The Rotterdam festival builds a more international picture with their second batch of artists.

As 2024 kicks into gear, Rotterdam’s Left of the Dial, our favourite festival on the continent, continues to expand, with a fresh set of acts sourced from the finest small scenes across Europe and beyond. Building on an initial bill that heavily represented the UK’s finest new artist (including Lou Terry and Man/Woman/Chainsaw), this selection includes more international names, including the Japanese glitch punk duo HYPER GAL, the charming Franco-American dream indie duo Special Friend and a relatively local pair of Belgian acts, Frankie and Purrses.

Britain can claim a handful of highlights from this latest lineup, though, Ugly being perhaps the standout. Since their reinvention as a sensitively world-influenced acoustic group, they have been counted among the best live acts on the scene at the moment, following in the mould of the likes Black Country, New Road and caroline. Manchester face melters Wax Head also hint at an essential live show, their recent debut EP showing the influence of Thee Oh Sees and a kinship with newer acts like Holiday Ghosts.

With the bill set to swell to over 100 bands, this is a strong start for the festival’s lineup, which reliably pulls together our newest favourite acts with a series of interesting prospects from across the world. More info and tickets to be found here.