Slam Dunk Leeds: I went to Temple Newsam festival with ‘electric atmosphere’ – but was surprised by what I saw

The popular festival featured a diverse line-up of bands; from punk, pop-punk, emo, heavy rock and metal. There was literally something to suit all tastes across the seven stages in the picturesque park, though complaints of overflowing toilets and four hour queues marred the experience for some.

The festival was held at Temple Newsam in Leeds, a seemingly perfect location. A little overcast compared to the previous day, the park was packed from early doors and entry was fairly easy, though general tickets faced a bit of a queue.

The line-up was stacked with some of the biggest names in punk and emo. The Offspring, Enter Shikari, Creeper, and Malevolence all headlined, with supporting sets from bands such as Bowling For Soup, Billy Talent and Yellowcard.

The day started with exceptional performances from Teenage Bottlerocket, Emarosa, Girlfriends and Seeyouspacecowboy. Slam Dunk stalwarts, Zebrahead embraced the Dickies mainstage with a high-energy set, with Sheffield-born lead guitarist Dan Palmer leaping around the stage like a sugar fed toddler.

Electronic rock duo, Wargasm graced the Rock Scene stage and brought their vibrant sound of nu metal, while Euro gypsy swing legends, Gogol Bordello, brought out the sun for an emphatic and politically imposed performance. Their Romani-inspired sound captures a unique blend of cultured genres and was massively popular with the mid afternoon crowd.

The evening was played out to outstanding sets from We Came as Romans, Flogging Molly, Scene Queen, PVRIS and punk legends, Bowling for Soup, to name a few.

Finishing the evening saw opposing headline sets from The Offspring and Enter Shikari. Choosing the latter, we were subjected to a mind blowing set packed with amazing pyrotechnics and some of the deepest bass I’ve ever encountered. Their electro/metal core sound includes hits “Set Me On Fire”, “Labyrinth”, “Satellites” and ended with “The Dreamers Hotel”.

The festival was also a great opportunity to discover new bands. There were a lot of up-and-coming bands on the bill, and it was great to see them get a chance to play in front of a big crowd.

Overall, Slam Dunk Festival North 2023 was a musical success. The line-up was exceptionally popular and the atmosphere was rousing and electric.

Sadly, the festival was marred with massively long queues for food, drinks and welfare facilities. To sell out a festival is incredibly impressive but there must be constraints within the layout to accommodate the volume of people it needs. People have to eat when on site if they can’t bring their own food, but nobody wants to queue for over two hours.

I hope more consideration is put into next years event to satisfy the backlash seen on social media over traffic issues, food and drink queues etc…

Slam Dunk Festival is a great way to spend a summer day. If you’re a fan of punk, emo, or pop-punk, then you definitely need to check it out for 2024.