Dot to Dot Festival
Various Venues, Bristol
23rd May 2025
The beloved inner-city festival returns to Bristol on the May bank holiday weekend with a slew of incredible acts in tow.
Dot to Dot has built up a reputation as a festival where iconic artists get their start. From Fontaines D.C. to Dua Lipa, dozens of acts have played it at a time in their career where they only warranted a small font size on posters. Like previous line-ups, Dot to Dot 2026 feels expertly curated – stuffed to the brim with household names in the making.
Topping the bill this year are punk group Lambrini Girls – fresh off the release of their fiery debut album, Who Let the Dogs Out; emotional indie rockers Ratboys; electro-scuzz duo Fcukers; and NewDad, one of the most exciting new stars in shoegaze. As with every other Dot to Dot, the line-up for 2026 is just as diverse as its headliners. It doesn’t matter which genre you lean towards – you’re certain to stumble upon your new favourite artist at one of the festival’s many venues. Deep-cut highlights include outsider-art star Murkage Dave, Canadian dance punkers La Sécurité, slowcore trio Flooding, and lo-fi collagist Pollyfromthedirt. Representing Bristol are punk favourites Grandmas House, pop soundscapist Anna Colette and many, many more local acts.
Despite the high bar that previous years have set, this looks likely to be Dot to Dot’s strongest instalment yet. We can’t wait.
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Tickets for Dot to Dot 2026 are available here.
All words by Elliott Simpson. You can find more writing by Elliott for Louder Than in his author’s archive and other work on his website. His 33 1/3 book on Yo La Tengo’s And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is available now.
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