Slam_Dunk_Records
Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company,[1] founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six[2] and Decade.[3] The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", a weekly club night held at the city's Cockpit music venue, centered on emo, punk, ska and metal music. They have organised and promoted concerts for Leeds venues such as the Key Club, Leeds University Stylus, Leeds Beckett University Student Union and the First Direct Arena, as well as venues in other cities such as The Dome Leisure Centre, National Exhibition Centre and Hatfield Forum.[1]
The label is also associated with the Slam Dunk Festival, established in 2006. Although initially small-scale and set up with only a handful of artists, the yearly event now attracts many well-known artists and has slowly established itself as a popular day-long music festival. Initially held in the city's Millennium Square, the event moved to the student union of the University of Leeds in its second year. It is now located in Temple Newsam, Leeds.
The festival attracts more than 40 bands across six different stages. Notable acts which have played at the festival include Fall Out Boy, Thursday, You Me at Six, Hundred Reasons, Reel Big Fish and Paramore.
In 2010, a southern counterpart to the festival had its first year in the University of Hertfordshire, and the now two-day festival became known as Slam Dunk North (Leeds) and Slam Dunk South (Hertfordshire). The festival is normally held on the May Bank Holiday of each year, featuring a mixture of up-and-coming and more established bands, based around punk/emo/metal and ska music.
Leeds Millennium Square 2006
| Main Stage |
|---|
|
Fall Out Boy
|
27 May 2007 – Leeds University
25 May 2008 – Leeds University
| Glamour Kills Stage | The Atticus Stage | The Non Stop Stage | The UK Now! Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cute Is What We Aim For
|
Story of The Year
|
Zebrahead
|
Tonight Is Goodbye
|
24 May 2009 – Leeds University
| Glamour Kills Stage | Fishing for Eskimo Stage | The Vans Off The Wall Stage |
|---|---|---|
|
You Me at Six
|
The Blackout
|
Anti-Flag
|
| The Punktastic.com Stage | The Relentless UK Now! Stage | The Dropdead! Stage |
|---|---|---|
|
Hundred Reasons
|
In Case of Fire
|
The Ghost of a Thousand
|
29/30 May 2010 – Hertfordshire University / Leeds University
| Glamour Kills Stage | Atticus/Jägermeister Stage | The Vans Off The Wall Stage | Relentless Stage | Imperial Clothing Stage | Kerrang! Introduces Stage | Babycakes Bar | Macbeth Acoustic Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New Found Glory
|
Alkaline Trio
|
Capdown
|
The Rocket Summer
|
My Passion
|
Futures
|
L'amour La Morgue
|
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly |
19/20 May 2011 – Leeds University/Hatfield
| Jager Stage | Atticus Stage | Macbeth Stage | Honour Over Glory Stage | Introducing Stage | Front Bar Stage | Acoustic Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reel Big Fish
|
3OH!3
|
Set Your Goals
|
We Are The Ocean
|
Summerlin
|
Tek one
|
Jimmy Holland
|
26/27 May 2012 – Leeds University/Hatfield
| Jager Stage | Honour Over Glory Stage | Vans Off The Wall Stage | Macbeth Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Taking Back Sunday
|
Architects
|
Gallows
|
Hit The Lights
|
Slam Dunk Festival 2013
The festival was expanded to be a three date festival in England, where all three dates featured the same lineup. Three minor dates were spun off it, one in Wales, one in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland.
| Leeds University (25 May), Hatfield (26 May), Wolverhampton Civic Hall (27 May) | ||||||
| Main Stage | Macbeth Stage | Monster Energy Stage | Vans Stage | Tiger Stage | Front X Sinstar Bar | Keep A Breast Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All Time Low
|
Four Year Strong
|
Pierce The Veil
|
King Prawn
|
Cancer Bats
|
Caspa
|
Andrew McMahon
|
Slam Dunk Festival 2014
The 2014 Festival was held at the same three locations as 2013: Leeds (24 May), Hatfield (25 May) and Wolverhampton (May26th). There was also a smaller lineup in Edinburgh (23 May) and Newport, Wales (27 May).
On 29 April it was announced that Goldfinger had withdrawn from the festival. The band were replaced by The Ataris. On 25 May, it was announced that Landscapes had withdrawn from the festival for both Hatfield and Wolverhampton dates. They were replaced by Great Cynics at Hatfield and Aurora for Wolverhampton.
| Leeds University (24 May), The Forum, Hatfield (25 May), Wolverhampton Civic Hall (26 May) | ||||||
| Main Stage | Macbeth Stage | Monster Energy Stage | Atticus Stage | Cheer Up Stage | Antique Acoustic Stage | Uphawr DJ Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The All-American Rejects
|
Less Than Jake
|
Bury Tomorrow
|
Kids in Glass Houses
|
Chiodos
|
Vinnie Caruana
|
|
Slam Dunk Festival 2015
The 2015 Festival was held at the same three locations as the last two years: Leeds (23 May), Hatfield (24 May) and Wolverhampton (25 May). The Leeds event was moved from Leeds University to Leeds City Centre.
