LOST AND FOUND

(a needle in a haystack)

This post is just us trying to prevent the unpreventable. In other words: not really important, and you should only read it if you’re planning on losing something at Left of the Dial.

We really try to make life as easy as possible for everyone, and we’re always happy to help someone out. Last year, there was clearly one most frequently asked question however, and unfortunately, we could rarely answer it.

After the festival, we received dozens of emails from people who had lost something. Their wallet, sunglasses, a shopping bag, a scarf… the usual stuff. Sometimes they would mention the venue where they last saw the item in question.

The only problem is that we don’t run the Left of the Dial venues, so it’s not our staff working there, and we don’t have keys to their front doors. When something goes missing, basically all we can do is forward your email and hope for the best.

It gets even more complicated when someone describes losing their item ‘near Central Station’, for example, or ‘somewhere on the busy street between WORM and V11’.

We understand the thought process, but it is very unlikely that a friendly citizen would find a bag in some random spot and think of Left of the Dial. Don’t get us wrong, we wish they would, but the disappointing reality is that probably less than 2% of Rotterdam’s population is aware that there’s a four-day festival going on. And even if someone did know about it, the chances of them linking your generic bag to us are practically zero.

Theoretically, after the festival we’d probably have time to just go outside and comb the streets of Rotterdam, but to be honest, after the festival we usually prefer sleeping. So please, just keep an eye on your stuff.

Big love,
The Velvelettes of Left of the Dial

PS: Yes, we know, you can’t plan to lose something. That was just our pre-festival nerves trying to be funny.

THE LEFT OF THE DIAL SPECTRUM OF OUTGOINGNESS

 

We’re all different. Luckily so, we’d say. Left of the Dial would be a boring festival if we all were the same. So, just for fun, we tried to make a very incomplete list of different types of festivalgoers. 

Nonetheless, the message is very serious:

We really don’t care which type you are, you’re all part of the family and the only thing that matters to us is that you all show a little love and understanding for people who are different from you. 

Some people really don’t want to talk to strangers and that’s okay. Others are more outgoing and that’s okay too. Just be kind. 

THE HUMAN TRAFFIC CONE
Blankly stares at the stage and basically doesn’t move at all. May only lift an arm to film the entire show. Has never danced and hates being asked if they’re enjoying themselves. They are. They just want to be left alone.

THE HEAD BOPPER
Mostly stands still, but occasionally moves a limb in a way that could technically be described as dancing. Not too keen to engage in a random conversations, but will friendly nod their head if you smile at them.  

THE MEDIAN MUSIC LOVER
Visibly enjoys themselves and cheers bands on excitedly. Usually also tries to sing along without necessarily knowing the words. Is often seen at The Merch Store spending money to support artists. Happy to chat to strangers, but always checks if no one is feeling uncomfortable.

THE EXTREME ENTHUSIAST
Dances like every song is their favourite and often shouts words of encouragement towards the stage. Talks excitedly to complete strangers and may hug someone they met twelve minutes ago. Is having the best time ever and simply wants everyone around them to have a great time it too.

THE DRUNK UNCLE
May try to dance, but is mostly (and accidentally) bumping into other people. Talks a little too much and a little too loudly. Means no harm, but can be slightly annoying. May sometimes be dangerously close to turning into a Wasted Uncle and being removed from the festival.

SUPPORT (Y)OUR LOCAL SCENE

We strongly believe in supporting your local scene. That’s why we kick off the festival with 12 shows by local bands.

If you have a ticket for Left of the Dial Wednesday, we just wanted to let you know that we really appreciate you supporting our local scene. (Unless you’re from Rotterdam, of course, in which case it’s obviously your scene as much as ours.)

However, we’d appreciate it even more if everyone supported their local scene, wherever that scene may be. For the rather selfish reason that Left of the Dial can only exist because of all those different local scenes around the world.

A local scene is pretty much just an ecosystem of musicians, bars, pubs and grassroots venues that only stays alive if people show some interest in it. They keep the ecosystem going by buying (usually cheap) tickets or spending money at the bar. That’s what venues need to survive and what bands need to grow. And once the latter happens, chances are that Left of the Dial will invite them. Or any other festival, for that matter.

Basically, if you love going to festivals, you should really support your local scene too.

(Most of you already do, of course, and we know we’re bluntly oversimplifying things, but as you know, bluntly oversimplifying things happens to be our specialty.)

Furthermore, we’d like to point out that we still have a handful of Wednesday tickets left. You won’t find those tickets on any resale platform, for the simple reason that they’re free. But some people have kindly returned their tickets because they can’t make it after all, and we’ll gladly give them to someone else.

