Before the music even starts I have already booked for Rockaway Beach 2027. Is this the perfect way to start the New Year, or is there actually something wrong with me? If this is an addiction, I am not sure it is one that I want to fix.

This is the earliest a Rockaway Beach has started. If I am honest, it is too close to the New Year for me and there were notable absences amongst friends who felt the same. A few years ago, I missed one due to COVID and I now tend to be careful in the run-up to the festival and restrict my activities a few day before it starts. Being so early, it put a slight damper on the end of my Christmas holidays. The early start, also didn’t give me any chance to work off some of the Christmas excesses and I have to admit, after nearly two weeks of sitting in front of the TV, I found the whole weekend a bit of an effort. Next year, the festival is at the end of the first week of January, which should work much better.

This year’s Rockaway Beach departed slightly from their usual template of legacy bands headlining and younger bands playing during the day. With two relatively young bangs headlining the Friday and Sunday, in the form of Soft Play and English Teacher, with PiL playing the Saturday night. I think this is a really positive move. I much prefer to see a new band, than a legacy band and it gives young bands the opportunity to move themselves up the booking lists for summer shows. It was great to see both young headliners, stepping up. But more on that later.

Arriving on site, it was clear that Butlins also found this to be an early start. They had literally just kicked out their New Year’s party guests and during the Friday, there were signs everywhere of the New Year festivities. I think everyone must have had streamers, they were everywhere, even the photo pit. (My room was clean through). However, as always, the wonderful Butlins staff managed to clear away the mess and by the evening, only the festive lights and the cold, reminded us that we were still in the Christmas holiday period.

Friday started a little bit later. Several bands had pulled out due to illness. The big risk for a January festival. I imagine the organisers dread every email and phone call their receive over the Christmas break. The later start meant the venue was probably the busiest it has been for the first act. Y, opened with an an impressive set of catchy songs that really warmed up the audience. I have seen Y a few times. But this was their best performance so far. A really excellent way to start the weekend.

This year, Rockaway continued to use the Centre Stage for the daytime music and the big warehouse-like Studio 36 for the evening headliner. The sound in both these venues is good. However, the problem remains that Studio 36 is pretty soulless. Several people I spoke to wanted to go back to Reds. But like me, they were the same people who complained about the poor sound in that venue. As much as I miss Reds, I think this is the better compromise.

The bigger stage also allows the young bands to hone their stage craft. Several of the bands said that Centre stage was the biggest crowd or stage they had played. I think Rockaway is becoming a winter training camp to ready bands for the summer’s festivals.

Stepping up at the last minute and the winner of Rockway Beach 2026 was ELLIS-D. A late replacement for one of the bands who had called in sick. ELLIS-D was new to most in the audience. Like Denmark, who in 1992 came from the beach to replace Yugoslavia in Euro 1992 and went on to win it. ELLIS-D completely owned the big stage, blasting through a tight set of his gothy post-punk psychedelia. When he said he only had one more song, there was a genuine sound of disappointment, only to be matched by the joy of him telling everyone it was 10 minutes long. I hadn’t seen ELLIS-D for about 18 months. On this evidence. The band have stepped up to another level. A really excellent performance.

Opening Studio 36, Idlewild left me bewildered. They were going down a storm with the audience. Some of whom had only come to the festival to see the band. I have to admit, I must have been missing something. They were tight. But they left me feeling disengaged.

Headlining the big stage were Soft Play, previously the Slaves. I have seen them numerous times, right from their very earliest days, when they played to an empty room at the Horn in St Albans. I love the energy these guys put into every performance. By the time I had left the pit, Laurence had split kicked several times and had already gone into the audience. I have seen them headline stages at other festivals. So this wasn’t anything new for them. However, they were playing to an audience who in the main didn’t know who they were, and they had the Rockaway crowd in the palm of their hands.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see much of their set, I headed back to Centre Stage to catch Mandrake Handshake with the intention of shooting a few songs and then returning. However, the pit closed as I got there, and heading back to Studio 36, I got waylaid by friends. But this is what is great about Rockaway. Rockaway has become the winter meeting point of so many summer festival goers. I think one year they need to play a festival version of the ‘Kevin Bacon separation game’. I’m pretty sure everyone at the festival can relate themselves to another person within two or three degrees of festival or local gig scene separation.

Closing the evening on Centre Stage, Antony Szmierek was in full ‘red coat’ mood. Fully embracing his end of evening slot, to bring some fun before we headed to bed. I think somebody should have given him a red coat. He was clearly enjoying the experience.

Opening up Saturday’s activities, Bruise Control took no prisoners. Everyone was shuck awake by their powerful performance of direct punk songs.

The next two bands gave people turning up with a hangover, more of a chance of easing themselves into Saturday. Returning to Rockaway Beach, Winter Gardens sound had grown more expansive. Atmospheric, gothic, with a moments of intense wailing guitars. It was a perfect palate cleanser after the directness of Bruise Control. Whitelands, who followed, continued with an excellent set of Shoegaze.

A new discovery for me, French band, We Hate You Please Die, at times reminded me of Sonic Youth, with a touch of the angular guitars Gilla Band used so well. If I didn’t know they were French, I would have sworn they were another Irish band produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox.

I have seen Gans several times. Always on a small stage. They effortlessly shifted up a gear to make their set work on a big stage. I can see them having a very strong 2026 and I expect them to be playing venues like the Kentish Town Forum by the end of the year.

Over at Studio 36, a band I have had the pleasure to see develop from their Shacklewell days. Dry Cleaning brought their weird presence to the vast warehouse space. Their big draw is Florence’s spoken word stories. While the guitars swirl in the background, Florence performs her musings with minimum movement, but maximum expression. I never expect this to transfer to big stages. Through the camera lens, her performance is engaging and fascinating, but you need to be close to appreciate her acting. How does this transfer to a big audience? I honestly don’t know. But it does. While I briefly dipped out to see TV Smith on the second stage, I headed back to catch the end of their set. One of my highlights of the weekend.

Saturday headliner, PiL, played their usual game of requiring photographers to sign away copyright. I have done this in the past and if this was their gig, fine. But it’s a festival. Given I make every photo free under a Creative Commons license. It shouldn’t really make any difference to me. However, I don’t like the person John Lydon has turned into, so out of spite, I left and headed back to the Centre Stage which gave me a chance to finally catch Walt Disco, who played an excellent set of new music. This was my first opportunity to catch them and they seem to have toned down their glam flamboyance. But it was still a fine set.

Closing the evening where two Fat White family related bands. The first, Insecure Men seemed an odd late evening booking. Arriving on the stage smoking, pissing off the Bultins team. They proceeded to play a rather bland set. Thankfully, the excellent Moonlandingz got the party going, to close the evening.

Sunday had a more laidback feeling. Baggio, who seemed to have dragged half of south London’s musicians with them, played laid back ‘clever’ musician music. You know that noodly stuff that has been leaking out of London’s music schools for the last few years. It’s not my thing. But they sounded pleasantly clever and were suitable for those nursing heavy heads from Saturday night.

Shadowtail impressed me before Christmas. Ethereal vocals over textured layers of shoegaze isn’t usually my thing. However, I’m a sucker for bands who play guitars with a violin bow. Apparently, last year they changed their lineup. This new lineup has a lot of potential and I will catch them again.

Closing Centre Stage for another year, Inspiral Carpets, did little to inspire me. I found them bland in the 90s. They were just as bland here. Thankfully, over on Studio 36, Coach Party really stepped up to the big stage. I have only ever seen them play small shows and small festival stages. They have great energy, but I honestly never expected them to be this good on a big stage. Their set was probably a bit long and maybe they need to tweak the running order. However, they had their air of a band ready for the challenge to become an arena band. It impressive to see how much they’ve developed.

Closing the festival were English Teacher. I am going to be honest, I think English Teacher are overrated. However, I was so pleased to see Rockaway give them a chance to headline. They did a great job of expanding their sound to the larger stage. Lily’s vocals were immaculate and at times stunning. While they didn’t change my opinion of them, I prefer more energy from my headliners, they are clearly ready to play the biggest stages. Maybe they need a touch more stage craft so that there is a performance to be seen at the back of a big crowd. But they appeared to be ready to step up. Rockaway is the perfect festival to offer new bands the opportunity to headline a big stage. They had sold 50% of their ticket for 2027 before the end of the weekend. Many of us return for the experience. The music is a bonus.

Another successful year and Rockaway has revitalised me after Christmas and wetted my appetite for what the 2026 music scene will deliver. There still remains issues with accessibility in Studio 36 that needs to be sorted out. But Butlins staff continue to be brilliant, in pretty much every other way. The festival has now pretty much nailed the January format and this has become the perfect post-Christmas break. I will be back next year.

So are their queues? Well I didn’t experience any.  Although I did hear there were occasional queues at the Prince Albert and Hope and Ruin. But that’s pretty good going. This is nowhere near The Great Escape levels of queuing. All good? Well kind of. So let’s get the negatives out of the way before I talk about the positives. 

