A Brief Guide to the Best UK Punk Festivals

Line-ups and Details of the UK's Punk All-Dayers and Festivals

Apr 3, 2009

A brief look at some of the biggest and best punk rock festivals in the UK, from The Rebellion Festival to Slam Dunk, the Durham Punk Festival and the new Mutiny fest.

As this festival round-up proves, punk is still very much live and kicking within the UK. From the old-school marauding of the annual Durham Punk Festival to the more modern pop-punk fizz of Slam Dunk and the mixture of old and new that is the massive Rebellion UK, these shows run the punk rock gamut. Punk's not dead: it just smells a bit.

Rebellion UK: Line-up and Details

What: The Rebellion festival (with corresponding events in Amsterdam and the UK) has grown from its former incarnation as the Wasted fest into perhaps the biggest punk festival in the world, with dozens of bands performing over the course of four days and five stages.

Best Of The Rest: The Damned, Anti-nowhere League, 999, Blood or Whiskey, The Exploited, Goldblade, Captain Hotknives, Citizen Fish, The Last Resort, Monkish, Neville Staple Band, Outl4w, Random Hand, Resistance 77, Short Bus Window Lickers, SNFU, Sonic Boom Six, Subhumans, UK Subs, Vice Squad, Voodoo Glow Skulls

Slam Dunk Festival: Line-up and Details

What: Aiming squarely at the frothier end of the punk and powerpop spectrum, Slam Dunk is a one-day event featuring dozens of (generally) hip young things spread across a number of stages.

Best of the Rest: The Blackout, Anti-Flag, Hundred Reasons, The Slackers, King Blues, Cobra Starship, We The Kings, The Ghost Of A Thousand, Hollywood Undead, Attack! Attack!, Sonic Boom Six, Farse

What: Now a dependable and regular date on the punk calendar, this annual all-dayer features the best of 30-odd years of punk.

Best of the Rest: Cockney Rejects (30th anniversary show), Angelic Upstarts, Leatherface, UK Subs, Goldblade, Crashed Out, The Fiend, Gimp Fist

Mutiny One Dayer: Line-up and Details

What: In the best DIY punk tradition, Mutiny is a new festival being staged by the fans, for the fans. Say first-time promoters the Shantipunx: “The festival is a celebration of the community of punk rock, a scene that goes far deeper than the music. It celebrates its brilliant timeless music and the ability to unite people from all over the world with exciting bands that genuinely touch people with very little hype.”

Best of the Rest: Neville Staple, Anti-Nowhere League, UK Subs, Goldblade, Sonic Boom Six, Strawberry Blondes, Random Hand, Middle Finger Salute, Comply Or Daisy, Play Daisy

Give It A Name Incoming: Line-up and Details

What: Scaled down from last year’s arena-sized event and with an extra ‘Incoming’ attached to its name, 2009’s GIAN still features a revolving bill playing venues in Manchester and London on different nights with a musical roster that leans towards post-hardcore and screamo territory.

Best Of The Rest: The Blackout, The Academy Is, The King Blues, Underoath, Escape The Fate, Innerpartysystem, Versaemerge, Whole Wheat Bread, Emery, Lights, In This Moment

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