Dot to Dot Bristol 2026 fell right at the beginning of the end-of-May heatwave - the sun beat down on the growing crowd waiting for their wristbands at the booth set up outside of Thekla; a mix of 6 Music dads, younger groups of friends and, to put it simply, cool women (many of whom were sporting short fringes, like my own, which made me feel like a part of some sort of special club). I managed to squeeze in 11 eclectic sets over the course of the day; some boiling hot, some calm, some in packed out venues and some that were quite frankly insane. Dot To Dot is a festival held in the centre of Bristol every year, championing a diverse array of indie and alternative music – with hundreds of acts performing across some of Bristol's best music venues. What I love about Dot to Dot is how much they champion local music within this niche, too. Hopefully, this article will serve as a resource for any of the aforementioned 6 Music dads, young people or cool women (with fringes!) who weren't able to run, crazed, around a very sunny Bristol city centre on the 23rd of May.

I start with a mildly panicked bus journey over to The Lanes to see Paper Crowns, a post-punk/jazz band who also, at moments, dipped their toes into a kind-of DIY art pop. The band were at their best when they fell into a rhythm or groove, when the instrumentation was placed at the forefront of the performance. There were times I struggled to be drawn in to the performance, but the six-piece produced some really lovely harmonies, and they attracted the burgeoning early afternoon crowd. Paper Crowns were promising and fresh and provided a relaxed start to the festival (once I realised I'd arrived at the venue with time to spare).

I then took a (far less stressful) walk over to Thekla, where the festival atmosphere was in full swing. Seemingly everyone had a pint, bunting waved slightly in the warm breeze and the music from the outside stage mingled with the hum of the bands playing inside the boat. I went down to the 'Cargo Hold' stage to see Sunday Mourners, an American post-punk four piece. They offer a laid-back, in some ways surfy performance to the huge crowd that had come down to see them. Maybe it was the midday heat, or the fact that I was nearer to the back of the packed room, but I felt this performance wash over me – I wasn't pulled into the gig the way I was with other sets – a shame, as their fuzzy calls back to American art rock of yesteryear really interested me. In my opinion, this was a rare case of a band sounding better and more varied when in the studio, opposed to playing live.

15 minutes later, Lacross Club take the downstairs bar area of The Louisiana by storm. The Welsh punk outfit's set begins with frontman Cai (dressed only in a pair of Wales-themed underpants) and bass player Swan wrestling in front of the crowd before nonchalantly heading back to stage, grabbing their instruments and hurtling into one of the best - and definitely one of the hottest - sets of the day. With spiky guitars, pounding drums and funny, engaging showmanship, Lacross Club managed to move even the warmest, heat-weary crowd. This is a band I can see going far – appealing both to younger generations and older, nostalgia-hunting punks. Hop on this train before it leaves the station!

I then head upstairs to catch another band hailing from Wales – Midding. Midding offered a pretty, atmospheric performance of their shoegaze-injected rock, easy to get lost in and perfect for a warm, hazy mid-afternoon. While I felt the band were a little timid on stage, the rhythm section in particular were so clean - I found myself zoning in and watching them specifically multiple times. On a superficial level, Midding are also just very cool – if you were at this set, just know that I think you're very tasteful! This is another band I can see going to the moon... keep an ear out.

I then wander down to The Island – an industrial rabbit warren with great lighting, to see Green Star. I was looking forward to seeing this band – as a huge lover of any kind of goth adjacent music, their set of gloomy, swirling rock was exactly what I needed. Not all Green Star's songs hit me; there are times when the band fall victim to the archetypal alt rock sound (an issue that will hopefully recede as the three-piece grow and evolve) but when the music got to me, it got to me. When they created a wall of sludgy noise, or they lay into their guitars at the end of 'Four-o-five', with the perfect gothic guitar tone screaming over the vocal, I couldn't help but grin.

I missed the start of Mouth Ulcers set in the run over from The Island – one of the two clashes of the day (the other being Bloodworm and Goodbye, a decision I ultimately had to make based on the convenience of venues). The upstairs deck of Thekla was packed out – so much so that from my position at the back I couldn't see the band at all; it felt like half of the festival attendees were in the room. That busyness was a testament to Mouth Ulcers' talent, their dark post-punk was enough to make me tear up and write, quite simply, 'I love goths' down in my notes. Mouth Ulcers provide a youthful take on classic goth rock, every element referential while also feeling new and exciting. This is the kind of music that should be played as loud as possible – my only complaint was that they weren't louder.

The Scuttlers' set was another that made me tear up. The band take the stage at The Louisiana bar with a buzzing swarm of devoted fans stood right at the front, ready to dance. A Bristol DIY staple, The Scuttlers' offbeat art-rock made me forget how hot it was – even just watching the crowd was enjoyable. From crowd surfing, to friends grabbing each other to dance, to thumb wars - I think it says a lot about the band that they can create such a fun, life affirming community atmosphere even in a short 30-minutes. Their performance was frenetic and you could see how much fun the band were having – which is everything you need from a gig, really.

In stark contrast, I head upstairs to Goodbye's (far less hot) set. This gig felt like falling down a rabbit hole. Goodbye deliver dreamy soundscapes and gorgeous harmonies with a rocky undercurrent (or overcurrent?) of squealing guitars and great drum beats. This band is so new – having only released their first single in December last year – and they're already making headway on the live circuit. This was a hidden gem of a set, and I'm intrigued to see where Goodbye choose to go next with their sound – they definitely have the potential to do some really interesting, exciting things.

I then head over to NewDad. There's some bias here – because NewDad are one of my favourite bands right now; I think their output is so unique and beautiful – so I was very eager to see them live for the first time. I'm happy to announce, as I'm sure you expected, that I had a great time. After some initial nervousness (a result of some technical issues that had happened before the set), frontwoman Julie Dawson got into the swing of things, aided by the crowd – who were LOUD. I cried, my face hurt from smiling and I left the venue and immediately googled tour dates. There's truly nothing better than hearing songs you love get played live (and played well at that).

I stay for more of Fcukers' set than I was expecting to. I arrived not really knowing what to expect and left obsessed. The duo's brand of 'electro-sleaze' would have been a staple during the Tumblr era, their aesthetics and unique mix of indie rock, house and trip-hop playing into that mythology. This was the perfect festival act, the crowd were all-in - dancing, jumping, opening pits, while frontwoman Shanny Wise ran around the stage and bass player Jackson Walker Lewis shouted into the mic. Absolutely a must-see if you're at any festivals they're playing this year – if only for the crowd experience alone.

I finish the day with a somewhat calmer set – Pebbledash at Rough Trade. The band's grungy, shoegazey, dream pop-tinged alt rock was twisty, beautiful and comforting - there's something about Pebbledash's music that feels like a memory. The most memorable moment of the set was its final song – Carraig Aonair – a gorgeous Irish-language song that sees guitarist Fionnbharr Hickey use a bow on his guitar strings to create a haunting drone that underlays Asha Egan McCutcheon's equally haunting vocal. Truly a very beautiful way to close out the festival.

Before Dot To Dot, I did hours of research into every single band on the bill to decide what I wanted to see – it was a difficult task, and I had to make some extremely tough choices, but in the end, I'm content with the itinerary I ended up using - and hopefully you were too. The majority of the bands I saw were young and only in the early stages of their careers. They all show promise and their music and performances all had elements I really enjoyed. I got on the bus at 11pm that evening with aching feet, tired and affirmed in probably about 100 ways. In the words of someone I walked past on my way to Fcukers: "this is so good – this festival is so worth the money."

Photo credit Alice Galbraith and Fiona Morfill

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