Festival Review: Left Of The Dial 2026

Left of the Dial is a superb tastemaker festival that highlights the best of the next generation, including artists like Child of Prague, bed, Trip Westerns, Pyncher, JJ Bull and Rampressure among others for a showcase like no other of its kind

 There can be simply, too much of a good thing. That is the case of Left of the Dial – where, the second you arrive off the Eurostar into the often-raining, always-windy city of Rotterdam for a showcase festival you are, reminded – like with all the British bands present too much of home because it never stops raining. All artists who play speak highly of it: and for good reason; they are well-fed, well-treated and get a healthy supply of beer. One of the absolute delights of Left of the Dial is that the day after the first will feature you wondering around town running into random bands ever-so-slightly hungover lugging instruments around the city to their next gig. Because here, at Left of the Dial, every venue that is physically capable of hosting music in the centre of Rotterdam is turned into a gig venue from Wednesday 21 through to Saturday 24 of October.

From bars to clubs to cafes to BOATS and BUSES, Left of the Dial is the ultimate festival to get your step count up: because let’s be honest here, if you do Left of the Dial and your step count isn’t over 30k you’re doing it wrong (or you’re Dutch and you cycle everywhere). Such is the nature of this merry-go-round of a festival that even with the bands that play twice there is no time to see them all; so bands like Omertà, Bathing Suits, Maquina and Iskandr go missed – Omertà, who are playing Devo cover songs at the George Tavern tomorrow as part of their Halloweekender – are prioritised there – and Maquina, great at the Dome, Iskandr, excellent at Arctangent, get sacrificed with other artists in mind. Bathing Suits’ polished sound supporting Sprints at The 100 Club has also worked a treat, and they make the perfect match for Omertà’s brand of unique chaos – you can’t have one without the other at this point. Maquina’s noise rock energy makes for them the perfect heir to A Place to Bury Strangers; and Iskandr’s early doors ArcTanGent slot was a world-beater that early in the morning.

 Now that’s out of the way onto the bands I saw. And buckle up there is a LOT of them. There are no headliners here, no ego. We prioritised a stay in the illustrious Theatre Rotterdam first; a theatre with an upstairs/downstairs, as to where we spent most of our evening. Bands like villagerrr and Trip Westerns made themselves appointments as a result, and only a small switcheroo of the upstairs and downstairs of the theatre was on the cards. Left of the Dial is after all; a marathon not a sprint, and there’s good natured vibes across the entire festival as a result – binge-drinking is discouraged, cheap drinks merely an option not a function – and as a result everyone is friendly and in good spirits. It’s a small scene, most of the locals don’t know it exists – the advertising poster brands “IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW” and “IF DON’T THAT’S FINE TOO” as a promise – letting you know what you’re in for.

The alt-rock Ohio band of villagerrr are up with soft melodies and ambient tones that showcase their record ‘Carousel’ from earlier this year. It’s a good set as much as any; the band expanding and entirely alluring in their skin. They capture Wednesday and Wilco vibes nicely, upbeat and charming, the fifth album of Mark Scott’s band with a move from shoegaze into slowcore at any kind of asking. Scott’s set feels completely immersive and aids in the escapism from the dismal weather outside – trust Left of the Dial to happen on Storm Boelo, which left an immediate impact on the city that was evidently apparent upon arrival. But the music continued – and the midwestern tinge of villagerrr was a welcome one that rarely went away.

 Trip Westerns were next – and they fall into the category of a band like the Heavy Heavy that play excellent country music and look and sound like they could be from the 1970s/1980s but are in fact from present day Brighton. There’s a touch of Jefferson Airplane here but they could fit right at home in say, as background characters Richard Linklater’s ‘Everybody Wants Some’ or supporting Fleetwood Mac. They are immediately likeable and we are under their spell from the off; their most recent EP ‘Post Hunk’ getting the run-out here with a dance and a jingle. They draw as much as from the likes of Ennio Morricone here as they do 60s R&B and 21st century garage rock; a real fusion of sounds that makes for an inspired mix of talent for the five piece that injects a right amount of psych to the vibe of the day. These genre-bending cowboys have worked with the prolific Ellis Dickinson of Fat Dog in the past and his experience at live shows pays off here (that record was ‘Alive’, but Ellis is not present today) – the sixties west coast sound coming through with the right amount of nostalgic Americana. You get to see what happens when the South Coast collides with the Deep South of the United States and these genres blend so perfectly – played blind, you’d expect them to be American natives. That is no small accomplishment.

