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Charli Lucas photographed by Lorne Thomson 

After last year’s very sunny Great Escape Festival, I wrote “If you’re planning a trip to the UK, May is not a bad time to go. For one, the weather could be on your side (no promises)”. I would like to emphasize the ‘no promises’ part. This year brought a fair amount of rain - and hail! Yes, actual hail. In the middle of May. Welcome to England. But enough about the weather - it is all about music, of course.

Great Escape is one of Europe’s biggest festivals for new music and this year it celebrated its 20th anniversary. In the beginning of May each year, it showcases 450 emerging artists from all over the world in more than 30 venues spread out across Brighton on the English South Coast. A lot of the artists play two or three sets but some only play once. And though the venues are within walking distance, you can quickly spend a lot of time getting from A to B. And C and D and so on. So plan wisely. Or take the exact opposite approach and don’t plan at all.

Before heading out, I made a very ambitious list of names I was going to try to catch and thought I had a grand plan. That obviously didn’t work out. First of all, the list kept getting longer as I listened, read, and got recommendations. And then I always seem to forget my inability to be in more than one place at the same time. But here are some of my favorite shows and discoveries from four days in bustling Brighton.

Madra Salach (IE)

I had pretty high expectations for this but I also wasn’t sure what to expect. But in lack of other ways to describe it, I’ll resort to a cliché: They blew me - and seemingly also the rest of the crowd at Chalk on Thursday night - away. This six-piece has pulled Irish folk apart and put it back together adding moments of distortion and synth, creating a sound that is traditional yet modern. I thought that the set would be more ‘chaotic’ but everyone except for lead singer Paul Banks is seated. His guttural voice is absolutely hypnotizing and if I heard just him, I would not be able to tell if this was present day or a hundred years ago. If you ever get a chance to see Madra Salach (which by the way means ‘dirty dog’ in Irish Gaelic) live, do not miss it!

Alex Amor (UK)

Alex Amor’s dreamy, slow-burning alternative pop has drawn comparisons to Lana Del Rey, Carole King, Cigarettes After Sex, Clairo. Maybe even some Phoebe Bridgers. A dash of Fleetwood Mac. The beautiful One Church - an actual church turned event space - was the perfect setting for it. The high vaulted ceilings, the pipe organ in the background. Amor is charming and soft-spoken, moving with ease, her white dress and blond hair flowing softly in the breeze from the wind machine. And her voice is absolutely stunning. She has released three EPs and is gearing up for her debut album on August 21. Mark your calendars!

Westside Cowboy (UK)

This Manchester four-piece won the iconic Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition last year and after seeing them live, I fully understand why. The set ranged from energetic indie rock over more folky sounds all infused with vocal harmonies - a sound they’ve named “britainicana”. It’s the result of growing up in the UK whilst being exposed to American culture, and an insistence on being unpredictable. Their energy on stage is unfiltered and contagious and has earned them support tours with both Geese and Black Country, New Road. Their second EP came out in January, just six months after their first one. So maybe there’s an album on the horizon soon? 

Angine de Poitrine (CA)

I had completely missed the hype surrounding this Canadian duo following their KEXP live session in February. I hadn’t even heard of Angine de Poitrine and their looped, microtonal math-rock before they were announced for The Great Escape. The Deep End - the biggest venue at the festival’s pop-up site on Brighton Beach - reached capacity long before the show was supposed to start and I’m sure that a good part of the crowd saw the precious bands just to make sure that they had a spot for ‘the polka dots’. I stood in the exact same spot for almost three hours to make sure I wouldn’t get locked out. But it was worth the wait. In comes the duo in their signature paper maché masks and polka dots galore and then they rock. One playing drums, one mastering guitar, bass and loop pedals (with his feet!) - and only speaking in robotic gibberish. In all honesty, this isn’t really my kind of music but I was all for this live experience.

Bella Kay (US)

This Houston-born, Orlando-based singer-songwriter was pretty high on my list and since she was only scheduled for one set, I made sure to be there. At just 20 years old, she has already proved that she has a knack for blending alternative pop with the intimacy of bedroom songwriting. She digs deep into the complexities of heartbreak, identity, and survival and brings it all to life with her raw, timeless voice. I have been humming “iloveitiloveitiloveit” over and over again since Friday afternoon and I am definitely going to keep a keen ear on what’s to come.

The Tullamarines (AU)

Australia has an abundance of really great indie bands: Lime Cordiale, Ball Park Music, Middle Kids, Spacey Jane, Old Mervs, The Rions, Fool Nelson, DICE, The Terrys… I could keep going but let me get back on track: The Tullamarines. Four voices that have found a place for their individual stories and artistic sensibilities to come together in a shared universe. The result is catchy indie-pop - delivered with rock sentiment and infectious joy - that is genuinely hard to stand still to. And why would you? I had my doubts when they asked the crowd to jump - it is a music industry festival after all, it can be hard just to get people to clap. But it worked. A jumping crowd. At an early afternoon show. On the festival’s last day. Well done, Tullamarines. 

