The Great Escape 2026

This year marked without much fanfare, the 20th anniversary of the Great Escape. This was my eleventh visit. It is now a fixture in my calendar. Even when I say I’m not coming back, I always do. For many years I have felt TGE was trying to be the UK’s answer to SXSW and I always compared it unfavourably to Austin’s festivities. However, for the last few years it seems to have settled on a formula that works for them and I’ve stopped comparing it with something it isn’t.

The influx of delegates and the queues that came with it growing to become ‘the industry event’, stretched my patience with it. However, it now feels it has stopped growing and we have reached a balance between delegates and fans and I think I can live with the current queues.

With the arrival of SXSW London, I was concerned that London might draw the music industry and artists away from Brighton. But after last year’s atrocious SXSW music festival, and this year’s looking even worse, I think the immediate threat has gone away. For the time being TGE remains the primary new music discovery festival in the UK.

This year saw probably the biggest change to the music festival since I started to attend. For the last few years there has been an acknowledgment that many festival goers arrive on the Wednesday night and TGE programmed a small amount of events. This year, they fully embraced the idea of a fourth day, with a packed Wednesday evening, including a full evening of music at TGE’s beach venue.

Luckily for the festival, they had booked a relatively unknown Canadian band called Angine de Poitrine. I assume they were originally part of the Canadian music experience that takes place each year at TGE. However, after AdP’s KXEP performance went viral, the debate in the lead-up to the festival was where would the hyped band play? With the Kooks pulling out of their Wednesday night headline slot, it left the perfect slot on the beach stage available for AdP. Having become ‘one of the obsessed’, I had to be there. 

My TGE got off to a great start with the excitable Girl in the Year Above playing an excellent set, opening the Beach stage. Blending soaring vocals with reflective lyrics. They are one to watch.

Luckily I managed to be on the barrier for Angine de Poitrine. I was happy I didn’t bother to ask for a photo pass, as the pit was like the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark with the snakes in the tomb. There were bodies everywhere, as photographers climbed over each other to find an angle to photograph the band of the moment.

I have to admit, I was quite late to Angine de Poitrine. When their KEXP video appeared in my Youtube feed, I assumed they were a novelty act. With Mr Blobby on drums and the nightmarish Mr Noseybonk from 1980s children’s TV (he gave me nightmares when I was a kid), on guitar. It was only the multitude of reaction videos that appeared a few weeks later, that drew me in to their weird world of microtonal looping. Part of the joy of watching them has been trying to work out how they are creating their music.

And this is the point that maybe works against them…

The joy has been watching the intricacy of their musicianship from videos captured in small venues, where all their actions can be seen. From this point on, they will be playing big venues, and much of the performance will be lost and they risk turning into a novelty act, as the theatrical side of their performance becomes the audience’s focus. Being on the barrier, it was amazing to watch their performance as these two talented musicians weaved their microtonal magic. An absolute highlight of this year’s festival. But weirdly, I left feeling that I didn’t want to see them again if it meant watching them at a large venue.

The alternative-Escape felt bigger this year. With so many bands playing off-festival sets, it bolstered the amount of music and it made it easier to catch some of the buzzier bands. After the alt-festival bailed out the festival in 2024, when bands pulled out over Barclays. This year it felt like the festival embraced the alternative events. For me, this is the best way for the festival to grow and gave us more options in the evenings when there are more delegates who get priority in queues.

I started Thursday at two of these alt-venues. First, I headed to the Inn on the Square, for a terrific performance from Barbican Estate. I have been trying to catch this band for ages. Heavily influenced by psych and unsurprisingly for a band who met at a Thurston Moore gig, Sonic Youth. I loved the way they were unafraid to allow the music to head off in different directions and then return it back to where it started. A perfect start to my Thursday and a highlight of the festivall.

Just up the road, Orchards were playing in Alphabet. This Brighton band seems to have become a staple of my TGE, with their high energy performances, they are always a good way to fill half an hour of my time.

Up at the Bella Union store, hyped band of the moment, Lemonsuckr played to a packed room with ‘one in one out’ and a large audience, including me, watching through the shop’s windows. Many said they were one of their bands of the festival. I didn’t see enough of their set to come to this conclusion. But I enjoyed what I saw.

In the evening, a genuine pleasure was seeing John Mouse play a fun set in the Fiddler’s Elbow. He usually takes a bunch of students to Krankenhaus and I promised I would catch one of his sets. It is always a pleasure when you don’t have to lie about enjoying a set.