Just keep in mind that the Wednesday tickets are additional tickets. Additional meaning: in addition to your festival ticket that is valid on Thursday/Friday/Saturday. If you have one of those but are still looking for a Wednesday ticket, let us know by email and hopefully we can help you out.

And if you don’t have any Left of the Dial tickets at all, we suggest you find a band that’s playing in a pub near you this weekend and offer them all the local support you can find in your heart!

Big love,
The neighbourhood watchers of Left of the Dial

A MESSAGE FOR BANDS

(not all bands, just those who want to play Left of the Dial 2027)

This post has absolutely no vital information about Left of the Dial 2026, so feel free to skip it.

Over the last few weeks, we have been bombarded with messages from bands who want to play Left of the Dial 2027. Although we do appreciate your enthusiasm, you couldn’t have picked a worse time to contact us.

In the weeks leading up to the festival, we’re always extremely busy making sure that everything is ready for the 162 acts that will play Left of the Dial 2026. It’s basically the only time of year when we don’t have any headspace for new music.

Besides, there’s only one way to be considered for Left of the Dial 2027: you need to fill in an application form.

And you won’t find that application form on our website until a couple of weeks after the festival.

So, isn’t there anything you can do to increase your chances of securing a spot at Left of the Dial 2027?

Well, first and foremost, you should use the next two months to write the best song ever. That’s one sure way to get our attention.

Not as important, but it couldn’t hurt either to think about why you want to play Left of the Dial. On the application form, you’re asked to give a motivation, and last year we received so many AI-generated blah blah reasons that we’re a bit fed up with reading about artists who claim they ‘fit well within Left of the Dial’s focus on originality, live energy and emerging artists worth discovering.’

But then again, if you really wrote the best song ever, the whole motivation question obviously matters a whole lot less.

Anyway, we just wanted to say that we’re grateful for every artist who feels that Left of the Dial is the perfect outlet for their music, but please don’t email or DM us. We have a festival to organise, and right now the only people we care about are either on the line-up or have bought a ticket for the 2026 edition. The rest of the world has to wait until November(ish). 

Big love,
The unfocused on originality Left of the Dial team

SORRY, WE CHANGED OUR MINDS

(not about anything major, just about The Grand Opening)

Short version 
We’re changing the Grand Opening into The Grand Gift.

Or, more accurately: The Grand Opening Mini Gift.

Which means that there won’t be one communal event to officially open the festival, but if you’re one of the first 50 people at one of the four shows that start at seven on the Thursday of Left of the Dial, you will receive a small gift.

Way too long version (but really… way too long)
As is usually the case with us, the Grand Opening started out mostly as a reaction to other events. Specifically, the ones starting their festivities in the traditional Dutch way: with boring speeches and bland hors d’oeuvres.

We wanted to do it differently. And for some reason, we felt it was important to honour the song we named our festival after. So, over the years, we came up with all kinds of different ways to cover Left of the Dial (the song by The Replacements) and did random stuff like watching a ship sail into the harbour or playing music bingo.

And if we may say so ourselves, we’ve had some fun Grand Openings. Even some really great ones.

Last year was a little unfortunate, with Storm Benjamin hitting Rotterdam at the exact moment of the (outdoor) Grand Opening. But nevertheless, we had a lovely time with the people who did brave the rain.

This year, we initially thought, let’s learn from our previous mistakes Let’s just move the Grand Opening of 2026 indoors, have a bagpipe player perform the Left of the Dial song, serve a ridiculous number of blue-coloured cocktails and it’ll all be fine.

But then we started thinking. 

Doing more or less the same thing every year is beginning to look an awful lot like a tradition. We don’t mind traditions per se, but we really hate doing something out of a feeling of obligation. That’s just not us.

But more importantly, Left of the Dial (the festival, not the song) has changed over the last couple of years. Not drastically, but one major difference is that we don’t have just one slot that is officially the first show of the festival anymore. Since we’ve grown a little bigger, we need to have four stages all starting at the same time to fit everything in.

This means that The Grand Opening would always be closer to one of those first shows, and that feels a bit unfair to the artists playing the other first shows further away.

Besides, for a substantial group of people, Left of the Dial 2026 starts on Wednesday. Why would we officially open a festival on Thursday when it actually started the day before?

Well, because we said so. 

We promised you some form of official opening, so that’s what we’re going to give you, despite all the reasons we just told you why we don’t really want to do the Grand Opening anymore. 

Only, it’s going to be in the form of a gift.

Of course, it’s not going to be anything big or fancy. It’ll be a teeny-tiny present, probably only appreciated by the most fanatical memorabilia collector. And of course, it will have something to do with Left of the Dial (both the song AND the festival).

In other words: just come to one of the first four shows on the Thursday if you like crappy gifts.

Big love,
Les petits cadeaux de Left of the Dial