Yesterday The Great Escape Festival concluded another memorable year with a lively day of music in sun-drenched Brighton, cementing its position as the UK festival for new music. With over 500 artists performing, the sold-out event showcased more acts than even the BBC Proms across the weekend.
The Mercury Prize winning poet and singer Arlo Parks headlined the Spotlight show at The Brighton Dome, sharing her tales of teenage unease and passing romance atop soulful beats and reminiscing with the crowd, saying “This is the first festival I ever played.” Support came from rising Danish indie-folk artist eee gee, whose spellbinding melodies proved a joyous listening experience.
Having recently announced a new album and tour, indie favourites Gengahr gave a spirited show at Chalk filled with classics and glimpses of new music alike. Cambridge 'skinhead soul princess’ Etta Bond took to the stage at Zahara, and hotly-tipped Isle of Wight outfit Coach Party kept the energy high with their third show of the festival.
On the beach, London’s drill pioneer K-Trap captivated crowds at the sunny Amazon New Music Stage with his bass-driven energy and electric stage presence, while Welsh rapper Juice Menace represented for Cardiff, delivering her hard-hitting bars at the Paganini Ballroom.
As the sun set, South London dance-pop maestros PVA got the crowds moving at Chalk, and the Manchester four-piece Porij expressed their love of rave culture with a sound that flirts with different genres, all brought together by a strong sense of groove entrancing the audience.
Singer-songwriter Anna B Savage brought the intensity and emotional poise that has made her ‘one to watch’ with two shows at Patterns and Komedia. Patterns then hosted the danceable soundscapes of Gold Panda, providing the perfect soundtrack to the balmy afternoon. Later on ravers flooded to the venue to pack out the dancefloor for I. Jordan’s set.
For the final day of the conference CMU presented the Elevate sessions, with a full day of panels aimed at early-career music business executives, entrepreneurs, and aspiring music-makers. In a conversation on the crucial topic of building an audience as a DIY artist, Luke Gregory, Marketing Director, Remote Control Agency, gave advice on social media strategy, saying: “Make sure that you're telling your fanbases about what's happening and when it's coming. Try different forms of content, you can't post things just once nowadays, you have to do it 10 times. You might think you're annoying your fanbase but you're making sure you get the message across.”
As the sun sets on a vintage, sold-out edition of TGE, Brighton has once again provided a platform for hundreds of the world’s most exciting artists and spread cutting-edge industry knowledge - the UK’s richest showcase of music talent once again proving a huge success.
