Festival Preview: Dot To Dot Festival 2019
Dot To Dot Festival 2019
Various venues
Manchester 24 May 2019// Bristol 25 May 2019 // Nottingham 26 May 2019
Words: Gary Lambert
Dot To Dot is not just one of the best metropolitan festivals or one of the best festivals for new bands, it is consistently one of the best festivals on the calendar full stop. Every year the bill is packed with high-quality talent from all over the country and beyond. It might sound a bit mundane to say, but it is always brilliantly organised too so that you don’t feel like you are wasting your limited time or clueless as to what is going on where – unlike some metropolitan festivals I have been to which have viewed timekeeping as a theoretical concept rather than an important part of getting the event to go well. It’s still one of my aims to go to all three days of Dot To Dot, but unfortunately, it is one of the best and busiest weekends of music in the north west of England these days so I have to push myself to squeeze in as many dots as possible.
Whilst most of the bill plays in all three locations there are some bands who are only appearing in one location, so if any of the acts we suggest do not come to your town during Dot To Dot, make sure you plan to catch them another time. We are talking high quality!
Ones to Watch
Rews
Mixing folk-ish vocal stylings with fast rock n roll, Rews are one of those bands you are made up to stumble across at a festival. As soon as you hear them, you will think that you must know their entire back catalogue already. There is just something wonderfully warm about the duo and their music that puts them as the ideal band to watch at an event like this – especially if you’re in a group and want to watch an act that offers something for everybody.
Find Rews on Facebook
Listen to Can you Feel It here:
Wovoka Gentle
“Fucking hell. Seriously fucking hell”. Those were the only words I could think of when I recently saw Wovoka Gentle play down in Sound Basement in Liverpool. And that was only after they had finished their first song. A Capella harmonies, experimental tendencies, and exchanging instruments are par for the course with this stunning three-piece. Unlike many experimental acts, their work goes together to produce an accessible and pleasant sound rather than a sonic version of the Emperor’s New Clothes.
Find Wovoka Gentle on Facebook
Listen to 1000 Opera Singers here:
Sound of Thieves
This duo blew me away at Highest Point Festival with their stylish electro based around vocal loops created by singer Phoebe Pope accompanied by the cool electro bass of Jan Bures. To be honest, at times my mind couldn’t quite figure out what my ears were hearing, but I loved it. Loved it to the point of texting people to get up to the stage to see what was going on with Sound of Thieves because I couldn’t quite work it out and didn’t want to have to try to explain to them all they had missed.
Find Sound of Thieves on Facebook
Listen to Freedom here:
Swimming Girls
With releases on Yucatan Records, already hitting over a million streams on Spotify, Swimming Girls might be a band you have heard and heard of. However, nothing will prepare you for the level of cool that hits you as they take your previous identity and turn you into a Swimming Girl (regardless of your gender, a Swimming Girl is a Swimming Girl) by the end of the show.
Find Swimming Girls on Facebook
Listen to Pray In Silence here:
Good Grief
A time slot before people finish work or afternoon exams, and then navigate through the torturous traffic of Manchester city centre might mean fewer people get to see Good Grief than they would hope, but if you want a fun, energetic way to start your Dot To Dot, these are the guys to do it. Their sound is akin to Sum 41 all grown up, and it is designed for you to enjoy yourself. It is not going to be a testing set, nor one for the proud music snobs, but grab a beer and ready your smile.
Find Good Grief on Facebook
Listen to I Don’t Know What To Say here:
Dream Wife
Even if they had been playing their debut album again, shockingly released almost eighteen months ago, I would have been tempted to tell you to go to see Dream Wife; but they’ve said on Twitter that they are playing new songs too so that has turned this set into the Must See of Must Sees. Socially and politically charged with an enviable ability to make punk earworms, and with a live performance beyond compare, these Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Bitches will make you Dream Wife for life. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.
Find Dream Wife on Facebook
Listen to F.U.U here:
