STAGE FRIGHT

(how anxiety got in the way of our golden rule)

We know that we’re far from perfect and we do mess up a lot of things, but one of the rules we feel is kind of sacred is that every show starts on time.

At Left of the Dial, a huge number of bands play and most ticketholders have spent months planning which bands they’re going to see. Therefore, the least we can do is try everything in our power to ensure that every artist sticks to the schedule.

Our stage managers are pretty amazing, so most of the time things run smoothly. Every now and then, an overly eager artist jumps on stage too early, and it has happened once or twice that a set ran a little late due to technical problems.

Since 2018, over 700 bands have played Left of the Dial, and there has been only one band that started late due to something we did not see coming: stage fright.

The band in question arrived at the venue right on time and everybody seemed happy and relaxed. Except for the singer. He was panicking because the venue was empty. He thought that it was because everybody hated his band.

Our stage manager explained that at a festival, people roam from venue to venue and always leave as soon as a band is done playing, but that up until now, the room had always been packed as soon as the next band started.

This didn’t reassure him at all. He was convinced that they were actually going to be the first band of the festival to play to a completely empty room.

The band set up their gear and the singer wandered off. By the time the band was supposed to go on, he was nowhere to be seen. The stage manager and the band members searched the venue for a good ten minutes before they found the singer.

He had locked himself in a toilet and said he had no intention of ever opening the door again.

Luckily, this particular stage manager is a father of three and used to dealing with every level of anxiety. He persuaded the singer to come out just to take a quick peek at the room. If he didn’t like what he saw, he could go straight back to the toilet, the stage manager promised.

The singer opened the door and walked to the stage. When he saw the room was packed, he started smiling. Without hesitation, he jumped on stage as if nothing had ever happened.

A good 20 minutes late, though.

Now we didn’t tell this story to shame the band and we’re certainly not going to name them. We also hope you’re not going to try and guess who they were, because that’s not the point.

What we are trying to say is that we’re all doing the best we can, but at the end of the day it’s the artists who have to get up on stage and play their songs for you in the hope that you’ll like them.

That’s scary as hell.

 So support them as much as you can. The easiest way is to be quiet when they play softly, dance when they play loud and cheer after every song.

Just be that wonderful crowd you’ve always been and show newcomers how it’s done at Left of the Dial.

 Big love,
The Punctualists of Left of the Dial

PS: To all future Left of the Dial artists, we’d like to say: get in early, don’t wander off, and, if needed, get your stage fright under control, because whatever happens, you’ll still have to start your set on time!

A SLIGHTLY LIFE-CHANGING FESTIVAL

(in double hindsight)

In 2013, so five years before the first edition of Left of the Dial, we flew to Chicago to see one of The Replacements’ reunion shows. As you probably know by now, they’re the band after whose song we named the festival.

They hadn’t performed in over 20 years and were only going to play a couple of shows in the USA. Being the huge fans we are, we got on a plane.

They played Riot Fest, an outdoor festival not unlike any other festival we’ve been to, but the lineup was pretty amazing. We saw Blondie, Guided By Voices, Dinosaur Jr. and tons of other bands. 

However, the thing we loved most about Riot Fest was the way they spoke to their ticketholders. Their emails and website were refreshingly funny and honest. They created a world you just wanted to be part of long before arriving in Chicago.

After 2013, there was no real reason for us to go back to Riot Fest, but we kept our subscription to their newsletter and continued admiring the way they communicated. Time and time again, they proved there’s nothing wrong with doing things your own way. When we started Left of the Dial in 2018, we definitely drew inspiration from them.

Now, a couple of days ago, Riot Fest announced their 2026 lineup and, for the first time, four bands are playing who we consider ‘friends of the family’, meaning they all played Left of the Dial before.

It made us extremely happy in a weird, full-circle kind of way.

Which makes no sense, we know.

We could say it feels really special that friends of the family are playing the festival where we first heard Left of the Dial played live, but in all honesty, when we were watching The Replacements in 2013, we had no idea we were going to name our festival Left of the Dial. We weren’t even seriously thinking about organising a festival at all.

