Press Information
Bristol music scene in spotlight with Thekla and Dot To Dot up for national awards
Beloved music venue Thekla is up for Grassroots Champion of the year in the national music industry LIVE Awards 2023 with Dot To Dot in the frame for Best Metropolitan Festival.
Behind the cargo ship live music and club venue and the city's multi-venue festival is DHP Family, who are also in the running to scoop not one but two national promoter titles in LIVE Awards and the UK Festival Awards, with both announcing winners in December.
The iconic Thekla will be marking 40 years in 2024 as a staple of Bristol's thriving music scene. DHP Family invested £1 million in 2020 for an essential refurbishment and a complete new hull to secure its future for the next 50 years. The boat was pulled up from being half submerged in 1982 and independently restored to its former glory and converted into the venue it is today, remaining fiercely independent with a finger on the pulse of the Bristol music scene.
Taken on by DHP Family in 2006, Thekla is one of the country's most iconic live music venues with an eclectic and exciting diary of live music throughout the year. From the jazz, folk and cabaret of the earliest Old Profanity (original name for the boat) days; the punk scene in the late 80s, and Massive Attack, Portishead and Roni Size in the 90s, Thekla has always been at the forefront of the best up and coming new music.
Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, Thekla was run as an underground nightclub, becoming a cornerstone of Bristol's drum & bass music scene. Over these years some of the city's best-known artists (including Grooverider and Roni Size) began playing in the boat's hull, selling out events week on week. Since 2006, Thekla has continued to operate as a landmark venue for club music, playing host to a variety of club brands such as fiftyone27, hospitality, fruity antics, shoestring, blowpop and many more.
Throughout 2023, some of the most exciting new acts have come aboard the converted cargo ship including Biig Piig, Black Honey, Lottery Winners, Bully, Ariel Posen and Do Nothing. As the venue sails towards its 40th anniversary year in 2024, the shows continue to come thick and fast, with hotly anticipated upcoming performances from Bdrmm, Panchiko, Blonde Redhead, Militarie Gun, fast-rising Bristol artist Grove, and more to round out the 2023 calendar.
Thekla's general manager Alex Black said: "2023 has been a great year for us, we've had some fantastic breakthrough artists on the ship and have seen some familiar faces. We recently hosted a hometown band selling out a venue of this size for the first time and that's exactly what the grassroots spirit is all about, can't wait to work with them again.
"We continue to provide a platform for countless touring artists from the smaller local acts, to international powerhouses, we're ever adapting and always accommodating. It's been an interesting few years for our industry but it's great to be nominated for such an award amongst our peers, and what better timing than when we're preparing to celebrate 40 years afloat."
Dot To Dot had another stellar year in 2023 with the Bristol edition selling out in record time, and a headline performance from Mercury nominated Yard Act proving to be a big draw. One of the UK's most exciting new bands, they performed down the festival bill in a previous year to full capacity crowds. Tickets for Dot To Dot Festival taking place 25 May 2024 are on sale now, with early birds already sold out.
One of the UK's first metropolitan festivals, Dot To Dot has firmly established itself as the place for new music discovery over the late May Bank Holiday, taking place across the city's favourite venues including Thekla, Rough Trade, The Louisiana, The Fleece, Exchange, O2 Academy Bristol with new and returning venues including Dareshack, SWX and The Crown.
As well as giving audiences the chance to discover the next generation, newer artists also have the opportunity to perform in front of engaged crowds. This year saw the multi-venue festival continue to showcase the very best emerging talent with Alvvays and Murder Capital, alongside headliners Yard Act, leading the stacked bill of breakthrough artists such as Antony Szmierek, named this month as one of BBC 6 Music Artists of the Year.
DHP Family director of live Anton Lockwood said: "We're so proud of what we achieve with Dot To Dot. It truly is the place to discover the best emerging artists before anyone else. The festival consistently delivers the most exciting acts on the cusp of breaking through, and our headliners are often acts who have played lower down the bill before. We're proud to support and nurture new music, including giving 100 local artists the chance to open stages.
"As an independent promoter, we take special pride in promoting artists throughout their careers; helping to build them from venue to venue by having long term relationships and a dedicated team of people working to help them grow. We have always supported local homegrown talent across our venues and festivals, and with Dot To Dot in particular."
