It's hard to believe that festival season is almost upon us, and as announcements are still appearing on social media almost every day, I wanted to look back on my favourite day festival and one of my favourite things to ever exist : Slam Dunk Festival.

2011

2012

• So much sun and heat that I got sunburnt while I was queuing. 
• Me meeting Matt Nicholls (Bring Me The Horizon) because he was there with While She Sleeps.
• A very vague memory of the aforementioned Matt Nicholls doodling around someone's nipple while I was politely waiting to ask for a picture. (He's a sweetheart, to be honest)
• Me meeting The Blackout under the scorching sun after more queuing.
• Trying to see James Veck-Gilodi (Deaf Havana) who had been announced for a secret acoustic set but never managing to get in. 
• Running from Straight Lines' signing to Architects' signing and crossing the line of a While She Sleeps signing in the process.
• Sitting down during Cartel and my friend Sophie whispering to me "hey, the guy behind you... isn't it Sam from Architects?" and this is why, somewhere in this world, there is a picture of my shoe next to Sam's shoe because I wanted proof but also was too shy to ask him for a picture. (Oh baby me) (That's actually super embarrassing, why am I even saying that)
• One of my favourite live moments ever as, during Miserable At Best, Derek accidentally dropped his microphone and the entire crowd kept singing along for him. That will forever remain one of the best memories of my entire life.
• The three guys who danced and sang along during the entirety of Mayday Parade and occasionally one of them would crowdsurf, only to come back and carry on having a boogie with his friends. As the youngsters say, friendship goals.
• The hope of meeting Charlie Simpson. One day.
• My horrible dance moves during She Likes (Bittersweet Love) by Forever The Sickest Kids.
• Getting squashed against the wall during Don Broco because of Thug Workout.

• Me meeting William Beckett. My heart.
• Missing a chunk of The Summer Set because we wanted to say hi to We Are The Ocean (the elusive band who only shows up in the great outdoors when they do a signing)
• My ankle getting squashed during Mallory Knox. That hurt. A LOT.
• Sleeping With Sirens making the main stage twenty minutes late but allowing me to watch the end of All Time Low in the process. Might have almost lost my voice to Weightless. 
• Ditching everyone to see Four Year Strong. Still no regrets. They have always been one of my favourite bands and in the list of the ones who come first.
• Meeting Four Year Strong at merch after their set, drenched in water and other people's sweat and looking about 12 years old.
• Deaf Havana covering Robbie Williams' Let Me Entertain You and being in the best sets I'd seen all day.
• Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!'s song after their set being 1er Gaou by Magic System. It's a French thing. (Hence why there were three French people dancing in the room)
• Crying at We Are The Ocean.
• Crying at Sunshine by Kids in Glass Houses for the twenty-something time.
• Alcohol. Too much alcohol. 
• I have a vague memory of the afterparty's soundtrack consisting of mostly Man Overboard, The Story So Far and the Wonder Years, Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World and Helena by My Chemical Romance. And that's it.

• So much rain and so much cold.
• Us repeating over and over that we were "so proud of our boys" during Canterbury so that in case anyone was doing the Slam Dunk drinking game, they'd be fucked by 3pm. (Real talk, but I'll always be unironically so proud of my boys in Canterbury. I never talk about it. But I'll always be proud of what they've achieved as a band and they have impacted my life forever)
• My ankle being squashed during Mallory Knox. AGAIN.
• Us getting angry because Mallory Knox didn't play Oceans.
• Seeing Natives because I couldn't make it inside the tent for Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!
• Tears during Sunshine by Kids In Glass Houses. (I have heard that song live over thirty times and I can recall only one time when I didn't cry. Stupid perfect song by a stupid perfect band)
• Queuing for fifteen minutes to watch Neck Deep and A Part of Me being absolutely lovely.
• Getting on my friend's shoulders during Rhys-O And The Legend of Big Phone by Save Your Breath and absolutely freaking out because Aled Phillips (Kids In Glass Houses) joined in.
• Running to the metal tent in the hopes of catching the end of Bury Tomorrow. Failing miserably.
• Buying a Bury Tomorrow jumper because I was freezing my entire life off after so much rain in so little clothing.
• Having the coolest chat with Phil Jenkins (Kids In Glass Houses) after the end.
• Having a super drunk chat with Kris Richards (Save Your Breath) and we both got super sad because Kids In Glass Houses were breaking up.
• Shocking and upsetting Eric Poncet (Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!) because I'd never listened to Motion City Soundtrack.
• My friend telling the same Eric that she didn't want to pay £10 for Pardon My French because it wasn't worth it. She meant that they'd just released a new edition and she wanted it instead of the regular one, but it's not exactly how it came out...
• Confusing Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! by turning up at their signing and speaking French. Always.