When you look at the lineup poster, the bands at the top that have been highlighted in bold, basically play at the same time. You have to choose who you want to see. That’s how they achieve the queuing sleight of hand. If you are choosing this festival over all the other options around, be aware of this. This may seriously change how interesting you might perceive the festival. What made me attend was that lots of my favourite bands were listed – but they all played at the same time. On Friday, DITZ up against Dry Cleaning, IST IST and University. Saturday, Lambrini Girls, Big Special, Benefits and Courting up against each other. It meant some difficult decisions.

Despite these difficult choices, I managed to finally catch IST IST, who were everything I hoped they would be. Benefits and Lambrini Girls brought their own takes on the state of society. I discovered a few excellent bands. For some reason, I had never seen Aint. Their set was enough to convince me that they are to be added to my must see list. Sadly, the other band who stood out, Golomb are from Ohio, so it might be difficult to catch them again.

Overall, it was an enjoyable festival. With a late afternoon start on the Friday and with most venues finishing relatively early on Saturday, it felt short compared to the Great Escape. TGE is much better value for money. However, it was nice to not have to queue. And with the festival taking place in November, hotel prices were much cheaper. Approaching the weekend, as a short weekend break in Brighton with some music, it worked. I suspect I will be back. However, I will wait until the lineup is announced.

Then the courts cases with local residents started, and if that wasn’t enough, headliners Kneecap created controversy at Coachella, by simply suggesting that killing kids isn’t a good thing and became ‘the story’ for a few weeks, with the bastions of free speech, the British media, trying to cancel them. Sadly, it looked like this might be another year where I snoozed into June.

Thankfully, everything worked out and the festival went ahead with their headliners. However, the court cases clearly impacted sales, with a flash half price sale the night before the festival opened. It is truly a great London festival and it would be a pity to lose it. So I made a last minute decision to upgrade my ticket to VIP. (even though I also had a photo pass that gave me access to the VIP area anyway)

The day started with a bunch of artists I hadn’t seen before. RIP Magic and UGLY on the Wide Awake stage warming up the early crowd in the glorious May sun. I only caught a small bit of Famous’s set, but really enjoyed what I heard. On the Moth Club stage Gaye Su Akyol cast pleasant psychedelic middle eastern vibes.

The Shacklewell stage, again lived up to its name, with a lineup of artists you will hear much more of throughout this festival season. The first I saw was Hello Mary with their NY shoegaze indie. I find shoegaze leaves me in a contented state. It rarely disappoints, as I rarely have expectations, so it kind of plays to itself. Hello Mary were another in a long line of bands who I enjoyed, but that I don’t think I would go out of my way to see again.

Gurriers, who followed them on the Shacklewell stage were a different proposition. I had very high expectations and they are very much my thing. They smashed my expectations by the end of the first song. Energetic, post-punk, taking a leaf out of Gilla Band with frantic guitars that screech like alarms. The crowd responded with a mosh pit and Dan jumping into the crowd. The only annoying thing about their set was knowing that despite having a ticket for one of their earlier show, I missed them and annoyingly, I’m going to have to miss their performance at Bedford Esquires. They’re too good to miss. They will have a very good festival season. 

Back on the Bad Vibes stage, the party continued with Warmdusher causing the audience to jump around in the warm afternoon sun. They’re the perfect festival band, they lift the energy of any festival.

On the main stage, Jeremy Corbyn talked earnestly about the plight of the Palestinian people

Nadine Shah following him expressing her own support for the Palestinian people. I always find it annoying when people say keep politics out of music. Music has always been a vehicle for protest. You don’t have to agree with somebody else’s views, but you shouldn’t stop artists from having them. As usual, Nadine Shah’s performance begged the question as to why hasn’t she been given a headline performance. She is such a powerful performer. 

Over on the Bad Vibes stage, SPRINTS once again showed why they are a must-see band. They smashed Rockaway Beach earlier in the year, showing they can more than hold their own on a big stage. Today was no different. They are a great live band. Carla is an excellent front person. She finished the set, held aloft by the mosh pit. 

Tonight something clicked. It was the first time I had photographed the new generation of female artists who are indie adjacent, attracting hordes of young female fans along with some 6Music dads. CMAT playing before Kneecap’s headline set and had transformed the front few rows into a mass of young women, complete with beaming faces. Having just seen Carla smash her stage, this was a different audience. A much more inclusive audience. One not being forced to mosh if you are at the front enjoying the music and you know what, there was a beautiful warmth. While CMAT wasn’t my thing. She put on a really good show and was clearly inspiring many young women. It clicked with me that so much of inclusivity I have been supporting, really has been on men’s terms. I guess dad’s introducing their daughters to our music, guitar drive, moshy music, encouraging them to play music that they assume men will like. I finally understood that this generation of young female artists are doing things their way, not their dad’s way, and it was a privilege to glimpse and honestly has changed my view of these artists.

Fat Dog kept the party going on the Bad Vibes. Musically, I have tried to get into them. They just don’t work for me. For me they’re a live band. You only appreciate them with a willing audience, and tonight the audience were there to party.

With all the controversy surrounding them, the pit for Kneecap was suddenly a throng of photographers. Here to feed the baying media with their daily Kneecap story in an attempt to keep the real story out of our consciousness. Pity some of these photographers couldn’t be arsed to cover the talented artists who had played throughout the day. But I guess this wasn’t really a music story. And to some extent Kneekap have never been a music story. I’ve never found their music remotely interesting. Their politics and irreverence has defined them more than their music.

The audience, full of Palestinian flags and messages of support, reacted to their entrance. The lads have a lot of support for their actions. Sadly, their music continued to leave me wondering where they would be if it they hadn’t courted controversy since day one. After a few songs, I had had my fill and left to catch the train before the rush.

The Bad Vibes/LNZRT team continue to curate amazing lineups of the best new indie music. This is a great London festival. With this year’s problems it seems to have stretched the festival’s finances. I really hope they ended up making a profit and are able to continue. This is such a great festival. London needs it to continue.

A mature festival like SXSW, running for the first time in London, has some serious expectations to meet. SXSW is unparalleled in size, using Austin’s big convention centre, numerous hotels, cinemas, and music venues, but with a remarkably compact footprint. You can overdose on music, films and interesting talks, without straying too far from the convention centre or hotel. Austin seems to have a density of music venues, probably unparalleled outside of Nashville.

London’s iteration announced that it was going to be based in Shoreditch. There are obvious synergies. The ‘New Media’ industries that based themselves in Shoreditch over the last 20 years, are always in attendance and Austin has clearly influenced Shoreditch over the last 20 years.

However, there are fundamental problems SXSW London needed to address and sadly, they go beyond there being no breakfast tacos. My first concern was simply that I’m not sure Shoreditch is capable of hosting a festival of SXSW Austin’s size. London as a whole is. It has the conference centres. It has more music venues than Austin. It has more cinema screens. But it is also a massive city compared to tiny Austin. Its conference centres are spread across the city. Its music venues sprout up in little creative hubs across the city and while say Leicester Square could handle the film festival, they would be too expensive and big for the festival to use and the smaller arthouse cinemas are spread across the city.

Another problem, unlike Austin, where it takes place over 10 days and Interactive finishes and music takes over, this festival was going take place over 6 days. The overlap between ‘interactive’ attendees and music has always been remarkably small, with the interactive attendees seemingly on company expenses, leaving at the start of music, so there’s no competition over venues. Clearly squashing everything into six days, across an unknown number of venues – with no conference centre in Shoreditch meant that the perceived value of conference badges was far less. You might therefore expect the badges to be cheaper. But they weren’t. The Platinum badge for London was more expensive than the last badge I bought in 2019. They even tried to pull a US trick that us in the UK aren’t used to. Quoting ticket prices excluding VAT.

Given all these unknowns. You would assume that SXSW London would try to cover them off to encourage ticket sales. With regular news about speakers, the venues they were using, featured films and artists playing the music festival, etc. Instead, it seemed their main approach was simply to offer discounts to previous SXSW attendees and to stay quiet about what we should expect for our money. There was no way I was purchasing a full badge for what was clearly going to be a second-class experience.

When they finally announced the list of artists. The lineup wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting it to be full of the best new indie talent from around the UK and Europe. Instead, there were slim pickings. I guess in an effort to reflect the more diverse music of London, there was much more R&B and rap. In fairness, this was the right thing to do, this diverse mix of music reflects London’s music scene. But to sell tickets, you need to provide something to entice the usual gig attendees. The lineup was so unappealing that none of my gig buddies bought tickets. These are the very people you would expect to jump at buying wristbands, people who gig across London most nights and attend festivals like the Great Escape. Their argument were that there was more than enough good stuff happening in London and with no clear draw, it was easier to do a normal gigging week.

I’m of the belief that London is crying out for a multi-day, multi-venue festival. Other UK cities have them. Many, like The Great Escape, seem to have modelled themselves on SXSW and I expected SXSW London to be in prime position to become the London multi-venue festival. However, after this first festival, they have a lot of work to do to make this happen.

A few weeks before the festival started, they finally announced venues and music wristbands. The wristbands were very reasonably priced. £100 for the six day music pass. The venues, were pretty much what I expected. XOYO, Village Underground, Old Blue Last, Rich Mix, Strong Room Bar, Jaguar Shoes, Colours. There were some surprises, such as Shoreditch Town Hall.

