Yesterday The Great Escape, the festival for new music, got off to a flying start as its first day saw an impressive selection of the finest emerging acts take to venues across Brighton. With a selection of fresh and fast-ascending acts taking to the stage across 30+ venues, the festival’s first full day saw stellar performances encompassing everything from indie-rock to rap, hip-hop, punk, pop, electronica and more.
Thursday’s highlights included a riotous set from NYC indie-rockers Been Stellar, a dose of dazzling Americana-flecked indie from Gia Ford and a packed-out performance from cinematic duo Good Neighbours.
Elsewhere, Irish rock’n’rollers Cardinals and Faroe Island punks Joe and the Shitboys took over the pier with an anarchic offering at Horatio’s, while shapeshifting techno-folk group Ebbb hit Green Door Store, singer-songwriter Victoria Canal put a more intimate spin on proceedings with a spellbinding set at Fabrica whilst hotly-tipped alt-rockers Wunderhorse helped kick off the festivities at Chalk, and glam rock duo Faux Real closed the show at Komedia Basement.
Thursday also ushered in the second day of The Great Escape’s annual conference, and the day began with an insightful keynote conversation presented by the Council of Music Makers. Featuring Tom Gray, musician and Chair of the Ivors Academy, interviewed by YolanDa Brown OBE Chair of the BPI, the pair represented songwriters and record labels across the UK’s music industry.
The session touched on music copyright, culture and the impact of the current socio-political climate on artists, as well as the importance of teaching music and art in schools and the power music has to unite people. “Music also has the power to regulate groups of people… it’s doing something in a very practical way, bringing [people] into a harmonious place,” Tom Gray said. “That’s the most exciting thing to me about music, to me it’s a core function of society.”
The day also saw a special conversation between Colin Newman and Malka Spigel-Newman, who discussed their experiences as musicians in acclaimed punk bands Wire, Swim and Pink Flag. The session explored owning your rights as an artist and a life spent experimenting in music, alongside changing music trends and the re-emergence of guitar music. The pair also discussed the importance of Brighton as a focal point in the UK music scene.
“There’s a grassroot network of musicians and venues in Brighton, and we get to know everyone,” Colin Newman said. “That’s exciting.”
With a combination of captivating conference talks and stellar performances from some of music’s most talked-about new talent, Thursday saw The Great Escape 2024 get well underway with much more to come across Friday 17 and Saturday 18 May 2024.
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