Festivals

Ticketmaster / 21 May 2024

Review

The Great Escape 2024: as it happened

On the ground at Brighton's annual celebration of new music

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Adele. Ed Sheeran. Foals. Grimes. Haim. Savages. Bastille. Christine And The Queens. The 1975. Wolf Alice. Charli XCX. Jungle. Little Simz. Dave. Marika Hackman. Shame. Idles. Rina Sawayama. Sam Fender. The XX. Ellie Goulding. The Last Dinner Party. 

The list of artists who started out plugging in their own guitars on a Great Escape stage is pretty much everyone who’s ever headlined a major festival over the last decade – with Brighton’s smallest pubs, clubs and churches earning more blue plaques each year the new music showcase takes over the city. 

If you want to make it, you’ve got to make it here first. And if you can’t make it here, just drive your van up a No Entry street, climb on the roof with a megaphone and start playing anyway (shout out to the French punks who took over Trafalgar Arches on Friday night).  

With everyone at The Great Escape looking to turn heads, the competition to stand out is fierce. These are the artists that caught our attention.

La Sécurité

It’s not an authentic Brighton experience without a sudden downpour, and the risk of drenching my only pair of jeans by Thursday afternoon sends me into the upstairs of Patterns, where it suddenly feels like 2007 again as a packed out room bop to the dance-punk of Montreal’s La Sécurité. Groovy bass licks and drums that chase after them on tracks like ‘Serpent’ and ‘Suspens’ are reminiscent of CSS or Le Tigre, and twinned with off-kilter synth lines and playful bilingual vocals, get the festival off to a heady start. JB

AGGRASOPPAR 

The Faroe Islands may be small but all eyes seem to be on their early showcase at Waterbear, where after a huge vocal performance from Elinborg, the endearingly oddball collective AGGRASOPPAR bring their hip-hop/post-punk hybrid to life with a seven piece band. There’s no space for all of them on stage, which suits them just fine as they continually jump into the crowd and get all up in our grills, even pulling someone’s hair at one point. JB

Freekind

Kicking off Thursday’s Ticketmaster showcase at the nautically themed bar Horatio’s, Slovenian-Croatian duo Freekind set the scene for summery self-loving by bringing along a sparkling Adriatic-esque sunset with them. After what was a dank and drizzly first afternoon on the coast, their joyously soulful harmonies and laidback, jazz-indebted rhythms summoned the sunshine for the final few hours of daylight, ensuring their soothing set twinkled with a similar effervescence to the panoramic view from the end of Brighton Pier. TCH

Solaariss

After an eager crowd waited patiently through a delayed start due to technical difficulties, South London singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Solaariss emerged coolly playing the saxophone and commanding the stage. The smooth neo soul intro was just a warm-up, as Solaariss reminds us that he wants us to “shake our shoulders” – and we do just that, especially with his live amapiano-infused renditions of his catalogue (and a brief Kendrick Lamar ‘Not Like Us’ interpolation with “Let me hear you say, ‘OV HO!’”. My personal highlight of the evening.) MS

LITE

Though their tightly locked riffs and rhythms reel off with the fluency of many years of practice, everyone’s a bit surprised when Japanese band LITE admit to us they’ve been a band for 21 years, and that their first ever UK show was here at the Hope and Ruin. For a band that looks like they’re in their 30s, you can feel the crowd doing the numbers in their head. Math rock indeed. JB

Brògeal

“This one’s about getting pissed, which we definitely don’t advocate,” Brògeal’s lead singer and banjoist Aidan Callaghan winked to the crowd mid-set, having already transformed Horatio’s into a full-on rowdy pub. The Falkirk upstarts – who evidently embrace The Pogues as their irresponsible elders whilst fizzing with the same rascally buoyancy as countrymen The View – set out to achieve one thing only: having a thigh-slapping good time and intoxicating anyone listening with their folk-rock festivities and infectiously communal spirit. TCH