Besides, those friends of the family would have achieved everything they have without ever playing our festival and, moreover, they’ve played, and will play, hundreds of other festivals. Riot Fest will be just another show for them.

Still… it kind of feels like an achievement.

But enough of this embarrassing self-absorbed drivel...

We wish Gurriers, Deadletter, Remember Sports and Cardinals the best time ever in Chicago, and we hope that if they run into anyone involved in Riot Fest marketing, they’ll tell them that, in hindsight, they were slightly life-changing for a small festival in Rotterdam.

Big love,
The rioters of Left of the Dial

PS:
As it turned out, those ‘couple of reunion shows’ eventually became a European tour and, soon after Riot Fest, The Replacements announced a show in Amsterdam. So at the time, it felt a bit pointless that we had gone to the trouble of going to Chicago. But hindsight sometime changes and in today’s hindsight we know it was totally worth it.

 

DON’T BE A DRUNK UNCLE

(when has pointing out a poster to a drunk person ever been effective)

Let us start by saying that we’re really glad you’re reading this. Although, actually, we’re pretty sure you’re not the one we need to reach.

Please allow us to explain.

Generally speaking, the Left of the Dial ticketholders are the nicest people ever. People who truly look out for each other.

Like a family, almost.

Which is great, but most families also have what we’d like to call a Drunk Uncle. Someone who is usually a pretty decent guy, but turns into a bit of an asshole when drunk.

They start talking louder and their stories get way too long, they’re not as stable on their feet anymore, and endlessly repeating someone’s name in a funny voice suddenly becomes the epitome of humour.

However annoying, it’s still your uncle. And being annoying is no reason to kick him out of the family.

Just like being a tad annoying won’t get you kicked out of Left of the Dial.

Don’t get us wrong: there are clear lines that cannot be crossed. And if you do cross them, we’ll immediately confiscate your wristband and ask you to leave. Anyone with half a (sober) brain cell knows exactly what those lines are.

But being a bit loud, dancing over-enthusiastically, or showing the first signs of an alcohol-induced speech impediment is no reason to kick someone out.

That being said, a Drunk Uncle can still ruin a show for you, and we really wish there were an effective way to keep the Drunk Uncle-ness to a minimum, but it’s complicated.

You see, Drunk Uncles are hard to reach.

They’re not the ones reading this post. Nor our newsletters, website, or service emails in which we clearly state that we expect all our ticketholders to use common sense and behave themselves.

Drunk Uncles just buy tickets and show up.

Someone suggested putting up posters to remind everyone of our code of conduct, or house rules, or whatever you want to call them. But let’s be fair: when in the history of mankind has a poster stopped a drunk person from doing anything?

Someone suggested not serving alcohol at all. That’s not really fair to the people who can handle their liquor and besides… Drunk Uncle-ness isn’t always caused by alcohol. Some people are simply unaware of what others find annoying and are, in fact, Sober Drunk Uncles.

 In conclusion:

-  Not every Drunk Uncle is drunk, and usually they mean absolutely no harm
-  So have some sympathy for the Drunk Uncle, they’re only human too
- On the other hand, don’t be afraid to kindly ask a Drunk Uncle to tone it down
- If one of your friends turns into a Drunk Uncle, send them home
-  But if a random Drunk Uncle turns into a full-blown asshole, call our crew and we’ll take care of it

And finally: Drunk Uncle-ness can creep up on you, so don’t forget to take a good look in the mirror every now and then. Check that you’re not being a Drunk Uncle yourself and ruining someone else’s night.

Big love,
The tipsy aunts of Left of the Dial 

PS:
Just to be sure: Drunk Uncle is just a metaphor and not gender-specific, of course. It could also be a drunk sister, cousin, or whatever. And like we said, they don’t even have to be intoxicated. Drunk Uncle just has a nice rhythm to it. It doesn’t really rhyme internally, but it has a bit of sound symmetry. Whatever… please don’t be a Drunk Uncle!

