And so May rolls around again, writes Louis Griffin. With it comes the promise of summer, of warm cans and swimming in lakes, of exams completed and results nervously awaited, and for the musically-minded folk of Nottingham, Dot To Dot Festival. 2020’s iteration of the festival was rudely interrupted, and 2021’s bookended the academic year, sitting in mid-September. For 2022, the festival has returned to its traditional home, the final weekend in May, and so for the first time in three years, the venues of Nottingham will welcome future stars aplenty this coming weekend.
This year’s Dot to Dot promises to be a vintage year – one of the festival’s strengths has always been its ability to remain un-pigeonholed, cutting through genres and scenes alike, and showcasing the artists that will be far too big to play these venues the next time they come to town.
The headliners this year perfectly exemplify the eclectic nature of the weekend. Closing out Rock City we have Squid, a perpetually experimental rock band, and at the same time Rescue Rooms is headlined by Ghetts, a bona fide grime superstar in the making, thanks to his critically acclaimed 2021 album Conflict Of Interest. The diversity isn’t limited to the headliners, though. Far from it; a glance further down the line up shows the breezy indie-pop of Alfie Templeman rubbing shoulders with the veteran electronica of Jane Weaver, and “radical pop collective” Nine8 Collective next to the bedroom pop of Baby Queen.
"I’ll see you down the front for Squid, and then the silent disco at Stealth into the early hours, yeah?"
Some of the hardest sets to get into at Dot To Dot are always those of rising stars, and this year Jockstrap looks to be a particularly hot ticket. The duo is composed of producer Taylor Skye and singer/violinist Georgia Ellery, a founding member of Black Country, New Road. Ellery has been signed to a head-spinning number of tastemaker labels – at present count including Warp, Ninja Tune, Rough Trade and Speedy Wunderground.
So, Dot To Dot 2022 is shaping up to be yet another unmissable day of brilliant live music, and frantic runs between venues. I’ll see you down the front for Squid, and then the silent disco at Stealth into the early hours, yeah?
Louis Griffin
Images courtesy of Dot To Dot via courtesy.
Comments