Next Wave Blackpool

Adult DVD, TTSSFU, Silverwingkiller, Bathing Suits, Holly Head, Formal Sppeedwear and ladylike will play the first edition of Next Wave at Bootleg Social on Saturday 12 September 2026.
 
Saturday 12 September 2026 | Bootleg Social, Blackpool | 3pm–11pm | Tickets £25 advance
 
Blackpool independent venue Bootleg Social will host its most ambitious live music line-up to date this September with the launch of Next Wave, a new all-day festival dedicated to discovering the artists likely to shape the next few years of alternative music.
 
Taking place on Saturday 12 September, the first edition brings together Adult DVD, TTSSFU, Silverwingkiller, Bathing Suits, Holly Head, Formal Sppeedwear and ladylike for eight hours of live music in the centre of Blackpool.
 
The premise is deliberately simple: come open-minded and leave having discovered your new favourite artist.
 
Inspired by years spent travelling to new-music festivals including Left Of The Dial in Rotterdam, Supersonic Block Party in Paris and The Great Escape in Brighton, Next Wave creator and promoter Milo McManus wanted to bring the same sense of discovery to Blackpool — giving audiences in the North West the opportunity to see some of the country’s most exciting new artists together in an intimate independent venue.
 
The timing of the inaugural line-up is particularly significant.
 
Manchester electro-punk six-piece Adult DVD arrive in Blackpool less than two weeks before the release of their self-titled debut album through Fat Possum Records, following a growing reputation for exhilarating live shows. Stoke-on-Trent trio Formal Sppeedwear play Next Wave just one day after the release of their debut album Punch Card, while Manchester-based TTSSFU, signed to Partisan Records, has emerged as one of the country’s most exciting new shoegaze and dream-pop artists. (Clash Music)
 
Salford duo Silverwingkiller have meanwhile been attracting national attention for their intense collision of live drums, electronics and industrial dance music, with The Guardian recently selecting them for its weekly new-music recommendations ahead of festival appearances including End of the Road. (The Guardian)
 
Brighton’s ladylike bring a contrasting blend of folk, post-rock and atmospheric songwriting after appearances at festivals including Green Man, Left Of The Dial and The Great Escape and support slots with the likes of Mary in the Junkyard and Lime Garden. Manchester’s politically charged Holly Head and fast-rising Bathing Suits complete a bill already described by BBC Introducing as a “phenomenal line-up.” (return to sound)
 
Milo McManus, creator and promoter of Next Wave, said:
 
“Some of the best gigs I’ve ever seen have been artists I’d never heard of when I walked into the room. Festivals like Left Of The Dial, Supersonic and The Great Escape are brilliant because there’s a real sense that you could stumble across a band playing to 100 people and, a year or two later, they’re playing to thousands.
 
“That’s what we want Next Wave to feel like. There isn’t really a ‘headline act’ mentality behind it — we’ve chosen seven artists we genuinely believe people should see now. Come down early, stay for the day, take a chance on someone you don’t know and hopefully leave obsessed with a new band.”
 
For Bootleg Social, the festival is also about demonstrating that ambitious new-music programming doesn’t have to be confined to Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds or London.
 
Bootleg Social owner Stephen Skelly said:
 
“Blackpool has an incredible history of live music, but too often people here are expected to travel to Manchester, Liverpool or further afield if they want to discover new artists at this stage of their careers
 
“We want Bootleg Social to be a place where those artists come to Blackpool instead. Next Wave is probably the most ambitious line-up we’ve put together at the venue, and hopefully it’s the beginning of something we can build year after year.”
 
Next Wave arrives during an increasingly active period for live music in Blackpool, but with a deliberately different focus: a grassroots, single-venue festival centred entirely on new music and discovery.
 
Rather than asking audiences to buy a ticket because they already know every name on the poster, Next Wave asks them to do the opposite.
 
Turn up. Take a chance. Discover what’s next.
 
NEXT WAVE — LINE-UP
 
Adult DVD
TTSSFU
Silverwingkiller
Bathing Suits
Holly Head
Formal Sppeedwear
ladylike
 
Saturday 12 September 2026
3pm–11pm
Bootleg Social
30 Topping Street
Blackpool
FY1 3AQ
 
18+
 
Tickets: £25 advance / £30 on the door
Available via DICE, Skiddle and SEE Tickets.
 
DICE: https://link.dice.fm/EnNIJGdGu5b?sharer_id=56d8466e2325b45f39005ae3