Festival preview: New Found Glory at Slam Dunk, Leeds

You guys have played some serious festivals over the years, how do you feel about returning to Slam Dunk?

I am really excited about coming back to Slam Dunk. It’s been six years since we were last on the festival, and it’s awesome to see how large it’s grown in its 10 years, from literally just some bands playing outdoors to pretty much taking over entire cities for the day, not to mention going from one show/city to three different dates each year! Besides, the lineup is always great, and for a band like us, it’s a great way to see all of your friends in bands that you’ve met through previous tours and festivals.

I have seen that you guys have plenty of tour dates planned through out June and July over in the United States; Do you have any plans for a UK or European tour? Any other festivals booked in that you can tell us about?

Slam Dunk will be the ONLY place you’ll be able to see NFG in the UK for 2016, so if you haven’t gotten your tickets yet or planned on watching us at the festival, you’d better change your mind real fast! As of now we don’t have any other festivals or touring booked after Slam Dunk besides the Warped Tour in the US in the summer.

Since ’97, you have released a total of 20 albums and EPs, with the last one I heard being ‘Resurrection’. Do you have any plans this year to release a new album?

Yeah, that’s a lot of releases! We are actually planning to get starting on writing and recording a new album this fall, after the Warped Tour is done. I doubt it’ll be released until 2017, but we will definitely be actively working on it towards the end of this year.

Since guitarist Steve Klein left back in 2013, how have the band dynamics changed? Are you all happy with the current line-up?

I think with all of us having to deal with the departure of Steve and how to continue with our band throughout that process we’ve actually become a lot closer over the past two-plus years, believe it or not. We’ve been doing this for almost 20 years and I think the bond that the four of us have now is stronger than ever, and our live show is the tightest and best-sounding it’s been in a long time, so we’re definitely happy with the way things are now, and we’re very much looking forward to continuing for years to come with new releases and tours all over the world!

What are your plans for the next 12 months?

Well, we already touched on the general plans for NFG, which is touring through the summer, and then going in to make a new record, which will take us into 2017, where we will most likely release the album and then get right back out on the road promoting it! But first up for us is what will be a crazy and super memorable exclusive UK show at Slam Dunk…can’t wait!

New Found Glory play at Slam Dunk on May 28. For details visit http://slamdunkmusic.com/festival/