On the surface it didn’t look too bad. Not brilliant. But not bad. There seemed to be no late licenses. So venues would finish at 11pm meaning I could travel in each day and go home to my own bed.

However, in reality, there was a lot of walking for very slim pickings. At SXSW I can see 35 bands in a day jumping between venues on Reds and 6th Street. At SXSW London, I was seeing less than 10 bands a day. I see more at The Great Escape and I’ve spent years moaning about the venue density.

What surprised me most, was how little impact SXSW had on Shoreditch. On the first day, walking down from St Pancras, through Angel, down to Old Street, I didn’t see a single poster or sign. Even in Shoreditch, it wasn’t prominent. Most bars, shops, cafes and restaurants seemed oblivious to SXSW with no signs encouraging SXSW attendees into their establishments.

The second day, I got off at London Bridge as I wanted to visit WEX on Commercial Road. Walking up Brick Lane to the main conference hub at the Truman Brewery, you wouldn’t know anything was happening. Basically the first SXSW sign I saw was at the Brewery. This isn’t a SXSW I’m used to. You can’t move in Austin for SXSW branding. Austin breathes SXSW.

Despite some backing from Sadiq Khan, the festival was almost invisible. This isn’t unusual for London. Even big football matches can have little impact on the city. But you expect the local area to embrace the event. Shoreditch seemed oblivious the event was happening. This has to change for the festival to be successful. London needs to do better. Sadly, with some venues seeing really low footfall, they might have a problem convincing existing venues to participate next year.

During the week, the lack of venues proved problematic. Some had dual use. During the day they were conference venues, in the evening music venues. At times there were only half a dozen venues in use and given the diversity of music, it meant at times there wasn’t much to listen to. That isn’t to say I didn’t try other music genres, but none of it really excited me. At one point on Friday afternoon, there were only three venues with music on. That’s just not good enough.

One advantage of the low key first year was that despite there being few venues, most of the time it was easy to get into venues. This was a real positive. If I’m dragging myself 20 minutes across Shoreditch, I need to know I’m getting in. Other than one event, even the Village Underground was easy to get into – and with none of their usual security search shenanigans.

Hopefully, they can grow the venue density over the next year by enticing some of the pubs to host gigs while increasing the audience. If they just increase the audience, then there simply isn’t enough venues and everyone will be queuing.

One massive positive was that the British Music Embassy put in a short but welcome appearance. The BME is sponsored by industry and the DTI to promote the British music industry in the USA. So you wouldn’t expect them to be hosting a venue in the UK. I think there was a realisation that maybe SXSW London needed a bit of a helping hand and they spun this up at the last minute. Anyone who’s been to Austin knows that the British Embassy team are one of the best. Taking over Devonshire Square for two days, featuring some of the hottest bands who played their Austin venue, such as Gurriers, they provided a real showcase venue. Hopefully, they will be more involved next year.

Sadly, SXSW London hadn’t enticed any of the national groups who put on SXSW events in Austin. The Aussies are still taking their music to The Great Escape. SXSW London seemed to have missed a great opportunity to encourage the European music industry to bring their country’s artists over.

Not everything was within the control of SXSW. Unfortunately, like Austin last year, SXSW London experienced some controversy. Several artists signed up to SXSW without researching what SXSW is. Pulling out when they realised that the main conference featured talks from politicians and companies with connection to activities they didn’t agree with. Then the usual peer pressure caused artists to drop out at the last minute when they decided Tony Blair speaking at the conference, didn’t fit with their morals.

I don’t have an issue with artists pulling out of events when they are caught off guard or protesting when they don’t agree with something. Many argued SXSW Music told them that there wouldn’t be anyone controversial giving keynotes. There seemed to be a feeling that the different SXSW stands were keeping each other in the dark and that SXSW Music were unaware Blair was speaking. Personally, I don’t buy this. I don’t think SXSW perceived Blair as an issue and they are hardly going to tell bands that their big surprise was that they had arranged for ex-Prime Ministers to talk. It’s also hardly surprising that there might be individuals on panels who might have connections to things artists don’t like. I always feel artists should play and make it known that they disagree. But they shouldn’t don’t pull out due to peer pressure. In this case, many just look like idiots who had not bothered to research what SXSW does.

Rant over.

But it was annoying.

Some lineups were devastated, with massive gaps in the running order. When many of the stages had hand curated their lineups, trying to encourage representation. Artists pulling out denied opportunities to other who may have benefitted from the exposure. From my perspective, at times it meant very little music. Given most stages tried to be diverse, alongside numerous lineups that defaulted to diversity, such as two stages of South Asian music and several LGBTQ+ stages. There were points in each day when there were zero indie artists. Best way to illustrate the issue was Scottish music brought no indie artists. Probably fulfilling their arts funding, they brought a diverse selection of artists. But when everyone else was doing the same, it meant the lineup didn’t appeal to the average ‘6 Music’ gig goer.

Next year they need to tweak the formula. Increase the number of venues to get more of the normal traditional indie fare on the bill. They shouldn’t reduce the ratio of artists from the diverse musical and social backgrounds by increasing the indie representation by adding new venues. They need to keep the number of venues with none indie music as I think this could be SXSW’s key unique selling point compared to all the UK indie festivals. Maybe they need to encourage some of the notable indie venues around London and the UK to bring local lineups, so the traditional indie audience will buy tickets. Personally, I think it would also be good to get London-based Loud Women involved who seem to strike a good balance pushing inclusivity.

Musically, it could have been stronger. If this is the standard next year, The Great Escape will feel relieved. Many of the artists I saw, I had seen before. New artists that stood out were Bethia Beadman, August Charles, Cosmonaut, Uncle Junior, Karma Sheen, HMS Morris. But there were slim pickings. A weekender at the Windmill would have a stronger lineup.

There are some things the festival can’t fix, the main one being the weather. It wasn’t fun trekking between venues in the pouring rain. Maybe next year there needs to be SXSW branded umbrellas? It was most definitely not the Austin experience.

What was most disappointing, by the time Saturday came round I think the corporates were heading home. With heavy rain that day, I think people headed home and footfall was atrocious and by the end, Benefits, the last band of the day had maybe a dozen people watching them in an empty 93 East. With such poor turnout at these venues, SXSW may have a job convincing them to take part next year.

SXSW is definitely a ‘work in progress’. It felt like it was a pencil sketch of a potentially good idea. Apparently SXSW London operates as a franchise and has a multi-year contract. The talk at the festival was that there is a Berlin addition planned. If that’s the case, London needs to quickly turn its pencil sketch into a more realised version. Berlin sounds more attractive to me. My feeling after this year is that it has a long way to go to convince the UK that this is the default place to find new music. It may end up having to drop live music from the festival and accept it is simply an ideas festival.

Artists seen

Amelia Coburn, Anaiis, August Charles, Ava Joe, Baby Said, Benefits, Catrin Finch and Aoife Ni Bhrian, Beauty Sleep, Bethia Beadman, Charlie Austin, Christopher Clarke, Clara Serra Lopez, Cosmonaut, Cucamaras, Eden J Howells, Ella Jinks, Ellor, Enjoyable Listens, Florence Road, Gia Ford, GIFT, Girlband!, Gurriers, HMS Morris, Hollows, Hornet, Jay Chakravorty, Joviale, Kaoti, Karma Sheen, Kay Greyson, Korda Korder, Levitation Orchestra, L’Objectif, Lucky Iris, Orchards, MONO, Mystery Time, Nikitar, PRITT, Robinson’s Village, Samuel Sharp, Salvana, Sm*sher, Sol Paradise, Stay In Nothing, SUDS, Sunflower Thieves, Taliable, Tatyana, The White Gates Band, Thistle, Trisha Tan, Uncle Junior, Vegas Water Taxi, Vulva Voce, Wave Machine, Wildes, Yasmin Umay

The format of the festival remains the same. Up and coming acts during the day, with legacy acts in the evening, taking place on indoor stages with no need for camping. This leads to it attracting an older audience than many festivals. Think of the festival as a festival for the ‘6 Music’ audience.

With this being an anniversary festival, many expected a ‘greatest hits’ festival. I was hoping for a headliner from the upcoming bands in 2015, such as Nadine Shah, Young Fathers or Public Service Broadcasting. Sadly, they stuck with their formula of legacy headliners and I knew, Spiritualized, Leftfield and Ride would unlikely be my thing and was faced with the prospect of filling large gaps in each evening.

After last year’s festival, which was full of artists I like. This year had a number of artists who have previously left me cold. But that is always the risk with every festival. Not letting this put me off, I approached the festival with the view that this gives me another another chance to reconsider my thoughts about these bands.

Friday

Arriving early on Friday, it was clear the New Year at Butlin’s had been fun, with confetti in the corridors of the hotel. While I had to wait until 2pm to get in my room, this was still earlier than they advertise and gave me enough time to unpack before heading into Centre Stage. By the time I got back to the hotel in the evening, all the corridors were clean and in general, I find Butlins staff do their best to make your stay welcoming and deal with issues you raise. (My safe was locked and they sent somebody up to unlock it) If you arrive early, don’t be afraid of asking if you can check-in, Butlins staff try to be accommodating.

