Slam Dunk South, Hatfield Park 2025: The Review
Slam Dunk Festival is renowned for its high-energy line-ups and vibrant atmosphere. First arriving in Hatfield in 2010, the festival has upgraded from its roots at the University of Hertfordshire to its current home in Hatfield Park. The festival has become a staple for fans of punk, ska, emo, and alternative rock. Here is what we caught at the Southern leg of the weekend.
Kid Bookie | Hatfield Park | Key Club Stage
After a short delay, Kid Bookie has erupted onto the Key Club stage like a firecracker, leading the crowd in an immediate middle-finger salute, wasting no time to launch into his ferocious flow. Commanding the stage with the signature intensity that’s made him one of the UK’s most exciting live acts. His band, which features new recruits George on drums and Mike on guitar, locked in behind him and laying down a jagged, genre-bending backdrop that shifts from pounding riffs to eerie melodies with Bookie’s signature emo/hip hop lyricism overlaying the music. Early technical issues have tried to trip things up, but Bookie takes it in stride, laughing through the static with a sharp-tongued quip: “I came prepared, no shade, but I’m getting murdered out here.” The crowd roars in support, and just like that, the energy resets.
By the time hit song ‘Get Out’ hits, the red lights kick in, and Griffin Taylor’s (Vended) vocals are piping through the speakers, amplifying the intensity. The entire set is full-throttle. Bookie and his band tear through each track, delivering with venom, humour, and laser-focused rage. His ability to shift between rapping, singing, and screaming is an impressive feat, showing how talented this artist is. It’s worth noting: his bandmates are brand new. To get on stage just weeks into learning Bookie’s unique blend of alternative, punk, and hip-hop chaos is no small feat. But they hold their own, making it feel like they’ve been playing together for years. By the end, Bookie turns the volume up on his politics, leading chants in support of trans rights, calling for an end to the conflict in the Congo, and demanding a Free Palestine. It’s a powerful moment, raw, impassioned, and met with thunderous cheers from a crowd that clearly shares his fire.
Kid Bookie opens the Key Club stage like a man on a mission, technical issues and timing delays be damned. This is more than a performance; it’s a battle cry. And judging by the audience’s cheers, he’s got an army behind him.
Photo Credit: Alex Brown
Kid Bookie | Hatfield Park | Key Club Stage
Imminence | Hatfield Park | Main Stage East
Clad head-to-toe in black, with not a hint of colour on their instruments, tattoos, or stage presence, Imminence are wasting no time making their presence felt. With more technical issues onstage, the volume might be a touch too much at first, but once it’s reined in, the band launch into their set with clinical precision. The audience is treated to a masterclass in boiling riffs, hellish screams, and sweeping violin melodies which crash together in a storm of sound. Constructing an entire atmosphere, one minute the crowd is head bangs in unison, the next they’re swaying with eyes closed, lost in the emotion of it all.
Eddie Berg is commanding the stage with absolute intent, his vocals the perfect match for the band’s cinematic metalcore. His violin playing adds layers of depth, and in a standout moment, he screams into the violin mic, producing an eerie, distorted wail that echoes across the field like a warning siren from another world. Imminence are bringing a bleak, brooding undercurrent that stands in stark contrast to the more upbeat acts of the day. But far from alienating the crowd, it pulls them in. Fans are raising fists, screaming lyrics, and connecting deeply with the emotional intensity pouring off the stage.
Hailing from Sweden (a breeding ground for world-class live bands) it’s no surprise that Imminence are so in sync. Where others bring fire and flair, Imminence bring the storm. It’s a cinematic, emotional, and relentless journey.
Photo Credit: Mariana Patsi
Imminence | Hatfield Park | Main Stage East
Movements | Hatfield Park | Main Stage West
Kicking off with the emotionally-charged and instantly recognisable ‘Colorblind’, Movements have locked the crowd in. Voices raised, singing every word back, it’s a perfect opener, one that blurs the line between band and audience from the very first note. Crashing dual vocals sweep across the field, sharing the emotion with each member of the crowd. There’s no mistaking the connection here, this is a band with their roots deep in their fans’ hearts, and today, that love comes pouring right back at them in full force.
