UK Festival Awards winner and 2022 shortlist resident, Dot to Dot Festival have announced the very first artists to join the line up for their 2023 event. With a reputation for bringing the hottest new emerging artists to city-centre stages, the award-winning festival is set to return once again to Bristol and Nottingham on the 27th and 28th of May respectively, following their hugely successful 2022 summer come back. We know, we were there…see Scalping if you haven’t already.
In 2023 the festival will continue their rich tradition of showcasing the very best emerging talent with the announcement that YARD ACT will headline on the late May bank holiday. After performing on smaller stages at D2D 2021, the minimalist post-punk four-piece are currently skyrocketing after the success of their Mercury Award nominated debut album The Overload, positioned as The Guardian’s Ones to Watch, and receiving rave reviews from Pitchfork, NME and many more.
Joining Yard Act for D2D’s 2023 edition are Toronto-based quintet ALVVAYS. Combining indie pop with infectious, sugary melodies and melancholy noise rock, the band first made a splash with their awkwardly pretty single Archie, Marry Me, which featured on their assured self-titled debut. They have recently released their long awaited 2022 album Blue Rev, which has since received rave reviews from the likes of NME, The New York Times and more, along with being selected as Pitchfork’s Best New Album.
This announcement releases headliners Yard Act and ALVVAYS, along with an innovative selection of 15 emerging ‘spotlight’ artists for the 2023 festival. Having Yard Act set to return continues the festival’s approach to supporting artists to grow and rise up the bill, like previous headliners Squid and Sports Team. Dot To Dot Festival booker Conrad Rogan expressed that this approach is always key when bringing together the line up each year, saying: “At D2D we want to showcase the most exciting emerging music, and our favourite thing to do is see artists grow from being further down the line up to becoming headliners. This year we are thrilled to have yet another example of this with Yard Act, who like our two previous headliners, Sports Team and Squid, have performed at the festival on smaller stages. We are so proud to announce these first spotlight artists, who represent an amazing first selection of what is set to be a once again diverse bill of budding talent”
After a huge 2021 & 2022, FINN FOXELL will be showcasing his smoky, electronic, hip-hop-leaning atmospherics at Dot To Dot Festival. With an iconic COLORS performance under his belt, his EP Alright Sunshine receiving support from the likes of Crack, Clash, BBC and more, and his incredibly dedicated fanbase, Finn has cemented himself as an experimental artist who can skilfully mesh sounds and styles, flirting with the genre-less territory. One of the most exciting rappers in the UK, with his 2019 album featuring collaborations from Loyle Carner, Maverick Sabre and Ady Suleiman, KOFI STONE is set to bring his introspective and relatable brand of soulful honest hip-hop to D2D 2023. With his narratively driven style and a core fanbase in its development stages, Kofi has delivered a characterful debut, digging deep to draw from real life experiences, masterfully painting pictures of the highs and lows of everyday life.
Referred to by NME as a ‘‘bedroom producer carving out time to chill in the rave’’, Malaysian-Irish producer and songwriter yunè pinku will bring the late night party to D2D crowds this May. Elsewhere on the D2D 2022 line up, up & coming singer-songwriter BEKA is set to bring her touching style of hope-filled pop music. Capturing the attention of Radio 1’s ‘Best New Pop’ for her two previous singles You Got & Thorn, BEKA’s growing profile has also seen her featured in esteemed publications such as The Times, NOTION, MTV, The Line Of Best Fit, Wonderland and more.
South London auteur HEARTWORMS, AKA Joji Orme, will bring her very own dystopian theatre to the stages of D2D 2023, backed by a full live band, Heartworms’ performances are a masterclass in poise. Meanwhile, 17-year-old singer-songwriter CATHY JAIN will bring her hazy, sun-kissed daydream of R&B-tinged alt-pop to the festival and singer-songwriter NELL MESCAL is also on board. With her voice and songwriting abilities as wicked as her sense of humour, in the past year Mescal has released several new songs to acclaim, including single Missing You which soundtracked the 2020 Christmas ad campaign for popular designer department store Brown Thomas.
HIGH VIS join the line-up, though the band are all the alumni of some of the UK hardcore scene’s most celebrated groups, their debut No Sense No Feeling, was a record that opened its viewfinder beyond the parameters of any genre or scene. Rock collective PERSONAL TRAINER also head to Dot To Dot in May. With an ever-shifting line-up and members from bands like Canshaker Pi, Pip Blom, Bull and many more, the band balance between a spontaneous and fun interaction of musicians being thrown together on stage without having rehearsed.
From their first show supporting TV Priest, to a triumphant sold-out headline to end a debut UK tour in their hometown of Nottingham, DIVORCE have made a name for themselves as a live force to be reckoned with. They will bring their clash of vocal energy and a healthy dose of theatre to their hometown and Bristol in May. Meanwhile OPUS KINK are set to bring their dark and thundering dish to the stages, their wild live show and releases earning early support from Radio 6’s Steve Lamacq, The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess, NME and more.
The enigmatic new project from Sarah Bonito, CRYALOT heads to Dot To Dot 2023, after rising to fame with the signature colourful art-pop group Kero Kero Bonito that she became synonymous with, her new output stands in stark contrast. Created alongside production partner Jennifer Walton, the duo’s debut EP under the Cryalot moniker introduces a dark universe drenched in experimental pop and noise metal. London bred rapper producer and multi-instrumentalist NIX NORTHWEST will be bringing his blend of jazz, hip-hop and broken beats topped with introspective lyricism and catchy hooks. Collaborating with the likes of Enny, Lausse the Cat, B-ahwe, Harry Crane and more, his music has amassed over 20 Million streams on Spotify completely organically, setting the tone for things to come.
MICKEY CALLISTO will bring his psychedelic, bedroom-made synth-pop bangers to D2D 2023, unlike anything around at the moment, he is a self-aware beacon of positivity who celebrates being yourself in the purest form. And finally, catapulted from making Soundcloud demos in the corner of his bedroom to a viral sensation with labels knocking down the door, YOT CLUB completes the first wave of announced D2D artists.
Year after year Dot To Dot Festival bring the freshest upcoming music acts to their stages and the addition of Yard Act as upcoming headliners proves 2023 to be no different, less than 2 years since they had their Dot To Dot debut lower down the line up. Dot To Dot Festival booker Joshua Ward said: “We’re extremely pleased to be announcing the very first names on the bill for Dot To Dot Festival, again with an incredibly innovative and diverse line up of emerging artists. We have carefully selected these acts who begin to make up what is set to be an exciting 2023. With Dot To Dot Festival, we want you to find your new favourite artists, and watch intimate live performances you won’t forget. I am looking forward to catching earlier slots from upcoming bands, that we may eventually see headline in the future, just like Yard Act.”