 The real highlight of the first day; and indeed, of the whole festival, is the masterful Japanese post-punk band bed; who are so good I have to see them twice – both at Worm 1 – packed out and chaotic – and upstairs of Rotterdam’s Theatre, which descends into a madhouse and we get crowd-surfers and the whole thing, the band displaying their gratitude to be there at every chance they get and launching into pulsating tracks, stylised in their own language with accompanying English translations. ‘Enso’ and ‘Kaze’ get deployed both terms “we’ve come full circle” bed repeat on ‘Enso’ consistently; a mix of English and Japanese for a hypnotic combination – that feels propulsive and captures the vibes of A Place to Bury Strangers almost effortlessly.

They are a band here to break whatever rules and convention have been established; and try something completely different and against the norm: I don’t think I’ve seen a single band as good as bed blow me away for the first time in the whole of 2026; and with at this point, 130 live shows seen, that’s no small feat. Their rave rock feels ripped straight from the land of Cyberpunk 2077 or the club scenes of Michael Mann’s ‘Miami Vice’ – they have already taken Tokyo by storm. Now they go worldwide: and have laid siege to both Brighton and Rotterdam in the same weekend; across Left of the Dial and Mutations that share similar agendas and similar bands. They are here from the future – they are the future of music twenty, even thirty years from now. Futureproofing. The metal bass and techno kicks are magnetic – and their ability to work the crowd; even in the early set at Worm 1, is something most bands double their experience fail to capture. By the time comes for them to tear up the theatre, helped by the fact that most people in the crowd are other bands come to champion them on – they have the crowd dancing on their strings. As a word-of-mouth band, like PISS, who emerged out of Left of the Dial last year on the back of an excellent Windmill and Future Days Birmingham set, and the wonderful Yaang, they are second-to-none.

The other highlight of day one for me – there is also a pre-party day on the Wednesday – but commitments elsewhere mean I cannot make, Left of the Dial can be cruel like that with its midweek Wednesday to Saturday schedule – is Child of Prague, an Irish midwestern emo outfit that once more drift into shoegaze. They’ve supported Gurriers in Ireland on their tour before as well as played at Other Voices, Derry - and fit in the jasmine 4.t. and Theatre umbrella as opposed to say; something like Madra Salach or your Fontaines – more restrained, less punk – but with the capability to kick up a gear and switch form something slow into something faster when you want to. It’s kind of basically like Wednesday if they were Irish and got really into midwestern emo. Their EP ‘Clothed in the Sun’ gets the runout here – with band members hailing from as varied as Boston, San Francisco and London, the Dublin based band infuse elements of math rock here for an even more unique tone – you never quite know where they’re going to go next. Sometimes chamber pop, sometimes grunge – even a tinge of Lankum-influenced classical music here, with drifting music that really swirls. It’s evident a lot of this is born out of just jamming together and seeing what works – and the songs keep building and building as a result; showing off different sides of the band that injects all their influences into the table for a melting pot.

Lttl Mort is our final act of the day who I first saw back at the Windmill and their intense band of hyper-aware techno beats goes down a storm here; refined over the course of a year with support slots for bands like Prostitute. Their hyper-aware, Bathing Suits style beats goes for this emerging sound of club-like dance energy that revels in tearing up the room, blinding, loud and magnetic. You can feel the Nine Inch Nails influences radiating around; the self-awareness of Jazz Pope’s latest project giving him the cutting edge that strives above most bands at this level. It’s like waking up the morning after a night of dance revelry and still hearing the dance music beating in your head - the sense of morning dread and despair creeps in - doom with a hint of Joy Division.

That’s day one then. Not too shabby, even largely limited to one or two venues. The festival properly starts on day two and we start the day in the afternoon and brave the weather for the first artist - Ben Kidson, who’s sold as as a Getdown Services/Streets type hybrid which instantly captures our attention over in Bird; and quickly find out that he’s more an Olivia Rodrigo/Lynks hybrid but that’s no bad thing; his music, being a commentary on toxic exes, modern dating, is hyper-online and hyper-aware of current trends in the dating scene. He even acts as matchmaker, encouraging “who’s actually single” in the room to pair up with those next to them. In terms of showmanship, Kidson has it nailed down.

Kidson’s tracks are as catchy as they come - he covers Natalie Imbrugulia’s ‘Torn’ with manager notes - and says “you can’t cover one of the best songs of all time and then launch into your new single” and then immediately proves him wrong by playing ‘fine’ - that has the audience under his spell. He loves the Rotterdam crowd; he finds them much better than the UK alternative and doesn’t have to tell them to dance - not a bad thing for four pm in the afternoon. All artists who play over the course of the weekend are eternally grateful to be here (protip: don’t drink every time you hear them say it’s their first time it’s in Rotterdam, you’ll be a corpse LONG before 5pm).