Teenage Dads

C’mon, the beach is right there. Sticking Teenage Dads in a gloomy seafront club – with the pebbles and the (sort-of) sunshine literally outside the door – feels criminal. Get them outside and it would all make a lot more sense: golden garage pop with woozy Aussie guitars; upbeat synths that make the ‘taches and mullets feel completely unironic; early-era Vampire Weekend pushed through later-era Strokes with a bit of Beach Boys sprinkled on top for flavour. Easy to see why they’re making surfable waves in already Australia and soon will be here too. PB

Molly Payton

“Up until this morning this was a duo set, so I’m kind of winging it a little bit…” says Molly Payton, now stood in a former Presbyterian church with nothing but an acoustic guitar. It works. Stripped back to the point of feeling intrusive, Payton’s extraordinary voice catches and floats over her confessional indie-folk; part Joni Mitchell, part Adrianne Lenker. A cover of Big Star’s ‘Thirteen’ rolls into last year’s ‘Asphalt’ and then the spell breaks for a second when feedback crashes the speakers with a squeal. “Is that a cat?!” says Payton, suddenly back in the room for an instant. Thank god the rest of the band didn’t show up. PB

Cardinals

Opening to a wall of feedback whilst donning sunglasses straight out of The Velvet Underground’s playbook and posturing with Julian Casablancas’ nonchalance, Cardinals had Horatio’s bursting at the seams. The Cork five-piece indicated their ‘next big thing from Ireland’ credentials, shifting between delicate, accordion-laced balladry and potent indie-rock rousers which encouraged pogo-ing front-row fans to bop throughout. Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten recently described them as “one of my favourite new bands”, and it’s clear to see why. TCH

Nusantara Beat

It’s a shame more people couldn’t have made it all the way down to The Beach Stage on Thursday night for Amsterdam-based band Nusantara Beat; to be fair, they weren’t originally on my schedule, but a last-minute recommendation helps uncover one of the festival’s highlights with their plush, retro Indonesian-influenced melodies and psychedelic grooves. JB

Mary In The Junkyard

Without an album release, and with the shortest and sweetest bio on the festival website, the “angry weepy chaos rok trio :’)” still packed out Charles Street Tap. That’ll happen if you’re a girl band playing the viola on TikTok. Everyone’s here to catch the next Last Dinner Party but that’s not what this is at all – Clari Freeman-Taylor whisper screaming over a guitar, Saya Barbaglia hung over a bass (and a viola), and David Addison drumming like it’s 1994 to represent the next gen of Windmill alumi to take post-punk in yet another new direction. PB

Divorce From New York

Mad Cool Festival end their Thursday showcase in style with a double set from San Sebastian producer/dJ Divorce From New York, whose breezy summer’s night beats feel like exactly what we’re after. There is a set by Scottish indie rockers SLIX sandwiched in between, which isn’t the most natural of pairings, but it’s gone midnight so anything goes at this point. JB

Joe and the Shitboys

Faroe Island’s finest slacker punks Joe and the Shitboys answered the call to headline the Horatio’s showcase with several acts having dropped out, ensuring that the absentees were firmly an afterthought. Having joined fellow Faroese hip hop outfit AGGRASOPPAR for a chaotic guest performance earlier in the day, the fervent ‘shitpunk’ four-piece barked and spat with an engrossing intensity. An unlikely highlight of the weekend had to be 350 sozzled crowd members of all generations chanting “shit boys, shit boys” with equal levels of amusement and bemusement. TCH

Eva Ruiz

Offering sanctuary from the sweltering afternoon sun, neo-soul singer-come-actress Eva Ruiz delivered effortless cool inside The Deep End tent. Pirouetting between heart-aching R&B and fiery flamenco with polished pop hooks, the sultry artist performed with an elegance and poise learned through years on-screen, relaying the nostalgia of her Canary Islands upbringing and the unbreakable familial bonds that guided her here. Though, this is a role she was very much born to play. TCH

rEDOLENT

Day two of the Scotland at The Great Escape showcase was ushered in by rEDOLENT, a five-piece indie alt-pop band whose debut album, Dinny Greet, was released the same day as their festival performance. “Any Scottish people in the crowd?” frontman Danny Herbert asks us, before explaining to a Scotch-deficient audience that the album and song title comes from “dinnae greet”, which means “don’t cry” in Scottish. Despite the language barrier, the band’s synthy brand of indie pop – which sits comfortably between Nine Inch Nails’ ‘The Perfect Drug’ and Sonic Youth’s ‘What A Waste’ – gets the whole room moving so much, we forget that the venue is a theatre in a local music college. MS