I was hoping to catch Madra Salach in Chalk. But the place was rammed and after the first two songs, I decided to bail and catch them in a more conducive environment. I have come to the conclusion that unless you are at the front in Chalk, it is a pretty awful venue. It is just such a weird shape that the sight lines can be pretty bad.

Sadly, the choice of going to Chalk meant it was one in one out at the Latest Music Bar for Walt Disco and I missed pretty much all their set. However, it did mean I was able to grab a good position for one of my favourite bands, LIFE, who returned to the stage after two years away. Playing mostly new material from their forthcoming album. The new songs are more reflective and less high energy than their older material. Tonight, and at the second set I watched the following night, the new material sounded like they were maturing as song writers.

Friday, I decided to have a lazy start to the day by visiting Fabrica, the venue closest to my hotel. DOLDER, stated the day. A pop alt-folk band comprising of twins, the daughters of the drummer in Prefab Sprout. Despite the strong industry buzz about them, sadly they didn’t work for me. It felt like I was watching an embryonic version of Staves. Songs were pleasant, and there’s clearly potential, but I didn’t feel like there was anything to differentiate them from the rest of the alt-folk scene. My view of them was probably also biased by my the fact I think there’s underrepresentation of working-class artists and get a bit annoyed when I see kids with connections being offered opportunities. I know there is nothing DOLDER can do about their dad’s connections. They are doing the right thing and taking the opportunity to do the thing they love. I just feels unfair that some artists have cheat codes to success.

SpaceAcre are one of the more interesting local bands who have played The Horn in recent years. It is a few years since I last saw them. Playing to a decent crowd in Daltons, it was good to see how far they have developed as a band. Their indie rock with pop sensibilities, continues to create catchy indie songs.

I spend a lot of the time off festival in places like the Black Lion. The organiser had dropped a hint that he had a big name later in the day and true to form, current Radio 1 favourites Keo, played to a rammed Black Lion. I don’t feel like they offer much new, but each generation needs bands like Keo to foster the love of rock music

In the evening, the Orchestra For Now, with their expansive music, really impressed. Definitely one to catch again when they play a fuller set in a more appropriate venue.

Talking about how each generation needs artists that invigorate their love with rock music, Rooks, tread the ‘northern lad rock’ line straight down the middle of the road. Derivative of Oasis, right down to their singer mimicking Liam’s singing style. They are a band who felt out of place on a bill of new music. But the north continues to produce these bands and no doubt but they will continue the regional love of lad rock and will find their audience.

But I was there for my second dose of Life. I love this band.

Weirdly, I hadn’t visited two of my favourite Brighton venues, The Prince Albert and Green Door Store. So I started Saturday sampling some of the fair both venues had on offer. Highlight was Why Horses. They played an enjoyable post-punk set. Nothing new, but I enjoyed their set. I keep thinking post-punk is dead. But while there are bands willing to play it and people like me willing to listen, it seems like it is not dying out any time soon.

In Komedia, Yumi and the Weather, a Brighton artist who has played TGE before, but for some reason I have never seen before, played a perfect afternoon Saturday slot. Full of pleasant textures that gave me a spring in my step for the rest of the day.

In the evening, Afternoon Bike Ride in the One church, basically describe their sound. Musically, it was a like a nice bike ride in the countryside on a summers day, lots of pleasant textures, but it is a bike ride with a friend who you felt confident enough discuss some difficult topics. A very enjoyable set.

After Afternoon Bike Ride, I was going to leave One Church. But I decided to stay and watch Greta Svabo Bech. This was definitely the correct decision. It was such a beautiful set.

Listed as playing a late night slot at the off-festival Font, Chest were not the interesting French band who I had seen earlier this year at Rockaway Beach, but a band from East Anglia who were not anywhere near as interesting. I dealt with the disappointment with a few pints.

As is usual with Saturday night, unless I wanted to queue, the opportunities were thinning out. So I closed evening off at Fabrica with a decent set by a band Roomer and headed to the pub to edit some photos. 

After every TGE I question if I should return the following year. As Brighton hotels makes this a very expensive few days. This year cost over £900 for a fours days music. But it was still an enjoyable break. I suspect I will be back next year. In fact I have already booked my hotel at a significantly cheaper price. Okay. Yes, I will be back