Reviews / Dot to Dot
Review: Dot to Dot 2025 – ‘Exploration, discovery, creative spirit’
Soothing melodies waft through the leafy enclaves of a breezy harbourside spot, rounding off the edges of this Saturday afternoon and lending a touch of soul to the buzz of excited chatter and tentative early pint-sipping under the bunting.
It’s the perfect way to ease into the day-long musical marathon to come.
Dot to Dot’s Dockside stage and wristband hub is set up outside Thekla, creating a festive atmosphere under the trees – photo: Ursula Billington
Soft Loft are the mellow soundtrack to my gentle entry into this year’s Dot to Dot, its guitar-wielding arms beckoning me into a heartfelt, smothering embrace which, I know, won’t let up until it’s practically tomorrow.
is needed now More than ever
Along with thousands of other music fans out in force on this drizzly Bristol day, I close my eyes and prepare to rush headlong into those outstretched arms.
Estrella branding is prominent throughout the festival, under the confounding slogan ‘what does your beer sound like?’ – photo: Ursula Billington
Dot to Dot (D2D) is the annual multi-venue celebration of all things alt, experimental and indie that starts and ends with guitars but – today at least – embraces flute, synth, strings, sax and all manner of other rogue instrumentation as well as elements of punk, metal, doom and folk.
Pistachio croissants, pecan swirls, giant samosas and bhajis are on offer to set the music fans out in force up for the day – photo: Ursula Billington
The travelling festival has hit Bristol first before rolling on to Nottingham on Sunday, and more venues than ever are involved this year: Mr Wolf’s, the Shakespeare and cool underground tunnel venue Zed Alley have added to a long list that includes top indie venues Electric Bristol (formerly SWX) the Lanes, Louisiana, Rough Trade, Strange Brew, Thekla and – ahem – the O2 Academy.
D2D is not the only festival in town today – Love Saves the Day punters have taken over the streets, with huge queues forming for buses to take them on to Ashton Court for a day of raving – photo: Simon Alexander
There’s a strong local component to today’s lineup of c.130 acts, and the sax-led strains of emerging indie troupe Paper Crowns skronk out the Lanes as we make our way to Electric Bristol.
Mother Vulture are a glorious and welcome assault on the ears, with glam rock Axel Rose vocals, flailing grunge hair and perpetually-grinning frontman with a maniacal laugh as he crows, “Bristol, let’s have some fun!” before yet another satisfyingly crunchy drop.
Good-natured rockers: Mother Vulture have personality in spades – photo: Simon Alexander
Honey and Slow Down are both heavy hooks and syrupy vocals, worthy of Velvet Revolver or Audioslave. Above all, the band is adorable. They tell us they love us and we believe them.
This D2D is already cooking with gas. Fittingly, this is when the notification pings to tell us the festival is now (at 3pm), once again, a sell-out.
It’s hard to estimate how many people turn up for D2D each year due to a number of free stages opening up the festival to non ticket-holders, but it’s definitely in the thousands – photo: Simon Alexander
It’s not far to Grack, Mack and the Pack at Rough Trade. This Bristol quartet are fresh, real, heartwarming, wide-eyed and accomplished.
Grace Mackenzie is a self-assured yet down-to-earth presence on vocals and guitar, while it’s hard to let the eyes stray from the skills of drummer Munashe Kapswarah. Dungarees is a funky, collar-popping single.
Grack Mack and the Pack’s debut EP is available to listen to now – photo: Simon Alexander
Broadsheets are a moody counterpart to this breezy summer melancholia, bringing their trip-hop influenced doomy style to the Lanes, a venue with a penchant for psychedelia.
Their heavy, brooding undercurrents are lifted by silky ethereal female vocals, in turn counteracted by a grittily agonised male voice. Their sound is such that I’m surprised when they flag a monitor feeding back as I’d assumed the whining bass wash was a deliberate part of their sound.
Flute leads a 60-second experimental soundscape in what seems a suitably leftfield move.
