As we all know, the UK festival calendar is one to be envied across the world. We have so much to look forward to in terms of live music in this country that it would seem that we really are spoilt rotten. But nobody spoils us quite like Dot To Dot do.
Now in it's sixth year, it's something that has expanded and flourished annually like a rare and colourful flower in a bed full of your bog standard petunias. From it's humble single-city beginnings in Nottingham, Dot To Dot descends upon three cities on May Bank Holiday filling the most exciting venues with the hottest artists to be blinking on the radar of the musical oracles. Yes, it's become as traditional as boozing and napping on our extended weekend and it's line-ups have got everyone giddy from NME to your mate Dave who fancies himself as a bit of a superhipster.
Quite often, it's all about showcasing those 'next big things' as they teeter on the cusp of legend having developed their cult followings. We've seen the likes of Klaxons, Foals, Laura Marling and The Temper Trap appear in the smallest font on the flyer in the past (hard to imagine, right?) as well as the big names like Mystery Jets, Ellie Goulding, Kate Nash and The Cribs popping up too. There's a lot of fantastic music being covered.
This year Nottingham, Bristol and Manchester are being showered with more musical treats. In terms of giants we have Hurts, We Are Scientists, The Naked and Famous, Guillemots and The Joy Formidable performing. Those five names alone would be capable of pulling in quite a hefty crowd. But if there's one thing Dot To Dot have proven in the past it's that we can put our faith in them to point us in the direction of some real 'up and coming' talent. Therefore, we must make sure we get down to see the likes of Ed Sheeran, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Becoming Real, Alpines and Stagecoach- to name but a few from the vast sprawling list of awesomeness.
Ticket prices vary from each venue but they are all very reasonable indeed. Dot To Dot hits Bristol on Saturday 28th, Nottingham on Sunday 30th and Manchester on Monday 31st of May. To find out more about the festival and to peruse the full line-ups and venue listings hop on over to www.dottodotfestival.co.uk