St Arnaud

When a band has written their own soundcheck song, you know they’re taking things seriously. Or not, in this case, as St Arnaud look like they’re having more fun than anyone at TGE – grinning, dancing, and hyping the crowd like a local pub band made good. There’s a Springsteen-hued earnestness to everything St Arnaud do (and there’s brass, too), singing folk rock songs about grief and anxiety with a happy heart that’s bursting for a stadium. PB

Corridor

Montreal’s Sub Pop signees Corridor play their first of three TGE shows at The Green Door Store but they could have played six and I would have gone to see them all. The layers of latest record Mimi bolster the motorik drums and alternating guitar strums thanks to plenty of MPD and sample pads, meanwhile bassist and vocalist Dominic Berthiaume shifts and shakes with all the nervous energy that befits their sound. JB

Bon Enfant

It’s sweating room only at the end of the Canada House showcase at The Green Door Store – and Bon Enfant would have had the place bouncing if anyone could actually move. An unquantifiable melange of Québécois synth pop, psyche rock, French yé-yé, Japanese disco and a dozen other indie pick n’ mix essentials, Bon Enfant sound like a lock-in in a record store. Better still, they don’t sound like anyone else at The Great Escape, which makes them a sizeable standout – generating a buzz that’s still ringing. PB

Girlband!

Declaring Brighton as “the best queer night out ever”, plucky three-piece Girlband! live and breathe the kind of joie de vivre you feel screaming along to glossy 80s rock bangers at a karaoke night – which was no doubt on their itinerary during a previous Brighton visit. At The Deep End, the Nottingham trio’s unabashed excitement was infectious, dishing out a fist-clenching, open-hearted set of rock anthems that echoed Bryan Adams playing through their mum’s stereos. With the biggest grins you’d see all weekend, of course. TCH

The Cavemen

If Igbo brother duo The Cavemen’s highlife catalogue wasn’t enough of a display of their distinct talents, their seafront performance at the Sound Waves stage sealed the deal. With Kingsley on bass, Benjamin on drums, both on lead vocals and performing in English and Igbo – their Afrocentric funk and soul turned a regular performance marquee into what they dub, “The Cave”. Fitting as they performed ‘ADAUGO’, whose lyrics ask “would you enter the cave tonight?” and it truly felt like we did. The band’s sound was supplemented with a flautist and guitarist, and together they added an interpolation of ‘Human Nature’ by Michael Jackson during the instrumental section of ‘ADAUGO’ after the key change – and as a sound-to-colour synesthete, the key change “sounding” green while the stage lights turned green felt like a personal nod to me, so a massive thanks to The Cavemen for that. MS

N’Famady Kouyaté

Guinea-born, Cardiff-based N’Famady Kouyaté is clearly a radiant character, full of energy and smiles, and there’s something super soothing about the chime of his balafon – a wooden, West African type of xylophone – that has an almost hypnotic effect. JB

Lauran Hibberd

Snarling like her Kerrang TV heroes of yesteryear, Lauran Hibberd’s candid pop-punk could easily have been lifted from an early 00s high school teen movie, writing the kind music (complete with faux American drawl) you’d expect from the lovechild of Avril Lavigne and Sum 41’s Derreck Whibley had they not divorced back in the day. Despite lacing her lyricism with personal trauma however, Hibberd deals in a universally self-deprecating sense of humour – it must be the Isle Of Wight in her. A far cry from her extroverted and exposing social media persona, she seemed genuinely flattered, even shocked at the reception she received during her peppy set at The Deep End, getting the elder statesman in the crowd bopping along like they were delinquent teens themselves. TCH

