So, Brighton's had Great Escape, London's had Camden Crawl, Liverpool's had SoundCity and Leeds has had Live at Leeds, and this weekend Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham are gonna get their fill too.

This year's Dot to Dot festival has a peculiarly fractured line-up. On the one hand, there's the legendary DiS-favourites Trail of Dead bringing it with their glorious noise, and the likes of We Are Scientists and Danananananaykroyd clattering away in their noizy corner but on the other hand, there's a throbbing brew of basslines (SBTRKT, Becoming Real, Hyetal) and pretty bedroom beats (Naked and Famous, Niki & The Dove, Alpines). Somewhere between it all, are my must see bands-of-the-weekend-that-are-not-the-Trail-Dead, and they are Canadians Braids who make a glorious sprawl, the string-soaked epicness of Lanterns on the Lake who recently signed to Bella Union and Hurts, who despite what you might think of their brand of camp pop on record, are undeniably brilliant live.

To get you in the mood for this weekend's festivities, I've put together this Spotify playlist featuring tracks form acts on the bill...

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead 'And You Will Know Them...'
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead 'Mistakes And Regrets'
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead 'And The Rest Will Follow'
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead 'Will You Smile Again For Me'
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead 'It Was There That I Saw You'
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead 'Pure Radio Cosplay'
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead 'Wasted State Of Mind'
Braids 'Lemonade'
Hyetal 'Diamond Islands'
Hurts 'Wonderful Life - Arthur Baker Remix'
SBTRKT 'Wildfire'
Becoming Real 'Like Me'
Alpines 'Drive'
Niki & The Dove 'DJ, Ease My Mind'
Swimming 'Sun In The Island'
The Naked And Famous 'Punching In A Dream'
David's Lyre 'In Arms'
Guillemots 'Made-Up Lovesong #43'
Lanterns on the Lake 'There's A Light On In Your Home'
The Phoenix Foundation 'Buffalo'
The Joy Formidable 'I Don't Want To See You Like This'
DOM 'Bowl Cut (featuring Madeline of Cults)'
Morning Parade 'A&E'
We Are Scientists 'Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt'
Dananananaykroyd 'Pink Sabbath'

Listen: Drowned in Dot to Dot 2011

For stage times, tickets and more info visit: dottodotfestival.co.uk.