This year saw a change to the stages. Centre Stage had previously been used as the evening stage for headline acts. After complaints about the sound and timings in REDS, Rockaway decided to use Centre Stage as the day stage and Studio 36, Butlins new multipurpose event space, for the headliners.

I can’t say I was looking forward to the change. Large venues aren’t my thing. Scala is usually my jump off point as bands become more popular. Pre-festial, I was unsure if the change was going to be a good thing. Despite sound issues, REDS worked well for the smaller bands and had its own weird charm.

However, I was fortunate this year to be given a photo pass. So I knew it would be much easier getting photos without having to hog the barrier throughout the day, as I did last year.

Did Centre Stage work as a daytime venue?

Amongst the people I chatted to, there was a general feeling that the sound on Centre Stage throughout the weekend was good and the space worked better than expected. Acts weren’t completely lost on the bigger Centre Stage. While some of the immediacy and weird charm of REDS was lost, there were some positives right from the off. I can’t remember ever seeing it so busy on the Friday for the first act, which was one of my mains worries, that bands would play to an empty room and it seemed busy all weekend. All in all, I think it worked. I would prefer REDS with decent sound. But if this is the new format. I’m happy with it.

Up first was The None. What a cracking start. Right up my street. Comprising of Kaila Whyte (Blue Ruth, Youth Man) on vocals, bassist Gordon Moakes (Bloc Party, Young Legionnaire), guitarist Jim Beck (Cassels) and drummer Chris Francombe (Frauds). Their brand of uncompromising noise rock was just what we needed to prove the sound system on Centre Stage worked.

Underground indie darlings Man/Woman/Chainsaw followed, spinning their intricate musical patterns that take right turns and drift off in a different direction. They remind me of early Black Midi and BCNR. An enjoyable set from a talented bunch of young musicians. I expect them to go on to bigger things this year.

One of the challenges of festivals around the New Year is illness. Christmas seems to be a time for sharing bugs. Many of us get ill after seeing family and friends and I try to be as careful as possible during the holidays, having missed 2022 after catching COVID at a football match. During Christmas, Rockaway’s organisers must dread every email and phone call the receive. Sadly, Liz Lawrence had to drop out. Thankfully Holiday Ghosts stepped in as a last minute replacement. Their brand of laid-back rock ‘n’ roll tinged indie pop, is enjoyable and also not challenging. A nice palette cleanser before heading into the evening.

I think it was during this set that there were some complaints from people on the barrier that we were getting in their way. As I live a life on both sides of the barrier. I understand the frustration photographers are to those at the front. Yes, it is often because people on the barrier want to take their own photos or videos and our heads are in the way. It is also because people have queued to get the barrier position with an expectation of an unhindered view. I usually try and sit on the barrier as much as I can, so I don’t block people. Like me last year, many were hugging the barrier to ensure they were at the front a bands later in the day. I’ve noticed as the festival as grown, the number in the pit have gone from one photographer, to a dozen. It is a reflection of how popular the festival has become and that it is getting a lot more coverage. Sadly, it wasn’t possible to sit down and take photos. In my own attempt to compromise, I decided to only cover two songs before vacating the pit. I can get enough shots in two songs for a review and I don’t want to affect somebody’s enjoyment.

Heading over to Studio 36, I was struck by how big it is. It reminded me of Alexandra Palace. A flat, warehouse-like space. My initial impressions were that it felt soulless and I assumed sound would be poor. I am not a good judge of these spaces, I avoid all Alexandra Palace gigs and generally find most big spaces soulless the further away I am from the front. However, I was pleased to discover the sound was actually excellent. Well done the sound team. After last year’s issues, this year no one had any reason to complain about sound.

One point to note, there had been some complaints in the Rockaway Facebook group about Butlins lack of accommodation for people with accessibility needs. This space could easily have a dedicated accessibility space, next year they should build a temporary raised platform. There is more than enough space. Butlins really need to look at how they accommodate people with accessibility needs, as the view from the seating areas is non-existent with people blocking the view. While I might choose to sit in the seats as a breather, accepting the compromised view, others are forced to accept a poor view for the whole gig, irrespective of how early they arrive. Given how helpful I find their staff, it is surprising Butlins’ management haven’t made appropriate adjustments. They are usually so accommodating.

Hamish Hawk inaugurated the new stage. He previously played Rockaway in 2023 and was a highlight for many. He has the charm and songs to carry big audiences and was a good choice. He started his set with songs from his new album, which his is most introspective yet and I was worried might not have translated to a live audience who may not have seen him before. However, all the new songs sounded great and audience receptive.

This was one of the few clashes of the weekend. If I didn’t have a pass, I would have stayed with Hamish. Hamish is one of my favourite artists. However, I headed over to see Pete Wylie and the Mighty Wah! while the pit was open, who was entertaining the Centre stage with his 80s inspired political songs. ‘Thatcher is blame for everything’. I think he may have a point. But it was a point I had heard many times and headed back to catch the end of Hamish’s set.

One of my problems with the legacy acts is they often seem to be artists that were just a few years before my time. I didn’t really start listening to music until late 80s. In general, artists from the beginning of the decade don’t have a pull for me. Personally, I would rather discover new music and watch a band grow, rather than go back and listen to older artists afresh. While there have been the odd Rockaway ‘new old’ finds, I would be happy with more new bands filling the lineup.

Walking into a now full Studio 36, it felt too big for my tastes. Apparently, its capacity is not much greater than Centre Stage. However, it felt significantly bigger. It looked very wide and Hamish seemed a very long distance away. It really is not my type of space.

I edged my way down to the right hand side of the stage where there I knew there was a lot of space. It was clear as I edged down, the extra space in the venue meant there were comfortable spaces between people and it wasn’t the unpleasant crowded experience of most big gigs. However, the tables and chairs at the side and back seemed to have been almost randomly placed and it was dark in some places and easy to trip over them. Again, going back to the accessibility issues, maybe the venue could do with clearer demarcation and some guide lighting between standing and seated areas.

Surprisingly, even at the back, the sound was excellent. As a big venue, it is actually not bad! This is from somebody who avoids bigger venues. Take this as a big compliment. If they continue to use this venue, I am confident I would enjoy myself with the right acts.

The headliner tonight was Spiritualized. Previously, they left me cold and they didn’t do much for me tonight. After grabbing some photos, I headed to the bar and had a few drinks with friends. Feedback from Spiritualized fans I chatted to, was extremely positive. The large venue with the big screens seems to have worked really well for them and some commented that the addition of a small choir added an extra dynamic.

Closing the evening was Arab Strap back on Centre Stage. Centre Stage had been closed for sound check and it looked like staff from those bars, shifted to work in Studio 36. Queues built up and the doors pretty much opened as Arab Strap went on. This was repeated throughout the weekend, with people missing the first song. Next year they need to tweak when they open Centre Stage. It is a simple tweak and people would be spending money at the bars rather than queuing.

Arab Strap are another act I have never really bothered with. I enjoyed them far more than I expected. I might have to go back and give them another listen. However, I decided to turn in early and sort through photos.

Saturday

Soapbox kicked off the day with energy and attitude. Anyone who were not awake, soon were. Hailing from Glasgow, their songs have a social and political bent. While punk, they are not all po-faced, with humour puncturing the set. Another new band and another highlight of the weekend. It is these gems that make Rockaway worth it for me, not the headliners. I think I would be happier if they left Centre Stage open with small bands playing all night.

During one of the headline sets, I was sitting with like-minded souls, all of whom seem to frequent small venues watching up and coming bands and like me, were not interested in the headliners. Some of them are the backbone of the grassroots music scene. Doing a hundred plus gigs each year, watching bands, most have not heard off. We were discussing the finances of the festival and if this was the reason why the number of acts changes each year? Over the years the number of bands has shifted back and forth between a clashless lineup and there being an overlap with REDS. We surmised that Butlins probably take the lion’s share of the booking and depending on the headliner spend, the amount left sometime means they have to have a smaller lineup. Given that the Butlins price hasn’t risen significantly in the last ten years, we assumed the bucket could be getting smaller each year.

While it is great that the festival makes it possible for bands to travel down from Glasgow and win over a new audience. We wondered if there were local bands who would we willing to turn up for pocket money and pad the festival’s lineup. The festival would then be seen to support the local grassroots music scene and they could leave Centre stage open all night as the ‘up and coming’ stage, giving those of us who don’t like the headliners an option during the two hours allocated to them.

Something else that might be tweaked to help fill the time might be to rethink the talks and to make more of a feature of them. Currently, they are squeezed between acts and very few attend. The Krankenhaus festival also has talks, but they are effectively programmed separately. Also featuring the great John Robb, they are given dedicated time during the morning and are usually packed out. I think there’s some untapped potential to help fill the gaps in the schedule without it costing more.

We also hoped that if the trend continues of the festival selling out before acts are announced, it could be the opportunity to move away from the legacy headline acts to younger acts who are cheaper. It would be risky, but Fontaines DC proved this could work. (Although, I would still love to see Nadine, Young Fathers or PSB headline – and I expect they are quite expensive)

I am not sure if the organisers made a special effort this year to balance female representation after last year’s male dominated lineup. If so, they did a great job of bringing more female fronted acts to the festival. The lineup was much more balanced and showcased the great female fronted bands around at present.

