The third Dot To Dot announcement sees organisers taking a deep dive into the renowned music scenes of Bristol and Nottingham to add an incredible line up of more than 130 local acts for the 20th edition of the award-winning festival.
Joining the Bristol edition on Saturday 24 May are My First Time, Grandmas House, Mother Vulture, The New Cut, Clemencie and Sober Sundays with more than 50 new names in total added to the Bristol line up. Over in Nottingham, Girlband, Bloodworm, Blood Wizard, Grain Mother, Davoli, Marvin’s Revenge, Skitz and Swallowtail lead the charge of 80+ local acts playing on Sunday 25 May.
The new additions join already announced The Horrors, Fat Dog, Sprints, Lord Apex, Snooper, Sextile and Master Peace plus many more playing across multiple venues over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Up first in Bristol are post punk pop band My First Time known for their energetic live shows while the exciting punk trio Grandmas House championed by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6Music, DIY, Dork and Upset bring raucous guitar riffs, thumping basslines and deadpan lyricism. Expect riotous blues punk from Thekla regulars Mother Vulture while post punk band The New Cut bring modern themes and wry lyricism. Clemencie combine the dark synth soundscape of Wolf Alice and danceable pop feel of Blondie while Sober Sundays, the band formed at Bath Spa University, have built a devoted following for their heartfelt songs.
Nottingham alt-rock group Girlband have been making waves in their hometown and beyond with their killer songs, big sound and general love of making sure everyone has a great time. The hotly tipped Bloodworm lean towards the darker side of post-punk being compared to the likes of Bauhaus and The Cure. Expect musical experimentation unbound by genre from Blood Wizard who sit between the worlds of art, punk and folk. Grain Mother will bring indie folk led by acclaimed songwriter Alice Robbins while Davoli weaves intricate lyrical narratives over jangly guitar-led instrumentals reminiscent of Tom Petty. Alternative rock band Marvin’s Revenge are sure to deliver a raucous set while Skitz are all hardcore punk. The now Brighton-based Swallowtail will be given a warm welcome on their return with their atmospheric and unrelenting sound.
Dot To Dot Festival booker Ben Ryles said: “Supporting the local scene is a vital part of Dot To Dot Festival and we’re really excited to be shining a light on some incredible regional acts with this latest wave. Showcasing rising artists across the greatest grassroots venues is right at the heart of D2D, so supporting the local music scene is completely intertwined with that ethos. We look forward to seeing many of these artists on festival line-ups for many years to come!”
Completing the Bristol leg local additions are [1313], Anwen, Belishas, Broadsheets, Disaster Clinic, Dreamwave, Dye, EtonMess, Factor 50, Foot Foot, HAGA, Hibiscus, Humdrum, INDIGO, Immy, Jakabol, Kibbo Kift, Lara Rose, Mass House, Max Sloan, MLY, Muncle, Nothing Rhymes With Orange, Pack of Animals, Portrait Of, Rizts, Runner Up, Sam Paul, Scuttlers, SENECA, Sonda, SQUIDGE, Supermarché, The Breaks, The Issues, The Outlines, TRASHED, Two Day Coma, Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine, Who Killed Bunny?, Windshake, Zalizo, Zena and Zoe Myrna.
Flying the flag on the Nottingham leg are Airport Dad, Analogue Electronic Whatever, Ant Panzera, Avalanche Party, Baddy Issues, Blood Wizard, Bored Marsh, Catmilk, Cecille Grey, Chloe Rodgers, D.I.Y Poets, Davina Songbird, Davoli, Dorothy Ella, Dose The Ghosts, Dusty 4 Track, Eleanor Mcgregor, Fighting Evil Is Cool!, Filter Sequence, Flöat, Fluent In Both, Full Blast All Stars, Gallery 47, Gangsta Picnic, Girlband!, Gobs Collective, Goodgoodbye, Grain Mother, Hex Poseur, Hurtsfall, In Sonic Service, Iodine, Issy Sutcliffe, Jimi Strange, Joey Collins, Karen Macleod, Katie, Katie Keddie, Kez, Lara Elise Grant, Liberty Belle, Lulu Harvey, Luna And The Lime Slices, Marvin’s Revenge, Modern Coven, Moonbullet, Nottingham Poetry Festival, Notts Another, Notts Black Creatives Network, Paradise Circus, Part Time Animals, Paste., Penny Moon, Pict, Poets Against Racism, Poets Off The Endz, Push Rope, Rain Age, Rainbow Frog Biscuits, Raining Blue, Retina, Rights For Flies, Riley Marsh, Sam Shaw & The Real Eyes, Sancho Panza, Sea Mirror Sea, Seven Dark Lords, Sex Toy Vending Machine, Shankland, Skitz, Soaper, Speech Therapy, Stickman Collective, Sunk, Swallowtail, The Albions, The Hoplites, The Night Transfer, The Satangelist, Tilly Greentree, Ugly Mayfly and Vee Adu.
Already the fastest selling Dot To Dot ever, the Bank Holiday weekend is set to be a fantastic celebration of new music, with the hottest emerging artists and the best homegrown talent playing across live music venues from the mighty Rock City to grassroots independent Old Bus Depot in Nottingham. In Bristol, the venues go from one of the city’s longest running venues, the Thekla through to the newer indie Strange Brew, and loads more in between.