Experimental: Broadsheets revel in moodscaping – photo: Simon Alexander
It’s all change again at Zed Alley, where Eton Mess are thrashing out their Jamie T-style townie punk, proving D2D’s talent for mixing up the programming to avoid the hazard of sonic overwhelm when presented with hours of copycat guitar bands.
Not so here: this day is for musing, then bopping, then headbanging, then doing it all over again.
Zed Alley is a great little underground brick-lined venue to be found on the street it takes its name from near St Nick’s market – photo: Ursula Billington
We know what we’re in for here when we’re told Society is about “society and how fucked up it all is.” Off My Head is a rollickingly fun anti-hero anthem. Fish and Chips is preceded by the question “anyone here like fish and chips?” which the vocalist answers himself: “Probably not, there’s probably a lot of vegans in here.”
This is good old fashioned punk rock with a heart, from a band of brothers in ¾ length cargo shorts and knock-off adidas. It makes us grin, and dance.
Such a vibe: Eton Mess bring energy, good tunes and straight-up fun times – photo: Ursula Billington
Staff apologise for an overzealous security guard on our first foray of the day into the O2, where Master Peace is hyping his high energy lyrical pop backed up by a rock-out stick-spinning drummer.
As per usual here the sound is wayward, with the backing track seemingly turned up to 11, so it’s upstairs for what turns out to be one of the most revelatory acts of the day.
London’s Master Peace brought the energy and hype but the heart wasn’t there – photo: Simon Alexander
Good Health Good Wealth are a cheeky east London duo that wear their regionality on the sleeve of their Lacoste windbreaker, with references to drinking tea in caffs, going daan the market and even Madness making an appearance (My Girl’s Mad at Me turns up in the chorus of their set closer).
It was the duo’s first time in Bristol but many in the crowd were singing along – photo: Simon Alexander
From the first, Bruce Breakey generates pure Baxter Dury energy: it’s there in his moves, his poetry for the people, the pulsing dance beat of the track meticulously crafted by gloriously posturing producer/guitarist Simon Kuzmickas who at one point – fittingly during Eating Good – scoffs an entire banana.
Guitarist Simon produces the band’s tracks and lets his moves do the talking while Bruce is in charge of vocals – photo: Simon Alexander
They’re uplifting, tongue-in-cheek, and inherently danceable. “Everywhere I look I’m kneedeep in ASOS arseholes,” Breakey intones, looking us directly in the eye, before mouthing “I’m sorry Bristol, I’m really sorry.”
We don’t care – they’ve won our hearts. At a festival that notoriously deals in strict 30 minute sets and absolutely no encores, the crowd are still calling for “one more song” long after the pair have left the stage.
Instantly loveable: Good Health Good Wealth have tons of charm, good humour, unique style and upbeat, danceable tracks – photo: Simon Alexander
Swerving the reliably hard-hitting punk of Bruise Control, we opt for a melodic change of pace in the form of locals foot foot at the lanes.
Beautifully sweeping violin took centrestage for one foot foot number – photo: Simon Alexander
There’s more than a hint of post-classical in their post-rock, the violinist taking centrestage for a lush and eye-catching performance in flowing blood-red and black robes. Melodica and sax both make an appearance, as does the Broadsheets bassist, this time on drums.
The band combine a range of atypical instruments with a proggy post-rock sound to create something wholly new – photo: Simon Alexander
Muncle, in the sunny confines of Mr Wolf’s where there’s also a stage outside turning St Nicholas Street into abit of a fiesta, are like a walk in the park after this dark gothic experience.
Muncle is a longstanding band formed by Bristol multi-instrumentalist Mike Griffiths – photo: Simon Alexander
Their accessible yet thoughtful indie-punk-pop is pushed to new heights with impressively on point three-part harmonies, great instrumentation (and moves) and monster drumming.
The group’s three-part harmonies are crisp and resonant – photo: Ursula Billington
Time for a breather at the Shakespeare, where a young duo on stools are performing their hearts out from the corner as punters enjoy cold pints and comfy seats.