The Pill are a case in point. Hailing from the Isle of Wight. People have made the obvious connections with Wet Leg. I don’t think it is an unfair connection either. They have some of that kookiness Wet Leg have. Mixing in humour and elements of pop to their punk sound. They make a fun festival band.

I had dismissed Brighton-based, CLT DRP the first time I saw them. For some reason, they just did not work that day. I thought they would be one of the gaps in the lineup where I would have to find something to do. However, today they clicked. Full of energy, passion and with something to say. I loved their set. They left me with some hope that the evening’s entertainment might also do the same.

The next artist kicked off some personal reflection. I am of the opinion that acts like Sleaford Mods and Billy Nomates, do not work (for me) on a big stage and it would be good for their music to have a live element – say like Bob Vylan. In Sleaford’s case, I have seen them in a small venue and know their set works best when it is intimate. Frankly, on a big stage, they bore me. With Tor, despite loving her songs and her voice, I have yet to be won over by her performing to backing tracks and dancing around. I found her recent gig with a band, so much more fullfilling.

Dubliner, Meyrl Streek with his confrontational politically tinged music is similar. He performs to backing tracks and the only live dynamic comes from him pacing around the stage. I had seen him first in a small venue. He basically played his set with only a flashlight lighting him. It was intense. I was asking myself during his brilliant performance why I was giving him a pass, when I have not given Tor a pass when she played the same stage? Is it something I need to address? Is there some misogyny at play?

I honestly don’t know if I have an answer to this. I could see some differences. His music is far more confrontational and he spent a lot of time shouting into the crowd. The lighting was kept low so his menacing contact lenses would show up every time the light hit him. He was projecting his performance into the crowd – something that is much easier to do when you have overtly political songs. I also had expectation of him coming out into the crowd, which adds an element of excitement as you wait for it to happen. He does seem to have built a very strong stage presence that works well with his material. There is an underlying anarchist vibe that perforates his songs and his performance, that surprisingly translated to the bigger stage. I suspect if the lights were up. The intensity would have been lost and I wouldn’t be impressed. I think there was a difference between Billy Nomates’ performance and Meyrl’s. But maybe I am a misogynist and treating Tor differently? I hope not.

As a counterbalance to Meyrl, Ebbb’s ambient electronica was good programming. While I loved last year’s lineup. Many felt it was too shouty. Ebbb, a new band to me, offered something for those who like their music a bit more chilled with textured electronica. Many said Ebbb were one of their highlights of the festival. I am afraid I like my shouty music and they did not do much for me, but they were the right choice after Meyrl.

Back to the shouty, or so I thought. I have seen ARXX a few times. With a two piece garage set up or drums and guitar, they have previously been that right side of ‘messy with attitude’ you need for a garage band. Always chatty and engaging, I have a lot of time for them. Tonight, I am afraid I did not enjoy their new stuff. Some of the new songs had processing on the vocals. I find overtly processed vocals are my musical equivalent of scraping fingernails down a blackboard. When they played old stuff without the vocaliser, they were great. But the processed vocals kept bringing me out of their performance.

I had seen and Lime Garden before and as Studio 36 was opening soon, I grabbed some photos and headed over to the other stage.

Over on Studio 36, there was some very odd programming opening the evening. Mim Grey, with her country rock sound, played the cavernous venue to a very spartan crowd. It is not a genre I enjoy. Clearly, she was not a pull for the rest of the Rockaway audience either. I am not going to say that she was the wrong booking. I think festival should take risks and challenge us with other genres, but I left feeling sorry for her and her talented band. It must have felt very empty playing to a small crowd in such a big venue.

I guess part of this was down to the early evening overlap with Ruts DC back at Centre stage. They were helping people relive their teenage years with a well received performance. I enjoyed the bit of their set I saw.

This was the point where things went a bit wrong for me. Neither Georgia or LEFTFIELD do much for me. I had seen Georgia play a support slot at the Roundhouse. That evening I did not want to leave the barrier for the headliner and had to stand through what seemed like an interminably long set. LEFTFIELD’s electronica had bored me back in the day. I was not looking forward to what might be a massive gap in the evening before Bodega came on.

Although I was going to give both a try. After taking a few shots of Georgia and not being won over, I mistakenly left my side zip on my camera bag open and one of my cameras fell onto the floor of Studio 36. My cameras are used to being bashed around and dropped on the floor. But this proved to be one accident too many for this camera and the EVF died. I headed to my hotel to try and fix it, but with no luck. I returned to watch some of LEFTFIELD’s set, which I fairness, really suited Studio 36. Whether it was the my mind being somewhere else thinking about how to fix the camera, LEFTFIELD left me unengaged and I decide to drown my sorrows at the bar – only to find Guinness had run out. (Butlins need to sort this out. It happens every year). I can not say this was my idea of an entertaining Saturday night, but chatting with friends who also had given up on LEFTFIELD helped fill the time.

Thankfully, the ever brilliant Bodega were on hand to close the evening with their New York cool art-punk. Brilliantly opening with their set with the Ramones ‘Rockaway Beach’ (why has no one thought of this before), they played pretty much for two hours, with one danceable song after another. It helped numb the disappointment of the camera.

Sunday

Not letting the camera damage disappoint me. I still had a second camera. Although that camera is also limping along with a sticking shutter, forcing me to use it in silent mode which can suffer from awful bands appearing across photos. I had noticed some of my earlier photos had suffered from banding, ruining some of them, so it was going to be a challenging day. Thankfully, I also had a backup pocket camera, that came off the subs bench so I knew I would have at least some guaranteed shots to fill the a review.

Before the festival, the Sunday’s lineup seemed to hold the most promise. With several never seen bands who I purposely did not listen to beforehand, so as to not colour my judgement.

First up were Jaws the Shark, who I saw play a small show last year. At the time I thought some of the songs were a lyrically a bit repetitive and thought they sounded flat, as the drums were provided by a machine. Here, playing a full band show with a human on the drums, the extra dynamics really added to the sound, making them a very enjoyable start to the day.

Bloodworm from Nottingham, are another new band for me. With their atmospheric gothy post-punk, I think they were a highlight for many, including me. They are definitely now on my radar as ones to watch.

Another arguably odd booking, but one I really enjoyed, were The Jonny Halifax Invocation. A psych blues band with ritualistic beats. Kind of like a blues version of Snapped Ankles. I know some thought they were not right for the festival, but I thought they injected a bit of colour after Bloodworm’s goth.

Another new band were the Dirt. Japanese guitarist Sachiko and partner Jack (the poet Leon the pig Farmer), looked to me like somebody had role-reversed The Kills. With elements of psych combined with the Jack’s socially conscious lyrics, they worked really well. Another new discovery for many.

One band I was looking forward to seeing were the much hyped, The Itch. I was a big fan of the Regressive Left and was impressed by this new iteration when I caught them a few times last year. I have to admit, I was left slightly disappointed by them today. With the Itch, Simon Tyrie and Georgia Hardy shifted their post-punk sound to a much more synth heavy version of their sound. Their music sounds great. But the change from intimacy of the Lexington to a big stage, left me wanting more physicality from their performance. Simon was often hidden behind his bank of synths and while they tried to bring Georgia to the front of the stage, her drums blocked her for much of the time she was singing. My feeling is that for these bigger stages, maybe Simon needs to come front and centre and somebody else takes over on keyboards? Musically though, I can’t fault them and I am sure they will have a very strong 2025.

Closing the Centre Stage for this year, Katy J Pearson was another ‘second attempt’ artist. I saw her a few years ago at the Lexington and found I did not get on with the country influences in some of her work and I am afraid, nothing changed with this performance. She is perfectly pleasant. But this is it. However, it was clear from the audience, that I was in a minority..

Opening Studio 36 for the evening was Miki Berenyi from Lush with her band the Miki Berenyi Trio, her set featured a few Lush songs because as she said, they don’t have many songs. It was clear there were quite a few Lush fans in the audience who lapped up her set.

Finally to my own personal headline act. I know RIDE were coming on last. But the band I was looking forward to the most was Sprints. Well done the organisers for taking a chance and putting Sprints so high up the lineup. It was a year to the day since they released their debut and my favourite album of 2024. I had tickets to see them twice last year and was unable to make the gigs. Having seen them at the Great Escape a few years earlier, it was clear Karla had the presence to carry any stage. For me, this set was one of the best EVER at Rockaway and I even think this big venue, contributed to it. They owned the space from the first minute to the last.

Although for most artists I left the pit after one or two songs. Sorry to those on the barrier, but there was no way I was leaving this performance after two songs. I wanted to experience them from as close as possible. After leaving the pit, I started to make my way over to toward the centre of the stage on the assumption Karla would go into the audience. I got half way there and realised I had left my long lens on the camera! I decided there would not be much point taking that into the mosh, so found some space and just enjoyed the rest of the set.

