Dot to Dot Festival

Dot to Dot Festival - Profile

by Gillian Fish

published: 27 / 5 / 2017

Gillian Fish previews the metropolitan day festival showcasing new talent which takes place in three UK cities at the end of May

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The last bank holiday weekend in May sees Dot to Dot return for its twelfth year, taking over a different UK city each day; as usual the three cities are Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham with each opening up multiple venues on the day to showcase some of the best emerging talent. This year Dot to Dot welcomes a wide variety of acts including Reading band Sundara Karma who are returning to the festival as headliners this time after wowing the crowds with an impressive performance last year. Their recently released debut record ‘Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect’ has received much critical acclaim and they look set to continue their reign as one of the most exciting young guitar bands this year. They are joined by te Big Moon who have also received plenty of attention and radio play during the last few months. The four London ladies have just released their debut ‘Love in the 4th Dimension’ and after previously touring with bands such as the Maccabees, Vaccines and Ezra Furman have built up an ever-growing fanbase. In previous years Dot to Dot has attracted the likes of Ed Sheeran, Catfish & The Bottlemen, the 1975, the XX and Ellie Goulding so it’s no wonder it is seen as the place to head to if you want to discover “the next best thing” and has won best metropolitan festival accolades on several occasions. There is always a great buzz in the city centres too when the festival is on and it’s worth keeping an eye out for street parties and impromptu performances while you wander about. Californian garage rockers the Growlers are also heading over to perform, having released their Julian Casablanca produced fifth album last year they are somewhat veterans of the circuit now compared to the majority of the line-up and should put on a great live show in each city. Liverpool’s Louis Berry is a young rock n’roller with a sound that is reminiscent of namesake Chuck Berry and Johnny Cash, after an impressive gig for BBC Introducing he has continued to gather support from the likes of Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens and will no doubt be a great watch during the festival. Another BBC championed artist to look out for is Tom Grennan, the Bedford-born, London-based singer/songwriter was recently shortlisted in the prestigious BBC’s Sound of 2017 list and his soulful indie tales are bound to win over the crowds at Dot to Dot. There’s also the chance to see Manchester band Slow Readers Club who will bring their dark electro indie sounds to the festival with their homecoming gig in Manchester likely to be one not to miss. Some other picks that are on our list include All We Are, Amber Run, RedFaces, Honeyblood, Jordan Allen, Island and Swimming Tapes. Dot to Dot is a great day festival that gives you the chance to see up and coming artists and some old favourites all whilst checking out the cities' best venues.