Next, at the Louisiana, Big Jeff is sighted for the first time, in his usual spot at the front corner of the stage.
Outside the Louisiana musicians and fans are seen congregating, as they are across town as a result of this metropolitan multi-venue festival that has the city buzzing – photo: Simon Alexander
The New Eves are blistering doom folk with strident vocals, fierce harmonies, strings, drones, militant drums and whoops, screams and hollers.
They dive headlong into the primordial soup with a maelstrom of strings, overlapping intoning voices and a chaotic energy. Cellist Nina Winder-Lind is an arresting figure at the centre of the stage, with an eccentric delivery that channels Nico and Patti Smith.
The New Eves are wild at heart and definitely ones to watch – photo: Ursula Billington
They are, without doubt, the most genuinely punk act of the day so far.
It’s such a shame they’re let down by the sound, with simple repeated requests for ‘more violin’ from the band and audience unmet. It seems sadly typical that this bad fortune besets an all-female act. Unfortunate to say the least, and wholly unexpected from the Louisiana, from whom we are used to so much more.
Violet Farrer didn’t let it stop her, but for the audience the lack of violin was heartbreaking – photo: Ursula Billington
Back at the O2, Public Order demonstrate there’s a fine line between rock band and boyband, failing to hold attention after the wealth of creativity already amassed throughout the day, and similar could be said for headliners the Horrors playing in the main room downstairs. Perp Walk, at the Lanes, provide a last blast of thrashy punk and a glimpse of what a hardcore mosh pit can look like.
The Horrors headlined a packed out O2 Academy – photo: Ursula Billington
It’s hard to believe it’s headline time already. After a quick falafel pitstop – Taka Taka are convenient located and grant my request for ‘no chips, more salad’, surely a rarity for them but it was a refreshing delight – energy is revived enough to take in Sprints, top of the bill at Electric.
This Irish band are riding a wave of popularity confirmed by the packed out room and arms in the air as vocalist Karla Chubb hares round the stage and thrashes her guitar to within an inch of its life.
This is what many have come for: they’re clearly a quality, well honed act with the songs to match, carrying their slogan ‘angry music you can dance to’ to its logical extreme.
Their garage punk energy sums up the day as a celebration of creative spirit and guitar-inspired hedonism. “We’re called Sprints – it’s time to fucking run bitch,” says Chubb as she instructs a circle pit, the audience more than happy to obey.
Sprints are a brilliant of fierce punk energy, frontwoman Karla Chubb having the crowd eating out the palm of her hand – photo: Ursula Billington
One more stop before bed – though for some the party rages until the wee hours. Japanese five-piece Kanekoayano capture the Rough Trade crowd and take us on a wild journey.
With only a five-song set, Kanekoayano took the audience on a journey encompassing various genres, time signatures and emotions – photo: Ursula Billington
There’s driving five-string bass, slide guitar and all manner of percussion, as well as hints of bossa nova, the most punk-rock conga player of all time, screaming guitar solos and impossibly heavy sections.
The percussionist is wild, employing every bit of kit available and playing with a ferocious energy as he’s transported by the music – photo: Ursula Billington
Fronted by Ayano Kaneko, their set closer begins with the air of a bittersweet lullaby and ends with a breathless drum solo that just keeps on giving, until the fuzz and crunch collides in one solid hit to punctuate the show and the day is over.
Not a word of English was spoken at this gig which was the most transporting and affecting of the night – photo: Ursula Billington
Kaneko gives two or three deep bows to the resounding applause and thanks the crowd in Japanese. This was a show without chat, without posturing or pretensions: it offered up, simply, the pure, unadulterated experience of getting lost in music.
This is what Dot to Dot is all about. An immersive day of exploration, discovery and creative expression, it brings the city alive in a unifying celebration of our independent artists, venues and spirit. Roll on next year.
Main image: Simon Alexander
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