At one point she asked the audience to form a circle. Somebody afterwards said they felt it was wrong, as it should form naturally. But she had the audience in the palm of her hands. So much so, a bunch of old people were willing to form a circle, even though most of them probably regretted it the next day when their knees reminded them of their age. Karla is an amazing front person and the new material tried tonight, has left me impatient for the second album. It was a cracking performance. The only thing that was a let down, was they weren’t tonight’s headliners so my festival finished on a high. I have no doubt, they will be soon. This was everything I wanted and more.

For me, Sprints were a good way to finish the evening. I have given RIDE several chances in the past. They are very good at what they do. They just do not work for me. After grabbing some photos and giving a few songs a chance. I headed to the bar and sat with friends who also were not feeling RIDE’s pull.

The conversation again returned to the lineup. Given this is a self-selecting group of ‘down the front’ small-venue type people who all did not like RIDE. There was a general feeling that the headliners across the weekend did not appeal to us. However, there was a feeling that the headliners rarely do and we book with no expectations that the headliner will work for us. Although there was a feeling that the lack of alternatives this year, seemed like a backward step. Hopefully, this is something that can be addressed next year. Since the headlining acts get up to two hours and every night, this is a big gap in schedules. Don’t get me wrong, sitting with friends, playing on the arcades, shoving 2ps into the machines, or playing pool in the gaps is a large part of what makes Rockaway so enjoyable. Having some more musical options if you do not like the headliners would be helpful.

(It would also be helpful if Butlins made sure the beer doesn’t run out too! People were making trips back to the rooms to grab beers they had brought with them as there wasn’t much left at the bar)

After 2015’s Rockaway, my perception that there was a lack of artists, meant I didn’t book the following year. It was Sea Power on the bill that made me return and forced me to reevaluate my expectations. Since then, I have grown to love this little festival. I know the headliners are not going to be my thing and I am fine with this. I know there are going to be gaps in the day when I will have to fill my time. But I also know lots of people who attend this festival and every gap is a chance to meet up with people which gives the festival a lovely feeling. It has grown to become the perfect way to start the New Year. Rockaway Beach is just the perfect way to start the new gigging year. Booking next year was a no brainer. I am already looking forward to it.

Rockaway Beach 2026 takes place at Bultins Bognor Regis on the 2-5th January 2026. Tickets are on sale now. See https://www.rockawaybeach.co.uk for more details

Previous Reflections

Rockaway Beach 2024
Rockaway Beach 2023
Rockaway Beach 2020
Rockaway Beach 2018
Rockaway Beach 2015

Earlier in the year, SXSW was hit by an artist boycott over SXSW Interactive featuring talks by arms manufacturers and SXSW’s sponsorship by the US Army. Given that for the last few years we have seen many more bands engage with politics, it is not surprising some bands see it as important that they are consistent with their principles.

In April, feminist punk band, Menstrual Cramps highlighted Barclay’s sponsorship of The Great Escape. Barclays and especially Barclaycard have a long connection with festival sponsorship and to be honest, I don’t think many of us have ever given them a second thought. However, Barclays, like many international banks, are tied up with many non-ethical investments including arms manufacturers and some of these companies supply arms to Israel.

Whatever your position on Gaza is, I would hope you have enough humanity to agree that some of Israel’s actions are leading to the avoidable death of civilians in Gaza and even if you are pro-Israel, maybe you should reflect on how unconditional your support is? For many, Israel’s long history of ignoring international law meant sympathy for the October attack quickly dissipated when their reaction lead to deaths of civilians and see their actions as collective punishment and therefore a war crime. By extension, anyone supporting these actions are complicit in these war crimes putting Barclays in their target. Understandably, a political band like Menstrual Cramps, felt it was important to lead a call for artists to boycott the festival and show their support for the killing of innocent people. Their call picked up steam in the last two weeks, with over 150 artists pulling out of the festival.

The Great Escape’s response…… silence

Their PR team’s approach appears to have been to stick their head in the sand and thereby showing utter contempt to their customers. In advance of the festival, there had been no communications from the festival regarding the boycott. A few extra bands were quietly drafted in, but it was clear with a few days to go, the lineup was looking depleted. During the festival, there were no communications about last minute drop-outs, except one, headliner Soft Play, which appeared as a notification in the app, but with no actual statement. Bands just disappeared from the schedule. Apparently TGE even deleted negative comments on their social media posts. When a quarter of bands pull-out of the festival and there are big gaps in the schedule, there should not be total silence.

The lack of challenge from the music press was equally unacceptable. While most had published something about the pull-out. I didn’t see any of them challenge the festival organisers over the lack of comms to fans. I guess they didn’t want to lose their press passes and their freebie ticket.

The poor comms wasn’t helped by artists finding their principles very late. I guess many lost them down the back of the sofa and only discovered them at the last minute, deciding to pull out during the festival leaving fans not sure if they were going to find an empty venue. I spent most of the festival checking bands’ social accounts to make sure they hadn’t pulled out before walking to a distant venue. At times the TGE app felt like ‘Schrödinger’s cat’. If I didn’t open the app, at least there was a chance the event was taking place.

I know it is really difficult being a young band. TGE is really important during their early career. Good press or generating a ‘word of mouth’ buzz can make a band. Putting principles first, potentially suffocates their career before it has started. Bands like Menstrual Cramps, building a career out of being a political band, it is understandable why they want to pull out. For bands who don’t have any political songs, pulling out of TGE is a really difficult decision. Weirdly, many of the bands who found it unacceptable to play TGE early in the campaign, somehow managed to find alternative ‘not TGE’ events to play during TGE and were quick to tell everyone where they could be found. Personally, I think there’s some double standards at play. Some bands happy to play both sides. Leach off the TGE brand by using their crowd, but presenting the front that they were boycotting the festival. The bands who got most respect were those who played, pulled out completely or only played the protest events.

It will be interesting to see how the festival season plays out. Hopefully other festivals will be looking closely at their sponsors. Several festivals are sponsored by Barclaycard. Will the ‘Boycott Barclays’ campaign hit them too? Festivals are one of the main incomes for many bands. Will ethics be as strong when an artist could lose a large slab of their income and in fairness, should bands be forced to give up their income over something that ultimately won’t make any difference to the war?

Luckily for The Great Escape, I think many people stayed away or were resigned to experiencing a very different festival. Many like me, hit alternative events and ironically, it was all the ‘principled’ bands who found alternative shows that probably staved off a more vocal backlash towards The Great Escape. If anything, I saw less queues than at previous festivals because I used the side events more than usual.

The protests weren’t too visible during the festival. I was expecting to see protesters every day, but it seemed to be confined to the first evening. On the Wednesday evening a large crowd of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside of Jubilee square with police present. They named the bands that pulled out, called people scabs who were playing or attending. Given that one of the songs they sung seemed to suggest there should be a Palestine ‘from the river to the sea’ I’m not exactly sure some of these people should be confident they have the moral high ground. A two state solution is the only solution. We need the Hamas terrorists and the terrorist state of Israel, to talk to each other. But as it stands both Hamas and right-wing Israelis want the irradiation of the other. Israel will continue to arm itself against terrorist and Western governments will continue to support Israel while Hama’s state aim is the irradiation of Israel.

Until the Hamas attack, I was pretty much 100% pro-Palestine, but nothing justifies an attack on civilians and given we were at a musical festival I reflected how lucky we were to only be dealing with protestors and not a genocidal murderous act. While Hamas are around, I’ve reflected my support for Palestine has to be more conditional.

I’ve said for the last few years how great it is to see more political bands. While, the actions of a small minority of bands like the Menstrual Cramps, in some ways spoilt my annual holiday, music needs these bands and the disruption was probably a good thing for music. It shows music can still be to voice of rebellion and have the power to shape ideas.

Sometimes we have to recognise we are getting older and the next generation will take up causes that we may have abandoned as unwinnable. The TGE crowd is generally older than many festivals. From chats over the weekend, it seems many have gradually accepted the world is a messy compromise. The Barclays sponsorship really didn’t bother them and the very best the protestors will achieve is that music festivals might check their sponsors activities. It also meant that we accepted TGE were in an unenviable position and there was very little they could do other than proceed with the reduced schedule and we would have to make the best of it.

It was evident from the first minute that this festival was going to be different. Collecting my wristband on the Wednesday evening, there were a lot police and security keeping an eye on a sizeable protest. One aggressive guy was pulled away from the protestors, but there was no threat from them. When I returned to see the opening act, Baba Ali, the protest had moved on and this was the last time I saw any sizeable protest. I was expecting pockets of protestors outside some of the venues. But throughout the festival, other than pro-Palestinian flags at some of music venues, the only sign on the protest was the tumbleweed blowing across the schedule.

The opening act at Jubilee Square were Baba Ali, a duo using guitars and samples to create a grimy 80s post-punk disco sound. I always imagine their music playing in a sweaty 80s New York art-house club. This is partially the music, but also the way singer Baba Doherty dances in a style very reminiscent of the 1980s, slightly robotic but also very sensual. I believe they are making a TV show of Neuromancer. Baba Ali’s should be asked to do the soundtrack. Worth catching in a small space.

