Slam Dunk Festival 2027 has built a lineup that looks like somebody fed twenty years of alternative music into an arcade machine and hit the jackpot. Across Saturday 29 May 2027 at Temple Newsam in Leeds and Sunday 30 May 2027 at Hatfield Park, the same 47-act bill brings pop-punk singalongs, ska brass, metalcore breakdowns, emo nostalgia and a seriously strong next-generation undercard.
The current poster is the festival’s second wave rather than a final programme, but it already has several distinct headline-level blocks. Bowling for Soup and Simple Plan sit above a ska-punk run led by Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and The Interrupters. Killswitch Engage, Beartooth and Wage War bring the heavier pressure, while Sleeping with Sirens, The Used and Billy Talent anchor a section designed for maximum early-2000s emotional damage.
Essential Details for Slam Dunk Festival 2027
- North date: Saturday 29 May 2027 at Temple Newsam, Leeds
- South date: Sunday 30 May 2027 at Hatfield Park, Hatfield
- Lineup format: The same current 47-act lineup is advertised for both locations
- Lineup status: Second wave and still partial, with stages and set times to follow
- Tickets: Official options and payment information are available through the Slam Dunk Festival ticket page
- Travel: Leeds Bradford is the closest major airport for North; London airports serve South, with Hatfield connected to London by rail
Pop-punk’s biggest communal choruses
The top of the poster understands exactly what Slam Dunk crowds want: songs that thousands of people can shout together without needing a warm-up. Bowling for Soup have spent decades turning self-deprecation, huge hooks and between-song comedy into a festival set that feels less like a performance than a very loud reunion. Simple Plan bring an equally deep reserve of pop-punk anthems, and their polished live show should make them one of the weekend’s safest crowd-pleasers.
Reel Big Fish are a major return for the ska side of Slam Dunk. Their brass-driven chaos sits perfectly beside Less Than Jake, a band whose mix of speed, melody and onstage momentum remains practically purpose-built for an outdoor festival. The Interrupters connect that older lineage to the modern revival, bringing sharper production and the kind of choruses that work even on listeners who insist they do not like ska.
The first block also makes room for the present tense. Hot Milk have grown from rising UK alternative act to a band capable of commanding a large festival crowd. The Paradox arrive with the festival billing their appearance as a UK first, while The Family Business LTD bring a new ska supergroup angle. Grade 2 complete the section with direct, fast-moving punk energy.
A metalcore section with no gentle entry point
The heaviest section starts with Killswitch Engage, whose balance of melodic lift and precision riffing helped define modern metalcore. They are joined by Beartooth, a band built around the physical release of massive choruses and crushing drops, and Wage War, whose polished heaviness should translate cleanly to a festival field.
The Amity Affliction add a darker, more emotionally charged edge. ERRA bring technical detail without losing impact, while Amira Elfeky represents a newer wave of heavy alternative music that pulls from metal, nu-metal atmosphere and intensely personal songwriting. This is not a token heavy corner: it is a coherent run with enough range to satisfy both veteran metalcore fans and people following the genre’s current resurgence.
Lower down, Melrose Avenue, From Ashes to New, Graphic Nature, Novelists, Blackgold and Future Palace give the section depth. Graphic Nature and Blackgold should appeal to anyone who likes their riffs with a nu-metal snap, while Novelists and Future Palace bring more melodic and atmospheric shades. The result is a heavy lineup that does not simply repeat the same breakdown for an hour.
Emo nostalgia, anniversary sets and a Cobra Starship return
If the first section is about communal pop-punk and the second is about impact, the third is where nostalgia becomes a weapon. Sleeping with Sirens and The Used can both pull enormous reactions from the opening seconds of their most familiar songs. Billy Talent add a sharper punk-rock attack, with a catalogue full of riffs that still sound urgent rather than preserved in amber.
The Maine remain one of the most dependable live bands from their scene, balancing older favourites with the confidence of a group that never stopped developing. Cobra Starship are one of the poster’s real surprise names. Their return gives Slam Dunk a burst of neon dance-rock mischief and guarantees at least one crowd where irony and genuine affection become impossible to separate.