Slam Dunk Festival 2016
The 2016 Festival was held at the same locations as last year for the North and South dates, however the Midlands date had now been moved to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
Slam Dunk Festival 2017
The 2017 Festival was held at the same locations as last year for the all three dates
Slam Dunk Festival 2018
The 2018 Festival was held at the same North and Midlands locations as last year, however the South date was moved to Hatfield Park.
Slam Dunk Festival 2019
The 2019 Festival was reduced to two days. The North festival was held at Temple Newsam Park on 25 May, and the South festival was held at Hatfield Park on 26 May.
Slam Dunk Festival 2021
The 2020 Festival was to be held at the same two venues as the 2019 festival. The festival was originally scheduled for the North festival to be held at Temple Newsam Park on 23 May, and the South festival will be held at Hatfield Park on 24 May. However the COVID-19 pandemic led to North being rescheduled to 5 September and South to 6 September.[5] On 14 May, Slam Dunk announced that the festival will no longer be held in 2020[6] although the festival returned on 4 and 5 September 2021.[7]
| Temple Newsam Park, Leeds (4 September), Hatfield Park, Hatfield (5 September)[8] | ||||||||
| Rock Scene Presents Stage | Punk in Drublic Stage | Jägermeister Stage | The Key Club Stage | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Don Broco |
NOFX |
While She Sleeps |
Boston Manor[lower-alpha 5] | |||||
Slam Dunk Festival 2022
The North festival was held at Temple Newsam Park on 3 June, and the South festival was held at Hatfield Park on 4 June.
| Temple Newsam Park, Leeds (3 June), Hatfield Park, Hatfield (4 June) | |||||
| Dickies Stage | Jägermeister Stage | Rock Scene Stage | Rock Sound Stage | The Key Club Stage (Left) | The Key Club Stage (Right) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sum 41
|
Alexisonfire
|
Neck Deep
|
Deaf Havana
|
Nova Twins
|
Bears in Trees
|
The Used, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Motion City Soundtrack and Spanish Love Songs were all due to play the festival but cancelled.
Alexisonfire's set time was adjusted to avoid clashes with Sum 41 after The Used's withdrawal. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were replaced by Streetlight Manifesto and Suicide Machines. The Wonder Years played two sets, performing both The Upsides and Surburbia in replacement of Motion City Soundtrack.
Slam Dunk Festival 2023
The South Festival will be held at the Hatfield Park on 27 May, and the North festival will be held at Temple Newsam Park on 28 May.
The Key Club is a live music venue and nightclub in the Merrion Centre, Leeds that is owned by Slam Dunk Records.[12] It has a 300-person capacity,[13] is the successor to The Cockpit,[14] and hosts many events that the Cockpit did such as Slam Dunk and the Garage club nights.[12] It is advertised as the "first pure rock venue in Leeds".[14] Some bands who have played at the Key Club include Fit for an Autopsy,[15] Blood Youth,[16] Cancer Bats,[17] Beartooth, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Idles and The Wonder Years.[18]
Footnotes
- Busted performed as a part of a secret set. They were unlisted prior to the day of the festival. On the day of the festival they were listed as "Y3K".[4]
- Days N' Daze were originally scheduled to open the Punk in Drublic stage but canceled due to flight redirects.[9]
- Escape the Fate were originally scheduled to play third support on the Jägermeister stage but cancelled a week prior to the festival taking place.[9]
- Boston Manor's set was announced six days prior to the festival taking place, having previously been listed as "Special Guest Headliner".[9]
- McFly's set was unannounced and listed on official times as "Secret Special Guest".[10]
Citations
- "Concerts". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- Richardson, Shane (1 November 2007). "You Me at Six – 'Save It for the Bedroom'". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- Redrup, Zach. "EP: Decade – Decade". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- Davies, Alan (25 May 2019). "Special guests Busted set to join Slam Dunk Festival South party in Hatfield". Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ROGERS, JACK. "SLAM DUNK HAVE RESCHEDULED THE DATES OF THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL". Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- Redrup, Zach. "NEWS: Slam Dunk Festival 2020 has been cancelled". Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "Slam Dunk Festival Postponed Until 2021". Kerrang!. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- Davies, Alan (20 August 2021). "Slam Dunk Festival 2021: Stage set times announced for Hatfield Park". Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- Davies, Alan (2 September 2021). "Rescheduled music festival Slam Dunk set for Hatfield Park this weekend after COVID delays". Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- Thompson, Jenna (4 September 2021). "Slam Dunk fans divided as McFly surprise festival with secret set". Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- "Clashfinder". Slam Dunk Festival. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- Sheerin, Joseph. "New to Leeds: The Key Club". Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- "The Key Club". The Key Club. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- "New rock club opens in Leeds to follow in The Cockpit's footsteps". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- "VENOM PRISON ANNOUNCE UK AND EUROPEAN TOUR SUPPORTING FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY". Kerrang!. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- MORRIS, GEORGINA. "Blood Youth forced to abandon gig at Leeds rock venue after audience member injured". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- Five, Jenn (10 January 2019). "CANCER BATS HAVE DROPPED A SURPRISE NEW SONG, INSIDE OUT". Kerrang!. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- "Since 2014 The Key Club has been the number one venue for Rock and Alternative music in Leeds". Retrieved 3 February 2019.