BombayMami (CH)

This fusion of R&B, pop, hiphop, sprinkled with a bit of Bollywood was the perfect way to kick off day three. Born to a Swiss mom and Indian dad, BombayMami was raised between Switzerland, India and the UK and all of these cultural backgrounds blend into her sound - as well as influences like Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Timbaland, and M.I.A. Her visual universe is also a testament to her heritage. Dressed in bright orange and gold on a stage decorated with colorful flowers she takes the room with confidence - and does not scale down the energy just because she’s playing to a music industry crowd on a Thursday at noon.

Dead Dads Club (UK)

Chilli Jesson is no stranger to standing on a stage. From Palma Violets and other projects to being a touring member of Fontaines D.C, he’s played all over the world. On Thursday night he took the stage at Horatios at the end of the iconic Brighton Pier with his new project, Dead Dads Club. Jesson was just 14 years old when he lost his dad to drug addiction, and now, almost 20 years later, he has turned that grief into multifaceted, life-affirming indie rock. There’s a bit of Arctic Monkeys in there, maybe a little The Strokes. I did make a joke about some Wonderwall chords. But all in all, it’s very much Jesson’s own and delivered with good ol’ rock’n’roll attitude. Also, the project’s eponymous debut album came out in January and is produced by Carlos O’Connell of Fontaines D.C.

Charli Lucas (AU)

Charli Lucas’ music has been described as “the ultimate guide to navigating your 20s”. Her ‘everything on the table’-lyrics are set within a sound - and attitude - reminiscent of names like Remi Wolf and Lola Young and seeing her live makes me understand the following she has amassed over the past few years. She’s so comfortable, natural, energetic on stage - but I guess you wouldn’t have performed alongside Chappell Roan on the Laneway Festival 2026 lineup, toured with global superstar Alessia Cara and or supported Aussie icon Keli Holiday on a national tour, if that wasn’t the case. You better get on this now, ‘cus this Aussie is ready to take the world.

Girl in The Year Above (UK)

This was a coincidental find for me - I was just in the area with time to spare when this Irish/Cornish quintet was about to take the stage. Having released just two singles, they really are a brand new band but they gained major attention for a haunting cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" which was featured on the soundtrack for the Netflix film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. And in the coming months they are playing several headliners and supporting both The Kooks and Wolf Alice. Their sound is heavily influenced by Celtic musical traditions and lead singer Jennifer Ball’s theatrical vocal brings my mind to The Cranberris and Florence + The Machine. The live rendition of their latest single, the emotional “Ode To The Glory Days”, was breathtaking and having listened more to the uptempo debut release, “Mama, My Heart Is Achin’”, afterwards, it almost reminds me of Icelandic folk-darlings Of Monsters and Men. In other words - I’m very curious to see where this musical journey goes!

Jamaica Moana (AU)

I was not expecting the storm that is Jamaica Moana. This Sydney-based Māori and Samoan is a cultural powerhouse on a mission to reshape music, performance, and fashion - and uplift queer, trans, and BIPOC communities. She fuses supertight flows, R&B, and soul with ancestral fire and queer identity and takes the stage like it’s all she’s ever done. Fierce, razor-sharp, unapologetic. And why not add stage-diving and catwalking through the crowd to that mix? This artist should be in the dictionary definition of ‘a force to be reckoned with.  

Jude Kelly (NZ)

I ran directly from the intense chaos that is Angine de Poitrine to try to catch this singer-songwriter from New Zealand. The show had just started when I walked into Komedia Studio and the audience was dead quiet - I rarely experience such a respectful crowd. It was just Kelly and her guitar on the stage and her soulful voice was absolutely mesmerizing. Unfortunately, she started feeling unwell a couple of songs in and had to leave the stage for a while. But she came back - cheered on by the patient crowd - and played a third tune. Obviously, it was a shame that the set was cut short but it also just left me wanting more - in the best way. I would also love to see her with a full band as well. The recorded versions of her pop-Americana-folk hold so many layers. 

Little Granddad (UK)

This was one of those happy accidents that I really love about (showcase) festivals. I arrived at Chalk early because I was sure it would get packed for Madra Salach. So early that the precious show hadn’t ended yet. I immediately liked the sound, even though I found myself close to the exit with people walking in and out and with no view of the stage. Turns out that Little Granddad are one of London’s most talked-about new bands playing “Americana-indie with a twist.” They’ve supported names like The Hold Steady, Mt Joy, and Cardinals, and have played tons of festivals - all of it without having released any music. Their first singles - “Sleepwalking” and “Unmasked”, released as a double - came out just two weeks ago. The two widely different tunes show that this band does not fit into just one box. And they’re definitely on my radar now.

Ribbon Skirt (CA)

The core of Ribbon Skirt is singer and guitarist Tashiina Buswa and multi-instrumentalist Billy Riley but the live setup also includes a drummer and a bassist as well. Their sound is raw and grungy and Buswa’s almost chant-like singing is hypnotic. All enhanced by experiencing it in a dark, filled to the brim tent. Knowing that the songs explore her relationship to her Anishinaabe heritage - the band’s name is a direct reference to the beautiful, traditional garments worn by Native Americans and First Nations - just adds an extra dimension to it all. Their debut album, Bite Down, was released in April 2025 to critical acclaim and I guess that it is long overdue that I get on it!

The Great Escape 2026 took place May 13-16.