Spanish Horses, who I saw at Next Door Records Two in Dalston - perform an intimate session earlier in the week but couldn’t say no to the chance to see them again at Arminius Down, the beautiful Church venue where I’ve seen some truly magical sets in the past. The Velvet Underground & Nico infused energy works wonders here with some effortless indie guitar and ‘Hey Man (Hey Man)’ just builds and builds into a perfect, ready-made for a FIFA song type track that just sweeps you under its wings. It’s hard to hate Spanish Horses, and you can instantly see their effortless charm at working a crowd is already, for such a young band, so accomplished.

Then it’s a quick run over to two of the furthest venues from the rest of the city, Reijngoud and Mono, for a double header of Pyncher and Rampressure. Pyncher; despite the awkward crowd-dividing angle of the Reijngoud venue, you can tell, “Really mean it this time” and plunge into their new EP with the uplifting skill of a Stone Roses/2000s indie-type band that’s far more reliant on sweeping nostalgia then you’d expect. The capturing chorus of ‘One Day’ swirls and builds, it’s really anthemic when it wants to be “one day, it’ll be okay, if you’re tired of the new ways, they’ll soon be old” the Manchester group jolt the crowd into life - an ode to sweeping nostalgia and how they’re trapped in the past but forced to contend with the new. Sam Blakeley’s voice is magnetic, a ballad that really works its magic when it wants to. You can see the Strokes and Neutral Milk Hotel influences evident in this song alone - and that stays with them for the rest of the setlist.

Then it’s over to Rampressure - and we have our second pit of the festival! They know how to work a crowd and it is brawling, chaos and wrapped up like a storm. I last saw this family outfit at the Old Blue Last in 2025 and been a fan ever since; you only need to watch Windmill icon Lou Smith’s legendary recording of their set for an example of just how good they can be - and they tear through the crowd with a magnetic, harrowing tone. Few bands have mastered the art of “you must see them LIVE” quite like Rampressure; the screams and the howls have my friends saying “oh, finally, that’s where the screams have been” and we’re off and running - really intense, raw energy that doesn’t let up. They’re simply the best at the noise rock that they deliver upon - riff-laden and fearless in their ambition, formed by two sons Elvin and Sonny and their dad Paul. They owe a lot to Gilla Band and the Osees and that is evident the second they come on stage: the guitars riff and slash with the best of them, and quite simply if you live in London and you’re into noise rock and you haven’t seen Rampressure yet - what are you doing?

Also worth mentioning here is the excellent Insider Trading - who deliberately challenge themselves by writing stuff that’s hard to play live and the result pays off - we see them at Mono prior to Spanish Horses for a real revolving door of a day; and the constant back and forth nature is incredibly draining but we are alive nonetheless - fitting in right at home in the Black Country, New Road and Maruja type landscape that has emerged in their wake. Cameron Bilsland’s guitar and lead vocals is slow-moving and forces you to slow down and adjust to their level. ‘From Leith to New York’ is a wonderful record so it was great to see tracks from it performed live; and the way - in particular on ‘Cowboy’ that just builds and builds, tells stories of its own and makes the band endure and garner a devout following for anyone who hears them in the room.

It’s also worth mentioning here, JJ Bull - who was magnetically brilliant at working a crowd; borrowing from the likes of Howling Pelle Almqvist who encourage “Ladies” and “Gentlemen” to roar pre-song to work the crowd. He is perhaps the most unconventional artist playing in terms of topic matter; far more than just a novelty act leaning into the niche football references of the day; the Dennis Bergkamp track about one of the Netherlands’ own being afraid of flying but going abroad with Arsenal to do it anyway encouraging inner strength shows a real novelty party starter at work, and you can tell just how awed he is by the amount of people who came out to see him.

It pays off - new single ‘Whatever Happened to Kalvin Phillips?’ asks the crowd where the former Leeds man went after his move to Manchester City where he dropped off the face of the Earth; and bangers include the catchy ‘If Chris Wood Could, Chris Wood Would’ song that proves that these lyrics are designed to outlive the moments of improvision they were created under. Semi-viral sensation ‘The Very Unofficial Scotland World Cup Song’ goes down an absolute storm - who knew in the rainy, storm-plagued venues of Rotterdam you could hear references to Kiernan Tierney from 30 yards or Scott McTominay - captured in the blissful moments of hope and optimism before Scotland’s World Cup run was doomed to failure? The dance magic nostalgia caters towards the older crowd of the festival especially - nostalgic callbacks to AC Milan’s team of 2005 and Adriano’s shot power on Pro Evo create unbelievable dancing atmosphere.

All in all, a fantastic festival; a must on the calendar year. The chance to properly invest in Saturday was robbed by other plans and an exit needed back home - but Left of the Dial remains the best sense of discovery and taste that there is. The vibes? immaculate. There’s truly nothing like it out there on the planet, and not even the prospect of Storm Boelo could turn fans away from enjoying the next big thing.

Photos by Beau Kaufman, Britanny Schaap, adrgnva