“This festival is a bucket list moment,” frontman Patrick Miranda tells the crowd, beaming. It’s not Movements’ first time at Slam Dunk, but it’s clear this one means something. “I know how wild you can get,” he grins before dropping into the set list that is a dream for both long-time fans and newcomers alike. Movements balance emotional heavy-hitters with newer material that signals just how much this band is still evolving. The sun even decides to make a rare appearance, breaking through the clouds as the band dig into the heart of their performance. The timing is almost too perfect, a soft glow is cast across the crowd as the band lean into their most vulnerable, romantic moments. Miranda commands the stage with quiet power, never showy, but entirely magnetic. He tells us it’s the biggest crowd Movements have ever played to, but you’d never guess it. He looks completely at home, arms wide, soaking in the moment with awe and grace.
Photo Credit: Alex Brown
Movements | Hatfield Park | Main Stage West
Landmvrks | Hatfield Park | Main Stage East
LANDMVRKS storm onto the Main Stage East to a wall of applause, immediately commanding the biggest crowd of the day so far. No intro needed, no slow burn, they have come out swinging, dropping the hammer from the very first note. They tear into their set with full-throttle energy, slamming riff after riff into a crowd that’s more than ready to match their chaos. It’s aggressive, it’s razor-sharp, and it’s everything you expect from one of metalcore’s most exciting live acts.
Partway through, the volume and velocity hit another level as Matt from While She Sleeps joins them on stage, which ignites the pit, with fists flying, bodies airborne, and a wave of adrenaline crashing over the crowd. With the set powering forward, the band lead the crowd into ferocious headbanging, pushing the energy higher with every track. They hit with force but play with control, locked in a groove that’s brutal and tightly honed. The chaos reaches peak festival absurdity when, somehow, a crowd-surfing mime and a man in a lobster suit make their way to the front. It’s strange, it’s hilarious, and it fits perfectly into the carnage unfolding on stage. Even in the mayhem, LANDMVRKS never lose focus.
By the time the final breakdown hits, they’ve done more than play a set, they are owning this stage and are searing their name into Slam Dunk’s memory, raising the bar for every band that follows.
Photo Credit: Mariana Patsi
Landmvrks | Hatfield Park | Main Stage East
Stray From The Path | Hatfield Park | Main Stage West
Stray From The Path hit the Main Stage East like a 10-ton truck at full speed, smashing through the silence with zero hesitation and musically punching the audience square in the face. Frontman Drew York raps over ferocious, angular melodies, spitting venom with surgical precision as Jack Nicholson’s maniacal face looms behind them on the backdrop, the perfect unhinged visual to match the chaos onstage. If there were circle pits before this, they don’t compare. The pit explodes into absolute carnage, easily one of the most brutal of the day. The drums rumble like thunder, guitars squeal like sirens, and the entire set is swinging like a wrecking ball made of noise and fury.
They play a set list made of old and new, and the crowd doesn’t miss a beat, fists in the air and lyrics screamed back. There’s no “warming up” here, SFTP are treating every moment like it’s life or death. Every breakdown is hitting harder than the last, every shout reverberates with purpose. It’s militant, it’s wild, and it’s tight as hell. Stray From The Path haven’t come to entertain, they have come to detonate. And judging by the sweaty, screaming masses left in their wake, mission accomplished.
Stray From The Path | Hatfield Park | Main Stage West
Graphic Nature | Hatfield Park | The Key Club Stage
Graphic Nature arrive on the Key Club Stage to the sound of a blaring siren, and from the second the first note hits, it feels like the tent’s about to split open. The first track is tearing through the air like a hot blade through steel, and the crowd erupts. Drinks fly, bodies bounce, and it’s clear from the outset, they are not here to play nice. The band surge through riffs with the unhinged intensity of early Rage Against The Machine, but with a darker, more chaotic twist. The frontman barks and growls through the mic, snarling at the crowd like a man possessed, as machine-gun guitars and cannon-blast lyrics rip through the chaos with violent precision.
The lighting is ramping up in time with the aggression, flashing and pulsing against the industrial backdrop, cranking the intensity higher with every beat. Midway through, vocalist, Harvey Freeman calls for a circle pit, and the crowd obliges without hesitation, a whirlpool of limbs and fury forming instantly. Then, the chaos cuts for a moment of vulnerability: a short but powerful message about men’s mental health, a reminder of how important it is to speak up and be heard. It’s a rare pause in the noise, but a welcome one, then they dive straight into a crushing track tackling those very struggles.
Even as sound from Main Stage East tries to bleed in, Graphic Nature refuse to be drowned out, in fact, they only get louder. Their sound devours everything around it, making damn sure that everyone inside the tent (and anyone passing by) knows exactly who’s in control.
Graphic Nature | Hatfield Park | The Key Club Stage
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Stray From The Path