THE TAYLOR SWIFT OF MUSIC FESTIVALS

(unimportant message about the Extra Extras)

The most important thing for Left of the Dial is obvious. We want people to discover as much new music as possible and we always put the artists first. 

That being said, we also understand that for the average person it might be a bit much to process about 150 bands in a single weekend. Some people probably need a little diversion every now and then. Some leisure activities, if you will. 

That’s why we have the Extra Extras. Small things to brighten up your day (or night). Often still including bands, but in such an unusual setting that you completely forget that we’re trying to force some of our new favourite bands down your throat. So far, it has always seemed to work pretty well.

But if we’re completely honest, there’s another, slightly more egotistical reason for the Extra Extras: 

There really is no better way to spend a work day than sitting around the office trying to come up with (usually nonsensical) ways to demonstrate our love for music, Rotterdam, and pop culture in general.

Sometimes in a really big way, like Bands on a Boat, sometimes smaller. 

The thing is, we like to think that we’re the Taylor Swift of music festivals. Maybe not as commercially successful, but just like the singer, we like to hide little surprises everywhere. If you look closely enough you might even find some Easter eggs. 

Some of those surprises are hidden in the Extra Extras that we announced yesterday. Other things are either so tiny, or so hard to describe that we won’t announce them at all. You just have to come to Left of the Dial to experience them.  

So, the Extra Extras are in large part for our own amusement, but we still very much hope you’ll enjoy them too. Most of them need more clarification than the typical band would, so over the next few days, we’ll highlight some of the Extras.  

And just to be sure: A lot of the Extra Extras are included in your Left of the Dial ticket and completely free of charge. You only have to purchase an additional ticket if we can’t make the event in question happen without the extra ticket income. 

Never for money, always for love. 

Big love,
The Tay Tays of Left of the Dial 

PS:
We briefly toyed with the idea of releasing 40 different versions of the Left of the Dial general admission wristband which our die-hard fans would all want to collect, so we could make some extra cash. But we’re not that much the Taylor Swift of festivals…

WE LOVE GREAT IDEAS

(and we would steal them if it only made sense)

Last weekend, thousands of people participated in the Rotterdam Marathon. It basically takes over the entire city centre and the spectators are partying like they’re celebrating King’s Day.

The one thing we love most about the event is that all the runners receive a race number to pin on their shirt that also includes their first name.

A bit like this: 

Maybe this is common practice for marathons all over the world (we don’t really know much about sporting events) but whoever came up with the idea is a genius.

For over six hours, the people of Rotterdam are cheering on random runners, shouting out their first names:

‘Only two more kilometres, Margaret!’
‘You’ve got this, Bob!’

It really is the sweetest, most heart-warming thing ever.

We also hear from friends who are amateur athletes that this kind of encouragement makes all the difference when you’re on the verge of exhaustion.

And of course that got us thinking…

The Left of the Dial family is a supportive bunch and our festival is kind of like a marathon.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we gave everybody the option to order their personalised race number?

For a minute or two, we thought that this was the best idea ever. How could this not strengthen the bonds of our already tight-knit community? We had visions of ticket holders rooting for fellow revellers who they’ve never met before:

‘Only two more bands, Margaret!’
‘Let me hold your glasses while you mosh, Bob!’

Then we weren’t so sure anymore. 

Was there ever a time that we actually enjoyed people randomly yelling out our names? We rarely need encouragement to go see the next band, and anonymously blending into the crowd is one of our favourite things about festivals. If that’s how we feel, it’s likely that other people also prefer a certain level of incognito-ness.

So, for now we’re going to put this idea on the back burner. Next week, we’re adding at least another 30 new artists to the Left of the Dial lineup, so we’ve got our hands full anyway. But in the unlikely event that we change our minds and suddenly offer Left of the Dial race numbers with your own name on them, you now know where the idea came from.

Big love,
The Concept Stealers of Left of the Dial