Usually I head to the Green Door Store for their warmup evening. There was an evening for Gaza with the first 150 being allowed into the venue space and as I didn’t expect I would get in, I headed off to the Pipeline. Highlight, was Van Zon, another ‘Guildhall’ noodly, doodly band of the BCNR ilk with textured songs that gradually built up into a cacophony of instruments. They do it well. But I’m not sure we need any more noodly doodly bands.

Heavy rain greeted us the next morning, dampening my will to traipse between venues and to queue in the rain. First up was Canadian band, La Securite playing Patterns Upstairs, with their dancy art-punk. A great way to warm the crowd up for the day ahead.

Dropping in on the Mesmerist’s off-festival event, I ended up staying for a few acts as there was a late pull-out at the Prince Albert. But the impressive vocals of Nèome made the stay worthwhile.

At the Sidewinder, Teesside’s, Avalanche Party, stormed through their set. I haven’t seen them since before lockdown and thankfully they haven’t lost any of their energy or presence. These guys always put on a great show. If they were based in London, I suspect they would be far bigger than they are. Hopefully, with a new album coming out later in the year, they will finally see the traction they deserve.

Huw Stephens over at Jubilee Square, failed to mention anything about the issues around TGE as he interviewed Wunderhorse and Fabiana Palladino. Surely, if anyone is in a position to question TGE, it’s the BBC?

I meant to catch Sailor Honeymoon, a Korean pop-punk band, in London before TGE, but decided to have a relatively early night before travelling down to Brighton. According to the drummer’s t-shirt, ‘Korean girls invented punk rock not England.’. Maybe not. But their performance was fun nevertheless.

An example of how you can ‘do the right thing’ while doing the wrong thing, Brighton-based The New Eves ‘pulled out of TGE’ fairly early on but managed to ‘not play the Great Escape’ across five different venues. That said, they were my highlight of this year’s Great Escape. The New Eves are four talented multi-instrumentalists who I admit, I had thought were a Last Dinner Party adjacent band, as all images seemed to have them dressed in similar vintage clothing. But that’s where the comparisons end. Featuring cello, flute, violin, accordion, drums and guitars, they create an eclectic blend of sounds, routed in folk but with also a sprinkling of post-punk to add an edge to their crafted sound. I found them completely captivating.

Starting Day 2, the sun was out and things felt more positive. I started the day with the venue nearest to my hotel were Welsh band MELLT sand in their native language – I have to admit, I don’t find Welsh the most musical language – it can all sound all a bit phlegmy.

Off-festival, Norwich psychedelic band Floral Image playing at the Mesmerist, did everything you want from a psychedelic band. Full of energy, wandering rhythms and fun.

Gothy Venus Grrrls brought their enchantments to Fabrica. Indie-rock with supernatural themes. I’m afraid their hexes didn’t quite work on me but they are worth catching, especially in a darkened venue at the end of the evening.

More enchanting was Rachael Lavelle (who pulled out of the main festival during the festival) playing her off-festival gig at the Folkroom. Her singing is more like poetry. The rise and fall of the words are like incantations and spellbinding. The set seemed to be over too quickly.

The evening was a mixture of bands I had seen before, like Avalanche Party and another enjoyable, Enjoyable Listens performances. Both playing in a venue that is usually full of stag parties. Both did well to hold a drinking crowd’s attention, especially as they were showing football on the main screen.

On-festival, there really was very little that was interesting me in the schedule that I knew wasn’t going to have massive queues. So I just stuck to venues that usually don’t require queuing or had and an off-festival venue close by. Liz Lawrence was my only real highlight.

Traditionally, I find the Saturday slim pickings. Artists that have created a buzz will have queues and there are generally more people around, so I end up sticking to the quieter venues. This year, I seemed to be pretty much all off-festival for the whole day. Looking Glass Alice and Ellis-D both entertained at Daltons. On festival, Dog Race were interesting and favourites John J Presley were a great way to close my festival. During the day I came to the conclusion that the best way to tackle the Saturday is to pick one of the stronger off-festival lineups and stay there for the whole day and maybe in future I don’t need a TGE ticket.

Going back to the issue I have highlighted in every review of TGE, the sprawl of venues has to be improved. This year, with fluid schedules, I stuck to venues were there was an alternative near by incase the band pulled out. However, even the off-festival venues were full by mid-afternoon, leaving few alternatives. But there was music to be found. It just took more effort than usual.

As the off-festival events pretty much saved the festival and given next year TGE is going to have the threat of the new SXSW London, they have to stop discouraging off-festival activity and instead encourage more of Brighton’s pubs and arts venues to get involved and to put their own lineups together. My view is that the weakness of TGE is how little bands play. More off-festival activity means the bands who down for TGE play more and the buzz increases around them. Let’s face it, everyone sees the off-festival activity as part of ‘The Great Escape’ anyway. So embrace it.

This was actually my 10th anniversary since my first TGE. But I’ve never quite felt the love for this festival. I had done two SXSW before this and it has always seemed to be a pale imitator. As it tried harder and harder to be SXSW, the shortcomings became more obvious. With the increase in queues, priority for delegates and stupidly expensive hotels, previous years I have been close to not buying a ticket. Then ‘just in case I change my mind’, I end up buying a Super Early Bird ticket. However, given the way TGE have shown contempt towards us, plus the perennial issue of queuing, I have not taken them up on the offer of buying a Super Early Bird ticket. If they had shown some acknowledgement, say by offering a discount to this year’s ticket holders, I probably would have bought a ticket. However, with the festival organisers showing us contempt. I will not support them next year. I hope many others vote with their feet and The Great Escape use the next 12 months to reflect on more ethical sponsorship and how they deal with fans when things don’t go smoothly. Until then, I am going to keep my eyes open for an alternative escape and I’m sure SXSW London will tempt me too. Sadly, I’m afraid this year was definitely not a Great Escape.

Artists:

Baba Ali, Mickey Callisto, Swan Deep, Van Zon, La Sécurité, LLSN, Grace Moore, Nèome, Avalanche Party (2), Daisy Chute, Wunderhorse, Fabiana Palladino, Sailor Honeymoon, The New Eves, MELLT, Velvet Moon, Floral Image, Venus Grrrls, Bon Enfant, Rachael Levelle, Fraülein, Bouys, Eve Owen, Safari Inn, Enjoyable Listens, Ellie Bleach, Holly Macve, Liz Lawrence, Chum?, Ruby, Jopy, Marnie Marie, Dog Race, Kovak, Owners Club, Harmony Bo, Generation, Looking Glass Alice, Ellis-D, Laurie Wright, Sock Drawer, BIRD, John J Presley.

Despite flooding in the South, the journey to Bognor was straightforward with no delays. Given I had suffered a really poor night’s sleep – I think due to food poisoning, the train gave me a chance to recuperate. On the way down, it is fun spotting the Rockaway crowd amongst the commuters and travellers heading to Gatwick. We are really easy to spot, basically a tribe of middle-aged indie kids who have never grown up and that is part of what makes Rockaway so great. Lots of like-minded people, out to enjoy new music.

As is usual, the rooms were ready before the advertised arrival time and I was able to unpack and have a rest before hitting Reds. The start time in Reds was later this year. I think this was a change for the better, as it meant the room was busy from the start.

Starting our weekend of music and new discoveries were Ghost Car, a new band for me. The majority of songs came in around the three minute mark. Short, sharp 60s inspired garage punk, with but with a pop edge. I recognised Ceci Corapi from her other band Qlowski, a band I’m fond of, so I was already disposed to liking them. While they have disposable fun songs like Sushi Addict, most of their songs do have a message, but they try to make them fun. Sadly, the vocals were too low in the mix. Something repeated throughout the day.

Driving down from my native Teesside, Benefits brought their political industrial noise poetry to Butlins. I’ve covered my love for this band multiple times and their focus on how the working-class get shafted but also continuously shaft themselves, through inappropriate patriotism and fear ‘of the other’. The Britain they hold an uncomfortable mirror up to is living on faded false glories. You could say Butlins is the perfect place for them to play. It is a faded working-class institution. Sadly, few parks are now left and while they’re doing a great job of trying to make the place compete against overseas holiday destinations, it is a struggle. Kind of Post-Brexit Britain in a nutshell.

Sadly, much to my disappointment, Kingsley didn’t turn up as a Red Coat.

I have to admit, I love Benefits. I’m a Teessider. I like their attitude. I have found Kingsley to be completely respectful in all his interactions with me. So I wave a flag for them. But I’m also a realist about their music. The music isn’t to everyone’s taste. I joked with Robbie before hand that they might clear the room. They are well aware of their challenging sound and I think this helps keep them humble. They seem to appreciate those who stay and engage with them. I’ve had friends who didn’t survived two songs at other festivals. Here at Butlins, there were a lot of people who wanted to catch them, stayed and then raved about them later in the weekend. They’ve worked so hard to get their music out. It isn’t easy for a band from Teesside to get heard, especially a band ploughing their own furrow. But they are making a good fist of it and people seem to be open to listening to them.

Sadly, M(h)aol, who were up next, were a slight disappointment. I had seen them play the Moth Club supporting Bodega. I thought they were great. Their singer Róisín had so much presence and Zoe, the bass player, used a violin bow to create a great sound from her bass guitar with an expressive performance. The album they released in 2023 was also one of my most listened to of the year. I hadn’t realised that Róisín had left.

