Live Review + Gallery | Dot To Dot 2026

Dot To Dot Festival 2026

Multiple Venues, Bristol

23rd May 2026

Photography by Ella Nicholls and Anna Hatfield

George Ward

Freelance journalist and online editor for CLUNK. Can be found out and about in Bristol, finding cheap records or having a pint on King Street.

Dot To Dot Festival takes over the streets of Bristol, bringing some of the country’s most exciting new bands to the city’s many venues

On Saturday, the hot streets of Bristol were flooded by bands, producers and fans for Dot To Dot 2026. The festival takes place across the city’s many venues, from the larger O2 Academy and Electric, to the tiny basement of The Island and the bar of The Louisiana.

Joining headliners Fcukers, Lambrini Girls and NewDad were a huge variety of artists, including a lovely lineup of local favourites and some of the most exciting new names on the indie scene.

Our day began at Strange Brew for the wonderful Eve Appleton Band. Despite the heat and the early start time, the venue was packed with those in the know, for the gorgeous folk music of Eve and co. A Bristol favourite, Eve Appleton Band are due for an explosion in popularity, with a confidence and stage presence of a far larger band. With two vocalists and a violin, the performance was a refreshing opening to the day.

You could have been tricked into believing it was 3am in the basement of The Island. Completely blacked out from the bright sunshine of the street outside, the tight, sweaty venue was home to Another Country $$$, whose experimental combination of electronic breaks and live drums fit perfectly in the darkness.

Back into the light, we headed to Mr Wolfs to catch Aqua Faba on the outdoor stage. This free stage was the best example of what is so special about Dot To Dot, with the crowd made up of avid fans, casual festival goers and random passersby, completely unaware of the chaos they were about to experience. In a similar vein to Getdown Services, Aqua Faba involves vocalists Eddie and Billy losing their mind to their fuzzy egg punk instrumentals, all played from a laptop and occasionally cutting out from just how high they were jumping. It was messy, all over the place and maybe the most fun we had all day.

Though it would have been nice to avoid the overly packed and overly expensive O2 Academy for good, we had to make an exception for Adult DVD. As the Leeds band grow in popularity, they grow in stage presence too, and their performance was one of the most impressive of the day. With LCD-style synth breakdowns, squelchy bass and catchy indie rock hooks, the crowd completely lapped it up. This is another band with even bigger things on their horizon and we can’t wait to watch them grow over the years.

Below deck aboard Thekla, Silver Gore brought their debut EP to the stage, along with lots of new material too. The duo, made up of Ethan P Flynn and Ava Gore are fantastic live, with Gore’s vocals really shining on stage, accompanied by a terrifying and massive wolf head. Their wonky indie pop sound is incredibly charming and the new material leans even further into catchiness.

Mandy, Indiana were one of our most anticipated sets of the day and we were not disappointed. Mainly pulling from their new album ‘URGH,’ the band’s set was vicious and unpredictable, both during the songs and in between. Vocalist Valentine Caulfield paused at one point to rightfully yell her frustration at the country’s lack of responsibility towards female victims of sexual assault, before the band launched into a barrage of noise, perfectly matching her fury.

We ran back to Mr Wolfs just in time to catch Factor 50, armed with new guitarist Jacob Dodson and old drummer Billy Mattock. Fresh off the release of their two new EPs, the band’s performance was a joyous closer to the Mr Wolfs stage, the street filled with fans and strangers dancing. The set was a nice mix of material, from the explosive ‘Comfort‘ to the classic ‘Fetusman,’ bringing long term fans back to the band’s early days in Falmouth.

Closing out Electric were Fcukers, bringing their debut album Ö to Bristol. Although only being one album deep into their career, the venue was packed, the crowd going crazy for Fcukers brand of sleazy house music. The set was played with a full band, the live drums really breathing new life into the tracks that could be lost with a drum machine. Over at The Lanes, we ended our night with Shelf Lives, for one last chaotic mosh pit, with vocalist Sabrina Di Giulio deep within the crowd, fans swarming around.

Once again, Dot To Dot was a wonderful showcase of the country’s most exciting new music in a brilliantly diverse number of venues. The most special moments were not always in the biggest and best spaces but in the streets, basements and boats of Bristol, a city which continues to be the buzzing hub of music that we all know and love.