National promoter DHP Family is a LIVE Awards 2023 National Promoter of The Year finalist, while two of its venues - Rescue Rooms in Nottingham as well as Thekla - are in running for the Grassroots Champion award, and two-day Splendour Festival in Nottingham up for the Major Festival title alongside some giants of the festival scene.
DHP Family has also made the shortlist for the UK Festival Awards 2023 Promoter of the Year while its newest addition to the company's portfolio, Bearded Theory in Derbyshire, is up for Best Medium Festival alongside Dot To Dot Festival's nod.
DHP have delivered 7 festivals across the UK in 2023, alongside more than 700 concerts, including shows with piri, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Enter Shikari, Electric Callboy, Gogol Bordello, Shame and many more in Bristol. 2024 will see the national promoter continuing to bring a range of artists to the city with big venues already booked for James Blunt, Happy Mondays, Fat Freddy's Drop, The Mountain Goats, and Gipsy Kings; while emerging artists such as Bess Atwell, Pom Poko, Personal Trainer, The Mary Wallopers, Tapir! and more are also lined up for shows.
Set up to recognise excellence in the £4.5bn live music industry, the LIVE Awards select the best in class for the final shortlist with entries judged by a panel of industry professionals. The LIVE Awards will be presented on 12 December in London, in front of an invited industry audience. The UK Festival Awards winners will be announced on 5 December 2023.
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Notes to Editors:
DHP Family
DHP Family successfully own and operate festivals and venues across the UK, while also promoting concerts & tours nationally and operating a leading ticketing platform.
Venues:DHP Family started with Rock City,whichmarkedits 40th anniversary in 2020 (winner of Best Club Teamwork 800+ at Live Music Business Awards 2019) and has since added Rescue Rooms (LIVE Awards 2023 Grassroots Champion Finalist; finalist in Music Week Awards 2019: Grassroots Venues - Spirit of the Scene and winner of Live Business Awards 2018 Best Venue Teamwork); leading dance music venue, Stealth and 200-capacityTheBodega in Nottingham; cargo-ship-turned-venue, Thekla moored in Bristol Harbour (LIVE Awards 2023 Grassroots Champion Finalist); London venues Oslo (Hackney) and The Garage and Grace (Islington).
Festivals:DHP runs the 25,000 capacity Splendour in Nottingham; LIVE Awards 2023 Major Festival of the Year finalist) plus overall winner of ‘Best Festival' (15,000-39,000 cap) at the 2018 Live Music Business Award; Award-winning camping festival, Bearded Theory at Catton Hall, Staffordshire (shortlisted for UK Festival Awards 2023 Best Medium Festival); Dot To Dot, a multi-venue festival taking place in multiple cities (shortlisted for UK Festival Awards 2023 Best Metropolitan Festival and winner of ‘Best Festival for Emerging Talent' at the 2017 UK Festival Awards); MIRRORS, a metropolitan multi-venue eventinLondon; and charity festival Beat The Streets in Nottingham which has raised over £320,000 for the homeless since its inception in 2018 (winner of UK Festival Awards 2022 Community Impact title).
Promoter:DHP currently puts onaround500 gigs per year and promotes tours& showsbyJames Blunt,Lewis Capaldi, Belinda Carlisle,Sam Fender,Rufus Wainwright, The Flaming Lips, Beth Hart,Sports Team,Richard Thompson, Enter Shikari, Electric Callboy, Tom Grennan, and many more. The LIVE Awards 2023 National Promoter of the Year Finalist (winner revealed 12 December 2023); UK Festival Awards 2023 Promoter of The Year Shortlist (winner revealed 5 December 2023). Finalist for Live Promoter of the Year for Music Week 2023 Awards; nominated for Live Music Promoter of the Year at the 2022 LIVE Awards; Live Music Promoter of the Year 2019 at Music Week Awards; National Promoter of the Year at 2019 & 2017 Live Music Business Awards, plus a previous winner of the title in 2012 & 2013.
Ticketing:alt. tickets is one of the UK's leading independent ticketing platforms, recognised in the industry as a leading ticketing agent, personified by its constant strive to make it as easy as possible for customers to book tickets for their favourite events.