We the Kings are presented with a 20th-anniversary note, while The Academy Is… bring another booking that will hit long-time scene fans directly in the memory. Cute Is What We Aim For and Forever the Sickest Kids continue that thread, but the block is not only a nostalgia exercise. Mouth Culture, As December Falls, RedHook and The Haunt keep the section connected to newer alternative audiences.
The undercard might be the strongest part
The fourth block is where the poster becomes especially difficult to dismiss. The Front Bottoms bring messy, hyper-specific indie-rock storytelling that has built an unusually devoted audience. Superheaven add dense guitars and grunge weight, while Four Year Strong offer the ideal combination of pop-punk melody and hardcore muscle.
Joyce Manor can fit more emotional damage into a short song than most bands manage across an album. Trophy Eyes will celebrate ten years of Chemical Miracle, a record that remains central to the band’s relationship with its audience. Knuckle Puck complete a formidable run of modern pop-punk and melodic punk names.
Then come several acts that make early arrival worthwhile: Ben Quad, Games We Play, Super Sometimes, Shoreline, Overgrow, Car Underwater and Love Rarely. These are not decorative small-print additions. They are the part of the lineup where fans can find the band they will be talking about before the next Slam Dunk cycle begins.
The complete current Slam Dunk Festival 2027 lineup
The 47 artists on the current second-wave poster are:
Bowling for Soup, Simple Plan, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, The Interrupters, Hot Milk, The Paradox, The Family Business LTD, Grade 2, Killswitch Engage, Beartooth, Wage War, The Amity Affliction, ERRA, Amira Elfeky, Melrose Avenue, From Ashes to New, Graphic Nature, Novelists, Blackgold, Future Palace, Sleeping with Sirens, The Used, Billy Talent, The Maine, Cobra Starship, We the Kings, The Academy Is…, Mouth Culture, As December Falls, Cute Is What We Aim For, Forever the Sickest Kids, RedHook, The Haunt, The Front Bottoms, Superheaven, Four Year Strong, Joyce Manor, Trophy Eyes, Knuckle Puck, Ben Quad, Games We Play, Super Sometimes, Shoreline, Overgrow, Car Underwater and Love Rarely.
No stage split or set times are attached to the current poster. Slam Dunk’s four visual lineup blocks should not be treated as confirmed stage assignments until the festival publishes that information.
North or South?
The useful answer is whichever journey makes more sense. The advertised lineup is the same at both sites, so the musical decision does not depend on choosing one exclusive headliner over another. North takes place at Temple Newsam in Leeds on Saturday 29 May 2027; South follows at Hatfield Park on Sunday 30 May 2027.
North suits fans travelling from northern England, Scotland or cities connected through Leeds. Temple Newsam is a large outdoor estate, so comfortable footwear and a realistic plan for the trip back into the city matter. South is convenient for London and the surrounding counties, with Hatfield railway station providing a practical route for many attendees. In both cases, leave more time than a normal arena show requires.
The late-May bank holiday timing can make transport and accommodation busier than usual. Book cancellable rooms early if possible, check the festival’s official travel information closer to the weekend, and do not assume the final artist schedule will align neatly with the last convenient train.
What to watch before the gates open
More lineup additions. The festival has presented this as an expanding 2027 programme, so further names may change the balance of each section.
Actual stage assignments. The poster groups artists visually, but the festival has not yet published confirmed stage names for every act. Wait for official information before building clash plans.
Set times. With 47 acts already announced for each site, overlaps will be unavoidable. The eventual timetable will decide whether this poster feels generous or cruel.
Camping and travel updates. Slam Dunk has added camping information for 2027, and transport details can change as the event approaches. Use official pages rather than old forum advice.
A lineup that knows exactly who it is for
Slam Dunk Festival 2027 is not trying to become a general-purpose mega-festival. That focus is its advantage. The current bill gives ska-punk veterans, metalcore loyalists, emo nostalgists and younger alternative fans a reason to occupy the same field, even if they spend the day arguing about which clash hurts most.
The headline names provide instant recognition, but the real strength is the construction underneath them. Cobra Starship can trigger a flashback, Killswitch Engage can flatten a crowd, Reel Big Fish can turn the site into a brass-powered party, and Ben Quad or Love Rarely might become somebody’s discovery of the weekend.
Check tickets, payment options and the latest event information through the official Slam Dunk Festival website.