ELI

Where punk meets soul, ELI brought an ethereal stillness to the Pirate Studios stage. Almost like a siren call, everyone at the TGE Beach stopped to sit and listen as ELI sang songs of vulnerability, angst, connection, and joy, whilst accompanying herself on the electric guitar and loop peddles. And in the stillness, ELI addressed the audience with a reading of a handwritten note that spoke of her gratitude for the support of the festival, her solidarity with her fellow artists performing and not performing at The Great Escape, and her support of the communities affected by the violence occurring globally. Raw and heartfelt, just as her music is. MS

Halo Maud

Heavenly Recordings’ own Halo Maud has leant her vocals to Chemical Brothers and Corridor, but her own solo show upstairs at Charles Street Tap is a kaleidoscopic vision built on breakbeat shuffles and enchanting vocals in her French tongue, that wails and rises as quickly as it falls to a hushed falsetto. JB

NOAHFINNCE

“Wanna hear pop punk?” NOAHFINNCE confidently teased through the mic, an artist who has carved out an impenetrable connection with his fanbase, and intended to do so the very same at The Deep End. Building rapport with the budding pop-rocker was an easy task: he was quite visibly having a wild time, spinning with his guitar like a man possessed and leaning back-to-back with his bassist as they amped up the showmanship. Muted verses were punctuated with explosive choruses, complete with “da-da-da’s” in his snotty, defiant vocal delivery. An artist who has been documenting his transition via his social media profile and personal music, pop-punk never sounded so potent. TCH

Ellie Bleach

Really Good Time 

The name feels like a challenge. But then so do the matching jumpsuits. If half of rock ‘n’ roll is confidence, Really Good Time have already made it – shouting their own band name into at least two of their songs and ending with a synchronised devil-horn bow – it’s a miracle one of them didn’t try and stage dive into the slightly quiet afternoon crowd of industry onlookers. They’re doing it all right though, of course, and everyone else should be taking notes. Really Good Time want it more than most, and they’ve got the music to back it up – packing Warmduscher beats around 90s pop-punk guitars and a sense of fun that feels infectious. Or, as they put it “U2 in their Vertigo era covering Viagra Boys”. Or, “Pixies meets LCD Soundsystem and a bag of cheap speed in a blender”. They’re mostly all of the above and, yeah, they’re a really good time. PB

Ducks ltd.

It’s been a couple of years since Ducks Ltd. stood in the same corner of The Hope & Ruin and played the hell out of Modern Fiction and Get Bleak. They might not be a new band (or even on the official festival line-up…) but Ducks Ltd. are made for The Great Escape – returning now to play new album Harm’s Way, as well as to bring ’18 Cigarettes’ back to its spiritual home – back to the city where it was first written. However big the band might get (and they deserve to be massive), here’s hoping they always come back to this pub every May to remind us just how great jangle pop can be when it’s played with this much feeling. Special shout-out to Alessandro the sound guy, clearly having the best time in the room. PB

Highlyy

Closing the Patterns Upstairs stage on Friday was singer-songwriter and bonafide performer, Highlyy. Effortlessly moving between Afrobeats, R&B and Amapiano, Highlyy gets us all dancing while maintaining crystal clear vocals – performing in both English and French – and sparkling in her custom Naomi Smith ensemble. The joy in the room is palpable as Highlyy’s music feels warm and communal, and Patterns transforms from a regular Brighton bar into what feels like a hall party or ‘shubz’ thrown by your favourite cousin. With a flawless Burna Boy cover, and audience-favourite ‘Honest in her repertoire, the young Essex-based singer is definitely one to watch. MS

