Review: Dot To Dot Festival 2024 in Nottingham

KAP, Rock City

As winner of the Future Sound of Nottingham 2024, KAP had the privilege of opening the Rock City stage at DTD. She was clearly thrilled by the opportunity, but didn’t let the pressure get to her, playing an energetic and engaging set, wearing a bright pink outfit and a big smile. KAP’s music – an easy fusion of pop, soul and UK garage – sounded great live, with her soulful vocals melding well with the firm musicianship of her band. They were clearly loving it too! A highlight was her latest single One in a Million: rich with a deep, deep groove, floaty vocals and a slapped bass which became funkier than you could imagine. This was a great start to the day at Rock City, and demonstrated the depth of talent in Nottingham. Catch our interview with her in the June issue of LeftLion PT

Otala, Rock City Beta

With a 7" single about to hit the streets anytime (available at Rough Trade, folks), Otala had something to prove and they did not disappoint. This Nottingham five piece gave us everything, with spoken word, sax, keys, drums, guitar, bass and a fusion of jazz/post-punk sounds – Phew! Music this good should not be allowed on so early in the D2D day. Intense doesn't even come close to explaining the impact they had on the audience, with beautiful erratic drum beats and a five-string bass throwing in mixes of lines and chords, they provided the perfect backdrop for keys, guitar and sax to soar into uninhibited territories. Days later and I'm still in awe. Bassey

Bleach Lab, Rock City

With punk outfit Panic Shack playing after them, this set from indie quartet Bleach Lab was very much the beautiful calm before the raging storm. With their thirty-minute set drawing heavily from their 2023 album Lost In A Rush of Emptiness, one of the standout debuts of last year, it’s a captivating afternoon set filled with dreamy guitar passages and Jenna Kyle’s soft vocals. The highlight comes right at the end with a performance of Everything At Once, with it’s quietly anthemic chorus and triumphant surges. Having played The Bodega last year, they look even more at home on the spacious Rock City stage. KB

Unpeople, Black Cherry

Does Metal Pop even exist? If not, then Unpeople have created something close to it. This four-piece band impressed me from the get go. The thunderous bass sounds were so powerful, it had the bass cab and mic stands moving throughout the set. High-fuelled rock and an eager crowd were the perfect mix, economic heavy drumming, constant switches from clean to scream vocals and guitar riffs galore showed the audience why their self titled EP is a must listen for 2024 releases. They even managed to give a mosh pit finale – what's not to like about them!? Bassey

Abby Sage, Rough Trade

Despite the relatively early stage time, international alt-pop artist Abby Sage had already filled the Rough Trade live room by the time I got there. “Ethereal” is probably an over-used word in music writing, but nothing else describes the nature of the sound Abby produced: she took a moment to gather her thoughts, shutting her eyes briefly, before producing a sound which simply transcended the chatter and noise from the next door bar area. It takes particular skill to do that in the context of a thirty-minute metropolitan festival set and she coped better than many I've seen in this context. Abby looked cool despite this being the last day of her long tour, and performed a stunningly focused, pure and hard-hitting set supported by the most beautifully-judged, sensitive drum-work. A new addition to my favourites list. PT

Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Rock City Beta

Another heavily packed Beta room, but being close to the door had advantages and the cold breeze was greatly appreciated. My limited vision counted six, no, seven band members (there could have been more), all working hard to give a wonderful and unpredictable wall of sound. Violin, drums, guitar, bass, keys and vocals showered the room with their infectious enthusiasm, a multi-layered fusion of sounds and switching between male and female lead vocals. If the Prog Rock ballad brigade ever decided to go for a more pop/folk/punk sound, they should give these guys a call. Art Rock is alive again and Man/Woman/Chainsaw are a part of its beat. Bassey

Welly, Black Cherry

A couple of drinks into the festival and I'm ready to party... Enter Welly. Brighton-based, five-piece, fun-loving band who sing about Shopping and Home For The Weekend in a fun and energetic vibe. 1980's influenced pop, I could hear the best of Human League and Fatboy Slim (and even B52's imo) throughout their performance; I'm sure any left over Yuppies in the room would have appreciated their sounds. Guitars, bass and drum loops all competed to provide the indie dance pop vibe and the Welly crew gave a high-octane fuelled performance. If you're having a party, make sure you give it some Welly. Bassey

