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Both bands announced the concert today on social media, along with another one in Montreal, Canada. The UK night is going to be held at at the OVO Wembley Arena in London on the 24th of June, with Alexisonfire playing ‘Crisis’ and Billy Talent playing ‘II’ in full, to what will certainly be a maximum capacity crowd of 12,500.

Both bands were founded in the Ontario province in Canada, with Billy Talent being the older group, having formed in 1991 under the name Pezz. Though they released three self-titled albums after renaming, ‘Billy Talent II’ was their best remembered and received the best scores from review sites. Packed full of angst, it walked the line between anthemic rock and rebellious punk, not quite pigeonholing itself into either. Singles like ‘Fallen Leaves’, ‘Red Flag’ and ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’ were a hit with rock radio stations, and the band earned themselves a Juno Award for best rock album, one of Canada’s most prestigious prizes.

Alexisonfire formed later in 2001, but following on from strong second album ‘Watch Out!’ in 2004 led them to a defining album in the rock and hardcore scene in ‘Crisis’. Sometimes described as “pop screamo”, their sound was a mixture of hardcore punk with George Pettit’s harsh vocals, and very raw emotional rock built around Dallas Green’s hauntingly beautiful singing. The singles ‘Boiled Frogs’ and ‘This Could Be Anywhere In The World’ are still hugely popular today, with the album being cited as inspiration to many of the Canadian scene’s later albums by artists like Cancer Bats and Silverstein.

Both albums reached number one in Canada’s Album Chart and became a large part of each band’s legacy. Fittingly, Liam Cormier of Cancer Bats was quoted in a now-deleted article as saying “everyone will always remember Alexisonfire and Billy Talent as the two bands that brought heavy music to the forefront and broke that scene wide open in this country.” Also rather appropriately, both bands released their last albums in 2022, and both are currently in the studio writing new music, with Alexisonfire only documenting their recording sessions earlier this week.

In a post on Instagram, Alexisonfire stated that the tour will feature both albums played front-to-back, with the headliner alternating – they will headline London while Billy Talent will play last in Montreal. US post-hardcore stars Touché Amoré will be opening the evening at the Wembley Arena. Pre-sale starts tomorrow at 10AM, general sale follows this Friday also at 10AM, with both Alexisonfire and Billy Talent providing ticket links and passwords on their Instagram posts. Alexisonfire will also be performing ‘Crisis’ in full when they headline the Saturday at this year’s Outbreak Fest, which runs from the 26th to the 28th of June at Manchester’s B.E.C Arena.

Speaking to Kerrang about the announcement, Sum 41 frontman, Deryck Whibley, said: “Slam Dunk is a festival we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and until now we’ve never been able to pull it off.

Scheduling and all that stuff has meant we’ve not been able to play in previous years, which has been frustrating. To finally be appearing at Slam Dunk is a great feeling – it’s been a long time coming. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do, and it’s a festival I’ve continually heard great things about. Sum 41 playing Slam Dunk just makes sense to me.”

ANNOUNCEMENT INCOMING!
Our 2nd headliner is @Sum41!
Also adding @BillyTalentBand, @theused, @thestorysofarca, @basementuk, @GrayscalePA & @DreamStateUK, reunion shows in the shape of @WeAreTheInCrowd & @YourDemise

+ Punk In Drublic is returning with @NOFXband, @Pennywise & MORE! pic.twitter.com/xWFavxzoR7

— Slam Dunk Festival (@SlamDunkMusic) October 23, 2019

The Canadian pop-punk rockers will be joined on the bill by the likes of The Used, Billy Talent, The Story So Far, Basement, Your Demise, We Are In The Crowd, NOFX, Pennywise, Dream State, and Grayscale.

NOFX’s Fat Mike, said: “I don’t actually remember playing last year… so we decided to do it again this year! I probably still won’t remember, but this time we’re gonna video tape it!”

Slam Dunk Festival North take place, at Leeds Temple, in Newsam, on Saturday the 23rd of May 2020. While, Slam Dunk South will take place, at Hatfield House, in Hertfordshire, on Sunday the 24th of May 2020.

Sum 41 will join be joined as headliners by the previously announced Don Broco, alongside the likes of The Wonder Years, State Champs, Mayday Parade, Knuckle Puck, Four Year Strong, Bayside, Ice Nine Kills, Issues, Hands Like Houses and Motion City Soundtrack. The festival’s latest line-up announcement also includes a world exclusive reunion from We Are The In Crowd and the return of Your Demise.

Posting on Instagram, Slam Dunk wrote: “THE SECOND #SDF20 ANNOUNCEMENT HAS ARRIVED! Yes, it’s happening, the rumours are true… We are bringing the mighty Sum 41 to the party as our second headliner, alongside Billy Talent and The Used!

“SDF favourites The Story So Far are back for 2020 and Basement make their 2nd ever SDF appearance. We have 2 massive reunions for Slam Dunk 2020. The first is the UK’s very own hardcore heroes, Your Demise. We are also super excited to have We Are The In Crowd back on UK soil as a world exclusive!”

Concluding they said: “We are pleased to announce the return of Punk In Drublic Stage to SDF. The full line up will be announced soon, but for now we can tell you NOFX will be returning with the legendary Pennywise. Last but not least we have UK up-and-comers Dream State, and American pop-punks Grayscale, plus plenty more to come over the following months, including our 2 heavy stages!”