2015

• Getting fucked over by our taxi driver in Leeds and missing all of Set It Off and all of Pvris apart from My House.
• So much heat in Leeds. 
• "He aged nicely like a fine wine", also known as the most French thing I have ever said in my entire life.
• Unsurprisingly crying to We Are The Ocean. Twice. Young Heart, man. Young Heart.
• Missing out on Beartooth in Leeds because too many people were queuing outside the Academy.
• Having to queue fifteen minutes to get in for Bury Tomorrow.
• Going out of the Academy after being in the pits for Bury Tomorrow, sliding on an empty cup outside and splitting my knee open. I pretended it didn't hurt for about five minutes and then I ended up in the first aid tent where they gave me a Finding Nemo plaster. So hardcore. Consequently, I missed a big chunk of Lower Than Atlantis.
• The moment when Cyrielle said to me (in French) "Look at his bum in those jeans" and about ten seconds later, Laura turned around to say the exact same thing about the exact same person who shall remain unnamed.
• Queuing a full hour to see While She Sleeps and when inside, casually walking to barrier. 
• Fighting with a drunk, middle aged woman in that hour of queuing.
• Murray Macleod (The Xcerts) being on stage with Architects for Youth Is Wasted on the Young and the official beginning of my love story with The Xcerts.
• Me smacking my hand on the barrier because Dani Winter-Bates (Bury Tomorrow) was on stage with Architects.
• Having one drink in Leeds because I'm not a £4 for a vodka and coke kind of girl.
• My friend Harry drunkenly apologising to me because he'd met Architects.
• Simon and Bobby from Don Broco performing and being on stage with Beartooth.
• Crowdsurfing to Bury Tomorrow and While She Sleeps and then ending up on the shoulders of someone I didn't know during Four Walls.
• Falling over in a circle pit during Architects. So hardcore. 
• All of the alcohol at the afterparty in Wolverhampton. So much alcohol.
• Telling Max Helyer (You Me At Six) that I'd watched Architects when they were playing at the same time. (I actually watched both, but it's not how it came out)
• Complimenting someone on their Lower Than Atlantis t-shirt and then they asked me if I knew Canterbury. Too soon.
• "Laura is trying to get me to listen to them but it would ruin my street cred if I did" is an actual thing I said about my poor friend Laura and her love for The Story So Far. Then I proceeded to pull out my phone and find a picture of Parker Cannon that had been in there since Reading 2014 to prove my point, the point being that "he is so pretty". I was very drunk.
• A conversation I cannot remember at all that resulted in me and someone I cannot remember at all doing the Lucker Stomp in the middle of Wolverhampton at 3 in the morning. My ankle didn't like it at all.
• Spending about forty-five minutes talking about music with Jon outside and it's crazy how now he's a really good friend of mine when back then we barely knew each other. It's also how I started listening to twenty one pilots. Drunk music recommendations in the middle of Wolverhampton.
• Drunk crying in my bathtub because I hadn't met Architects. I'm hopeless.

Hopes for 2016?