Girl Scout, The Bodega

This is exactly why festivals like Dot To Dot are so great: you walk through a city you know well, past people going about their usual business, to discover incredible little bubbles of togetherness and fabulous musical energy. I transitioned from a busy Hockley weekend street scene to see Swedish alt-rockers Girl Scout casually perform a blistering set to a knowing audience. Monster provided some huge moments, with visceral screams from Emma Jansson and a runaway guitar solo from Viktor Spasov; and there was even time for them to premiere I Just Needed You To Know which featured rapid-fire power chords along with angular moments and a relentless pace. "I really love this song - I'm not ashamed to say it," commented Emma with welcome frankness. I expected a good time and got one of the best times of my life. Probably my festival highlight. PT

Pentire, Rescue Rooms

The roots of Dot To Dot are firmly grounded in the 00s indie boom, and the same can be said for up-and-coming Hertfordshire four-piece Pentire. Making instantly catchy pop-rock anthems, it’s no wonder they’re already getting lots of airplay and selling out venues across the UK. It’s a packed Rescue Rooms for their late afternoon set, with sweaty mosh pits aplenty forming in front of the stage during their dazzling, energetic performance. New single Don’t Let Your Love (Let You Down) is a particular highlight and with their sound seemingly built for the biggest festival stages, they show they know how to bring the party vibes. KB

En Attendant Ana, Rough Trade

This Gallic five-piece offer something a little different, with guitarist Camille also moonlighting on trumpet and sax while lead singer Margaux switches between guitar and keys. Despite some technical difficulties, the band pushed out some beautifully melded tunes, starting with recent album-title track Principia. These are a group of highly-skilled musicians who clearly care deeply about their sound, mixing angular shoegaze, rapid beats and frequently mathematical patterns. And in fact those tech glitches only served to highlight their adaptability and good humour. PT

Anthony Szmierek, Rock City

Without a doubt one of the day’s highlights, Mancunian spoken-word poet and indie sensation Anthony Szmierek turned a packed Rock City into a euphoric warehouse rave for his early evening set. From the colourful lasers to his crowd-surfing during an electric cover of Step On by the Happy Mondays, the whole performance was just a whirlwind of joy from start to finish. Culminating on his breakout single The Words To Auld Lang Syne, the place erupted into a collective care-free bounce as everyone in unison belted out the words “Tomorrow’s never promised, but neither is today.” For a festival that has already produced some truly special moments over the years, this one was right up there too. KB

The Bug Club, Rock City

After a quiet start – perhaps a collective decision from many Dot To Dotters that it was dinner time – the Rock City floor quickly filled up for this set; Bug Club's reputation clearly preceded them. They're a trio who are very much more than the sum of their parts, performing fuzzy, catchy, impassioned and wryly amusing alt rock-and-roll tunes. There's great use of boy/girl vocals, and a captivating kind of energy to all of their songs, each preceded by a one line description (this one's about "clapping in time" ... "laminate flooring" .... "mothers") ... Brilliantly entertaining. PT

Cheap Dirty Horse, The Old Bus Depot

Best find of the day for me was Cheap Dirty Horse, Nottingham's six-piece anarchic bunch of beautiful folks. I didn't see them advertised on the day's Clashfinder, but I'm sure glad I accidently found them. A complete fusion and mash of unlikely instruments including drums, bass, guitar (acoustic and electric), accordion and banjo, this shouldn't work but the result was a rowdy, masterclass in what personal and marginalised political bands should be. Multi-fusion sounds and always raw, machine gun drumming battled against powerful and sometimes fragile sounds. Cheap Dirty Horse make you feel good for the moment, because that's all we have. Bassey

mary in the junkyard, Rescue Rooms

A sense of being in on a secret pervaded the room as this London trio modestly took to the stage. What followed was an eye-opening half-hour of experimental noir-rock, veering between the 1980s and the future sound of the 2020s, and stopping off in many places between. To some, mary in the junkyard's music may be challenging, but they've clearly hit a chord with a new generation of music lovers as well as more seasoned gig-goers. There's anger, there's love, there's unashamed weirdness; there's Clari keeping talk to a minimum and smiling through a mix of high vocal notes and non-traditional chord progressions; there's Saya switching from grungy bass to rebellious viola; and there's energy enough for a mini mosh pit to form and get the security guard's attention. PT

