Head banging, crowd surfing, mosh pits and thousands of like-minded music lovers.
Slam Dunk Festival North is back for another year and there's a huge line-up to look forward to. Set in the heart of Temple Newsam, one of Leeds' best known festival venues is the hosting a one day set of metal, emo, punk and ska music from some of the industry's biggest names.
Dates for the diary...
The actual festival itself takes place over a single day, but there's a full two days of alternative music and festival antics to get through before the day itself.
Wednesday 1 June- You Me At Six at Temple Newsam.
Popular band You Me At Six will take over the Temple Newsam site to perform a special one-off set in honour of the ten year anniversary of their album Sinners Never Sleep. This might not be affiliated with SDF itself, but the 2021 headliners are long standing favourites of the festival so the band are certain to set the scene for the weekend's festivities.
Thursday 2 June - SDF22 North Launch Party Club Night at Leeds Beckett Student Union.
Mayday Parade, Real Friends and As It Is will be bringing irock/alt/emo/indie-pop tunes to Leeds the night before at Leeds Beckett SU. This incredible lineup will unite long-time music lovers with groupie newbies for one night only- and entry is under £10.
Friday 3 June - Slam Dunk Festival 2022 North at Temple Newsam.
The one-day festival kicks off on the bank holiday Friday, with live performances across five stages at Temple Newsam. Expect huge headline acts like Neck Deep, Sum41 and ALEXISONFIRE, amongst other exciting names (see below for the full list of acts).
The Wonder Years will be playing songs from their Upsides album at Slam Dunk Festival North (Leeds) whilst their album Suburbia will be played instead at the festival's southern location exclusively).
Streetlight Manifesto, Point North, Pinkshift, will perform make their European festival debuts whilst Smrtdeath, Meet Me At The Altar, Kennyhoopla and Deathbyromy will experience their first UK or UK festival respectively. For emo-infused alternative-rock Beauty School, the band will be making their first-ever festival performance.
Slam Dunk Festival is also hosting an array of exciting new talent, and for many this will be their first performance this side of the pond.
Tickets
Image: Slam Dunk Music
Tickets start at £69, but you're likely to get a ticket priced over £85 as the date gets looms closer.
Those looking for VIP entry tickets can pay £129 for entry to the VIP Guest area, VIP toilets and guest bar.
Big Green Coach Services is providing the coach travel for those trekking from further afield, but for us in Leeds, shuttle buses will be available from Sovereign Street in the city centre with a choice of booking in advance or on the day.
Car parking at Temple Newsam costs £5 per vehicle.
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Sophie Smith -
29th April 2022 
