Dot to Dot 2026 Festival: Acts Not To Miss This Bank Holiday

With the bank holiday weekend quickly approaching, it can only mean one thing: Dot to Dot is just around the corner. Boasting a line-up of over 200 artists, from pop and post-punk to electronic indie sleaze, Dot to Dot is one of the biggest — and best — multi-venue festivals in the country. But with so much on offer, who should you be seeing?

Ugly Ozo – Black Cherry Lounge, 16:30

The anxious brainchild of Isle of Wight artist Jessica Baker, ugly ozo delivers a sonic diary of a chronic oversharer. Blending the heavy, confronting edge of Hole with the modern alt-rock textures of Wolf Alice and NewDad, their music tackles the rawest corners of the female experience. Backed by heavy support from BBC 6 Music and coming off the back of a highly acclaimed debut EP, their live set promises to be an intimate, fuzz-drenched highlight of the weekend.

A masterclass in sharp, hook-filled indie-pop with a fierce undercurrent, London-based Eaves Wilder writes songs that stick with you. Balancing airy, angelic melodies with cuttingly honest and often witty lyrics, she explores the chaos of teenage years, modern anxiety, and self-discovery. Her vibrant energy makes her an absolute must-watch for anyone looking to find their next favourite indie powerhouse.

Cumbria-born, Newcastle-based singer-songwriter Melanie Baker captures the complexities of early-twenties existentialism with staggering vulnerability. Navigating the spaces between indie-folk and driving indie-rock, her music feels like reading pages stolen straight out of a diary. With a powerhouse voice and a knack for storytelling that is both deeply personal and universally relatable, her set will be a beautifully grounding moment in the festival’s lineup.

Hailing from Dublin, Brooki are a four-piece outfit making massive waves across the Irish scene, without so much as a single on streaming services. Fronted by Sarah Brookfield, the band’s music has been heavily compared to the emotional, devastating honesty of Jeff Buckley mixed with the gritty, alternative edge of early PJ Harvey. Their dark, atmospheric indie-rock is anchored by a truly captivating vocal delivery that demands a quiet, spellbound crowd.

If you are looking for pure, unadulterated post-punk chaos, do not sleep on Tooth. Known for their razor-sharp guitar riffs, driving rhythms, and a blistering live presence that commands the room from the very first chord, they bring a massive wall of sound to the stage. They are the perfect pick for the festival-goers looking to sweat it out in a packed room.

The buzziest band of the moment, Dublin-born, London-based alt-grunge newcomers Bleech 9:3 create music built on second chances. Formed around a bond of shared recovery and a desire to turn raw torment into urgent art, the band delivers a ferociously honest, guitar-driven sound. Frontman Barry Quinlan’s breaking vocals and the band’s storm-like sonics, vividly heard on tracks like “Cannonball”, make their heavy, self-destructive grunge epics a bruisingly cathartic live experience.

Arguably one of the most exciting electronic-leaning acts on the lineup, festival co-headliners Fcukers are set to turn Dot 2 Dot into a massive, late-night basement party. Blending 90s house grooves, indie-sleaze attitude, and gritty, synth-heavy dance rhythms, the New York duo bring an untamed, sweaty club energy to the stage. If you’re looking to dance yourself into a trance, this is where you need to be.

Injecting a raucous, folk-punk energy into the weekend, Scottish outfit Brògeal are the ultimate festival band. Combining traditional folk instrumentation with a modern, high-octane indie swagger, their songs are built for pint-raising, foot-stomping, and full-crowd sing-alongs. They bring an infectious camaraderie and unmatched storytelling vigour to the stage that will leave the Nottingham crowd buzzing.

Galway’s NewDad are ready to envelop Nottingham in a wave of gorgeous, melancholic noise. Shifting seamlessly between the dark textures of 90s shoegaze and the crystalline hooks of modern indie-rock, their sound feels like a warm, fuzzy embrace for the anxious soul. Armed with the sweeping emotional weight of their acclaimed debut Madra, tracks from their follow-up album Altar, and recent anthems like “Kick the Curb,” Julie Dawson’s ethereal vocals and the band’s wall-of-sound guitars make this closing set an absolute cinematic necessity.

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