CHINCHILLA

Her only official show of the weekend, CHINCHILLA exuded an unparalleled level of cool and composure during her high-anticipated set at The Deep End. The pop polymath may have a penchant for theatricality – based on her weird and wonderful attire – though her appearance never distracts from her piercing wordsmithery, the London-based artist’s vocals undulating between dimly-lit smoky tones and full blown operatic force. A singular pop star whose emotional heft sits from-and-centre, CHINCHILLA’s messages of empowerment rang in the ears long after she’d left the stage. TCH

BNNY

“I’m not nervous, I’m just dehydrated!” says Jessica Viscius, shaking in the sweaty upstairs bar of The Prince Albert in front of everyone who could squeeze in around her and another roomful of people stacked up on the stairs waiting to get in. Despite the crowd, Bnny hushes the room so much you can hear the fans blowing – whispering her breathless, delicate, grief-soaked indie to a room that suddenly feels a million miles away. PB

Antony Szmierek

Even if Anthony Szmierek’s music is not for you, it’s impossible to not like this guy. Not long ago he was an English teacher, and now he’s holding on to the rafters of Horatio’s to get a better look of his crowd and making everyone feel welcome. Things heat up for intoxicating bops like ‘Rock and a Calm Place’, but it’s the hand on the shoulder of ‘The Words of Auld Lang Syne’ that propel us “Eyes wide into the night”. JB

TIBASKO

Wow – another happy accident and new discovery that ends up being one of the moments of the festival. These two unassuming friends set up their loops, wires and gadgets on a table while people chat and order from the bar, but it doesn’t take long before everyone is circling around them as they command an intense and atmospheric dance set, from the punches and pounds of the dark ‘Snif & Snuf’ to the emotive climax of ‘Isolate’. JB

No Windows

Named after an Antlers song, and pitched somewhere between Cigarettes After Sex and The Jesus And Mary Chain, No Windows are a whole lot sweeter than they sound. “Is everyone alright volume wise?” asks Morgan Morris, genuinely concerned. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Every interview Morris and Verity Blossom have done makes a point of stressing how young they both are – but youth and politeness have nothing to do with their music; delivering lo-fi scuzzy alt-rock the way it’s meant to sound. They’re just one teen Netflix show soundtrack away from everyone else getting as obsessed with No Windows as they clearly are with Mazzy Star. PB

Cassandra Jenkins

Those dreaded four words: one in, one out. I don’t recommend checking out a band from the venue’s stairwell but it’s hardly a surprise that those still going strong on Saturday flock to the Prince Albert for the Brooklyn singer, whose glowing songwriting emanates a powerful contentment – not least recent single ‘Only One’. JB

Pip Blom

A surprise package of sorts, now that Pip Blom – once an adorable four-piece that wrote pristine guitar pop – have now reconfigured as a trio, and have injected their sound with dance-punk appeal that relies more heavily on synthesisers. The guitars are still in tow, but Amsterdam’s Pip Blom have evolved into a much more mature and musically striking outfit, illustrating a newfound confidence and carefree charisma as they instigated a glittering indie disco in The Deep End. TCH

Lauren Mayberry

Whether or not she intends to shed the skin of CHVRCHES permanently, Lauren Mayberry made a statement throughout her headline slot on The Deep End: that she’s an artist capable of much more than the serene synth-pop the Scottish trio became renowned for. Glossy electro-pop beats are still a feature of her sound of course, but she’s freed up to explore sensual balladry as much as glitchy, punk-energised head-bangers. A consummate performer – who entertains with humour and honesty during audience interactions between songs – Mayberry showcases astonishing energy from start to finish. Dressed in an angelic porcelain white gown, she’s happy to grubby her knees, twisting and turning with dizzying enthusiasm whilst throwing individual roses to crowd members as she sang a gritty cover of Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’. Exposing her innermost fears with intermittent sequences of deeply personal poetry, she transforms into the vibrant pop princess only moments later, her symphonic vocals reverberating through the tent and outside throughout the beach arena. “It’s taken me too long to put out this album,” she joked. Surely the wait won’t be as long for the next one. TCH

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Tickets are on sale now here for next year’s Great Escape festival

_{Header photo credit: Nici Eberl}