Slam Dunk has, sadly, come and gone for one more yr. The distinctive competition this yr boasted dozens of bands throughout two days with unbelievable headliners The Offspring, Enter Shikari and The Hunna.

While festivalgoers will little question know intimately how Slam Dunk days go – the queuing for meals, bogs, ready round in your favorite band to start out when you reapply solar cream – what are the standout moments for the bands who play the festivals?

There’s little question plenty of ready round, sound-checking, and every kind of technical guff that we’ll by no means really know the ins and outs of, however – certainly – they’ve an opportunity to have some enjoyable, as nicely?

For American punk rockers Destroy Boys, this was their first expertise on the competition – and so they could not have been happier with the way it turned out.

The trio got a troublesome noon slot – however they have been pleasantly shocked with the unbelievably stacked turnout. “It was really cool,” singer and guitarist Violet grinned. “It was nice they showed up early to watch us at noon!”

Drummer Narsai agreed: “We never played that early ever, and it went great! American festival crowds tend to not fill up until later in the afternoon, so it was really cool to see people show up and be really receptive.” Violet added: “We didn’t expect it to go so well.”

The Hunna have been additionally newcomers to the competition. Slam Dunk 2023 was the rockers’ first foray into the line-up – and so they made fairly an impression. They headlined the Key Club Stage after releasing their distinctive self-titled album again in October.

Ahead of headlining their first day at Slam Dunk, The Hunna’s frontman Ryan confessed: “We couldn’t be more excited to play! We’ve got a lot of new [songs], and old ones as well. It’s our first Slam Dunk, and to be headlining is just dope.”

With that, Ryan added that the band weren’t feeling any further stress over being newcomers to the competition. “We like being the underdog,” he defined. “We always have that mindset when we get on stage – and we love playing on stage, that’s where we have the most fun. And, for us, we’ve gone around so many festivals and had not many people know of us. We go on and do our thing and we give our passion and energy and we make tons of new fans. That’s what it’s all about.”

Slam Dunk is not only a nice expertise for newcomers to the competition, although.

Rock icon stalwarts Kids in Glass Houses got here out of live-performing retirement to grace Slam Dunk levels over the weekend. And bassist Shay felt the love emanating onto the stage.

“The shows are always great,” Shay mentioned of getting performed Slam Dunk “about three or four” instances. “Slam Dunk shows are always fantastic. The kids are always well up for it, and I feel like they’re always really grateful you’re doing it.”

PVRIS star Lynn Gunn additionally had touching recollections of Slam Dunk on the forefront of her reminiscence in the course of the sunny Hatfield day.

“Back in 2018,” Lynn reminisced. “It may have been in Hatfield, I remember at the end of the night there was still a couple of bands playing, but basically a couple friends and me found a little opening in a field and everybody sat down in the grass and there was a thunderstorm going on. 

“We simply sat on this grassy hill and we may see the competition on one facet after which this open thunderstorm [on the other]. It felt like while you have been a child and also you go watch the fireworks or one thing, it was very nice!”

Real Friends star Kyle Fasel did yearn for the quieter days of the band, however. “The competition is superior now,” he revealed. “I do find it irresistible… however I do form of miss the appeal of the sooner ones the place they took over a complete college!

“It was cool, you’d play in a school gym and I kind of liked that… there was this anticipation.” With that, he added: “I understand why the festival is the way it is now, because it’s so much bigger.”

Slam Dunk will return in 2024.