allowed me to launch Slam Dunk South which allows even more people to get the chance to see so many quality bands. I think people enjoy the fact that it isn’t just one or two big stages and instead people can move freely between 7 stages, all with music they like, and see everyone from large international bands to great new UK talent. I really think I owe a lot to the small upcoming UK bands!" This year there are going to be 7 stages and 40+ bands. The event is a huge one-dayer which will take place on Saturday 29th May at the University of Hertfordshire (‘Slam Dunk Festival South’) and again on Sunday 30th May at the University of Leeds ('Slam Dunk Festival North'); 10000 people will be able to attend and the additional southern venue will make the event more accessible to people across the country. It's clear that Slam Dunk is well on its way to once again offering an exciting mix of both established and up-and-coming bands and an amazing experience for all those attending. The event brings people into all kinds of alternative music together and this year will be no exception. We think you would be a fool to miss this.
SLAM DUNK Festival official information: Tickets are Ł25 per day Official box office: www.lunatickets.co.uk Website: www.slamdunkmusic.com (please note new site) Presale: To people that have registered on www.slamdunkmusic.com - 10am, Saturday 20th February. General onsale Monday 22nd February - 9am And if you feel like reminiscing, Push to Fire's coverage of previous Slam Dunk Festivals can be found here: 2009 - Review / 2009 photo gallery 2008 - Review / 2008 photo gallery