Slam Dunk Festival 2018 line-up: Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday confirmed in first announcement

Exclusive: Four Year Strong, State Champs, Sleeping With Sirens and Trash Boat will also play as Hertfordshire venue moves to Hatfield Park

This will be Jimmy Eat World's only UK festival appearance in 2018 (Getty Images)

Arizona emo-rock veterans Jimmy Eat World will play next year’s Slam Dunk Festival, headlining the event on their 25th anniversary as a band.

They will be joined by their Long Island counterparts Taking Back Sunday, who return to the festival for the third time. Both bands are among the first six acts – exclusively revealed by The Independent – to be confirmed for the UK alternative festival held across three dates in Hertfordshire, Leeds and Birmingham over the spring bank holiday weekend.

Pop punk bands Four Year Strong, State Champs and Trash Boat will also play, and post-hardcore group Sleeping with Sirens complete the first batch announced.

The festival, now in its twelfth year, is known for attracting some of the biggest names in pop punk, emo and hardcore, having previously hosted the likes of Enter Shikari, You Me at Six, Fall Out Boy and All Time Low.

Next year will see the South date move from the University of Hertfordshire to nearby Hatfield Park, having outgrown its former home. The Midlands and North dates will remain at Birmingham NEC and Leeds City Centre respectively.

Festival director Ben Ray said: "Slam Dunk Festival South has been taking place in Hatfield since 2010 so the town has truly become our home. Therefore, I am extremely happy we managed to find a new site still within the town. We are sad to leave the University however the event was selling out months in advance so we knew we had to move it and make it bigger due to demand from the fans."

Taking Back Sunday will return to the festival for the third time (Getty)

After forming in 1993, Jimmy Eat World are widely regarded as one of the most influential bands in the emo and pop-rock scenes, and last year released their eighth full-length record Integrity Blues. This will be their first time playing Slam Dunk and their only UK festival appearance in 2018.

Slam Dunk Festival 2018 takes place on the following dates:

Saturday 26 May: Leeds City Centre
Sunday 27 May: Hatfield Park, Hertfordshire
Bank Holiday Monday 28 May: Birmingham NEC

Tickets go on sale this Friday at 9am.