Pretty Windows, The Old Bus Depot

Just WOW. Why are we not talking about Pretty Windows more in the local music scene? The Nottingham duo hit the Old Bus Depot stage later than billed but it was worth the wait. Set against recorded bass lines and drum beats, they gave us powerful guitar riffs that dominated the room and a vocal delivery of past Nottingham times and folks. Memories of Joy Division/New Order, early U2 and many more, plus life 40+ years ago came flooding back as the melodic interaction between vocals and lead guitar washed over the room. Strong emotions like pain and joy can sometimes co exist and the music of Pretty Windows proves this. Oh, and the exotic dancing from Wendy and Emma was a beautiful thing to witness. Bassey

The Magic Gang, Rock City

A bittersweet performance this one, as indie darlings The Magic Gang bowed out for the final time with this show at Rock City. Thankfully the crowd in attendance got the memo beforehand, ensuring that the quartet were given a send-off to remember. Throughout the set, the main floor was filled with punters joyously jumping and moshing around, singing their hearts out to the band’s catalogue of indie anthems one final time. It was clearly an emotional moment for both the band and the fans in attendance, but you couldn’t have asked for a more fitting goodbye. Farewell chaps, you’ll be missed. KB

Infinity Song, The Level

While this R&B outfit may not be a household name here in the UK yet, The Boyd family (siblings Abraham, Angel, Israel and Momo) have already had a fair bit of exposure stateside. Having been signed to a recording contract by Jay-Z and worked with Kanye on his gospel album Jesus Is King as part of his Sunday Service Choir, Infinity Song are now slowly starting to make waves outside of the US. Their performance at The Level shows why, with their gorgeous harmonies and exquisite guitar-playing both hugely impressive. The crowd are evidently won over too, with their TikTok viral hit Hater’s Anthem the standout moment from the set. KB

Ellie Stainsby, Malt Cross

Malt Cross was a haven of tranquillity and daylight in the midst of the early evening intensity of Dot To Dot, with coffee and cakes on offer alongside the stronger drinks, and the joy of comfortable seats. Perched high above this scene, Ellie sat behind her keyboard and delivered a set filled with beautiful contemporary folk songs. Hers is a very Nottingham sound: crisply chiming, clear and reflective vocals, combined with honest lyrics and a sense of striving. Her piano work was unobtrusive but shone through with jazz-veering chords and ad-libbed runs. A cover of Runaway by AURORA sat really well with Ellie's original material. PT

Lizzie Esau, Rough Trade

Energy and more energy is how I'd summarise Lizzie's set as she returned to Rough Trade. She doesn't do things by halves, starting and remaining on a high for the whole set. Over the past few years, Lizzie has amassed a very strong catalogue of songs, and the confidence to go with them – urging the audience to participate in a mass backing singalong for Bleak Sublime and to jump around for most of the others. Songs like Jellyfish sounded solid and fresh, too. She'd clearly attracted plenty of fans along, but also won lots of new ones judging by the many congratulatory comments I heard as people filed out. PT

Hana Lili, Rough Trade

Visiting from Wales, Hana demonstrated why she's been getting so much attention recently (the Love Island soundtrack and support slots for Coldplay and Tom Grennan are good examples): she hits a sweet spot with pure pop vocals, straight-up honesty, and a mellow, somehow softened bubble-gum punk ethos. Basement was crisp and punchy, while Iconic and Pretty Cool were fuzzier but set off by honey-sweet vocals to form top-class pop songs. Hana is endearingly authentic and surely destined for ever higher things. PT

Wunderhorse, The Level

Wunderhorse’s meteoric rise can be easily charted through their performances in Nottingham over the last couple of years. From supporting Fontaines D.C. in 2022, to playing a sold-out show at Bodega last year, to now co-headlining Dot To Dot, they just keep getting bigger and bigger. This is evident from the near-capacity crowd at The Level for their performance, with some punters even stood on seats in the balcony area, just trying to catch even the smallest glimpse of them. Their show doesn’t disappoint either, channelling rock heavyweights like Radiohead and Nirvana at points as they blast through big-hitting bangers like Leader of the Pack, Purple and Teal. The huge crowd eats up every bit of their set, with recent singles Midas and July also going down a storm despite still being almost brand new. It feels like a real moment, watching a band seemingly on the cusp of superstardom. With their own headline show at Rock City their next Nottingham date this October, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them packing out the Arena before long. KB

Dot To Dot Festival took place in Nottingham on 26 May 2024.