This change has forced a shift in responsibilities. With other members of the band taking vocals. But it has also caused a shift in the dynamics of the band, both sonically and from a performance perspective. Zoe especially is less exuberant, now that she shared vocals duties and drummer, Constance, who shares vocal duties is hidden at the back of the stage, which doesn’t help engagement. Sadly, some of the edge Róisín brought to the band has been dulled.

Many of the songs were new, I guess reflecting the shift in dynamics. I enjoyed the new songs, which seemed more layered and textured. It is brave not to replace the singer with like for like and to allow your sound to drift naturally to new moorings. I would be lying if I didn’t say I preferred the shouty nature of their previous sound. It will be interested to see where their sound heads. I will keep one eye on them. There was still something interesting about what they are doing.

Polish band, Trupa Trupa have played Rockaway. Much of their appeal is singer Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, who appears like an overhyped toddler who can’t contain his own fun, conducting the rest of the band as he plays. Some of their English language songs lack any complexity. But they’re so infectious, it doesn’t matter.

At this point in the evening, options opened up. The bigger Centre Stage opened ready for tonight’s headliner, Selector. Without a photo pass it becomes difficult to photograph the bands, as it is challenging to move between the two rooms and get to the front without pushing – which I try not to do. So I mapped out which bands I wanted to photograph the most and planned mye evening around them.

Belfast band Chalk, were first up on the Main Stage. If I’m honest, I don’t think the big stage was right for them. They seemed very small on such a large stage. With repeating angular, guitars and part-spoken, part-sung vocals, they reminded me of Gilla Band. That’s not a bad thing. I want to see them in a small dark room with strong strobing light where their intensity I think will pay off. They looked a bit lost on the big stage. But they did enough to ensure I will catch them again.

I had intended to watch HiFi Sean but got tied up with something and so headed to see Bob Vylan. It was clear a lot of people wanted to catch them as Centre stage was packed. However, because I wanted to also catch Patrick Wolf, I decided I was only staying for half the set. What I saw was one of the highlights of the festival. Comparisons (and arguments) have been drawn to Sleaford Mods. But musically they draw more from a poppier version of the Rage Against the Machine sound, with punk mixed with rap. Vylan also add in grime and Jamaican influences which means each song has an underlying danceable grove.

My previous reviews of Sleaford Mods and Billy Nomates, have suggested that their dynamics and stage presence could be improved by having live musicians and Bob Vylan vindicates this for me. While, much of the sound is sequenced from a laptop. There was a real dynamic between the two Bobs. Bob the drummer reacting to the performance to give everything a proper live feel. It didn’t really matter that the rest of the music was sequenced.

It also helps that singer Bob has real stage presence. He was comfortable talking to the audience. Joking from the off. Impressively, it never felt he was talking at the audience. At times his performance was visceral. Other times funny. Some have complained that Bob talked too much and they found his views towards the police, uncomfortable. But they’re two young black guys and their experience of the police is probably not what the majority of the middle-age white audience experienced growing up. They’re doing exactly what musicians should do. Challenge us by holding up a mirror to the world as they see it. I felt more connected to them and their music, than I’ve ever done with the Mods.

Heading down to Reds for Pale Blue Eyes, many had stayed downstairs and it was several deep at the barrier. I headed to the side for a few shots, accepting that I had photographed them numerous times, and feeling recovered after the previous night’s nausea, I finally took the opportunity to grab a few beers. Even from the back, it is clear that PBE are a really tight band.

Sadly, at this point, Reds fell behind. I’m sure the guys managing the stage would be the first to admit, they got things wrong during the first day. After all, it was their first festival back after New Year. We all make mistakes on our first day back after Christmas. While the sound was too bass heavy and setup at times slow. So far it hadn’t led to any delays. This finally caught up with them and timings slipped by 15 minutes while setting up PBE. But as festival go, that’s not a really big issue and it’s nothing that couldn’t have been made up.

PBE’s set was great as usual. I’ve said it before. They are so comfortable with each other and they own their sound. They make music seem effortless and convincing. They sounded great while I drank my first beers of the festival.

We were now hitting the big clash in the programme. Patrick Wolf was due to start at the same time as Selector. He was a late addition after a band pulled out. However, he was going to finish first. My thinking was to watch half of Patrick’s set and then head up and catch the second half of the Selector’s set.

It’s probably 18 years since I saw Patrick Wolf. At the time, I really didn’t like him. However, I know a lot of people who do like him and in 18 years both my musical tastes and Patrick have developed. Out of all the bill, I was most interested to see what he sounded like and for me to reflect on my own changing tastes.

Given the short notice, Patrick said he was playing without his full band and he had to devise a new set over Christmas. Clearly he hadn’t worked out how to change over in the 20ish minute gap he would have between bands to set up. Because he single handedly knocked the festival back another 45 minutes. He was like the runner in a 4×100 relay race who drops the baton. He seemed so out of practice setting up for a festival turnaround.

He turned up with numerous instruments, repeat pedals and bags of cables. After PBE finished, the stage was 15 minutes late. By the time he had plugged in his keyboards, guitars, autoharp and violin in correctly, then sound checked everything, he went on 50 minutes late at 2335 and the Selector’s set was nearly finished. He seemed to lack any urgency. If you are the headliner, fine. When you are not top of the bill, you are eating into somebody else’s time.

Of course, at this point, I had to stay to see him. I don’t know if I was in a bad mood at this point. But he didn’t win me over. It was pleasant, but uninspiring. Others said he was boring and shouldn’t have been on the bill. I don’t agree with them. I think he was a good booking. Adding some light to the shade of the rest of the bill and this year’s bill, despite being pretty perfect to me, was all dark. However, he needs to get into rehearsal studio and assemble his kit and work out what is realistic in the 15 minute festival turnaround time and let that dictate which songs he plays. I’ve seen stages at SXSW tell an artist they can’t play when they started to make the stage times slip. What he did was unfair to Hinds as it pushed them back from 12pm to 1am. And despite my earlier criticism of the stage guys. This had nothing to do with them. This was mostly Patrick’s fault.

Giving Patrick enough time to win me over, after four songs, I wasn’t finding any love for his music. Sadly, by the time I headed up to the Selector, they were playing the end of their set. Brilliant, as you would expect. But given my lack of sleep, I had basically been up for nearly 24, I decided to grab some food to give me the energy to survive Hinds set.

While the dual stage isn’t good for me grabbing evening photos without a pass. I do like the second stage and I think the Rockaway team have made effective use of this stage to give headline slots to bands who have the potential to headline the bigger stage. Hinds are a case in point. They are headliners in waiting. Every time I’ve seen them, they are bundles of energy. It is impossible not to to like them. However, I’m not sure their name is a big enough draw for a main stage headliner. Though after tonight I have no doubt, they will make a great headliner. Maybe next year?

Despite having been up since 5am to travel to the festival from Madrid and Patrick delaying their set until 1am, long after they should have finished. Many who wanted to catch them decided to head to their rooms. There was still a reasonable size and warm crowd for them. It is a few years since I’ve seen them and two of the original members recently left and I was worried their energy might have gone. I needn’t have worried, even during sound check Carlotta Cosials was beaming with her infectious smile, joking with the sound guys and trying to warm up the audience. What followed was a customary Hinds set of joyous music. Everyone who stayed went to bed happy.

I thought I would head back to edit photos, but it was nearly 2.30 and I was knackered. They would have to wait. Not a bad first day and I knew better was still to come.

The great thing about Rockaway Beach is that Butlins offers other things to do around the music, like bowling, playing arcades, pool, swimming and go carting. Obviously, Down at the Front headed down to catch Trout in Reds, which started the day with significantly improved sound. Well done the sound engineers for listening to our complaints.

Trout were first. They weren’t for me. They were bit shoegazey. All standing still looking serious. Little to photograph and I tend to find that type of music a bit boring. Although, I admit it was clever sequencing by the organisers. They were the perfect band for dealing with the first hangover of the weekend and they eased us into Saturday.

While Trout were the appetiser. Frozemode were the fiery chilly dish. Anyone not yet awake were soon woken up by Frozemode, three rappers who mix in a bit of noise rock. They jumped around the stage with an energy level that was unhealthy at this time of day. If I’m honest, I didn’t really follow anything they said. But it didn’t matter, they filled the stage with their performance.

Genn, the Brighton via-Malta band, offered a mix of post-punk and a bit of psych, but there were other influences that made them stand out from the crowd. Genn weave Middle Eastern and North African textures into their songs that made them sound fresh and new. Interest was helped by a captivating performance of singer, Leona Farrugia, who had a fantastic voice and danced around the stage, engaging us with their performance. One to watch and my favourite new discovery of the weekend.

Another late addition to lineup was Lonely Tourist. I had considered jumping out to get some food because I didn’t want to miss any of the bands playing the rest of the afternoon. Staying for one song, the Scottish duo won me over with their relaxed engaging style and great songwriting. Lovely little vignettes of the little things in life.

If I’m honest, this time last year, I wasn’t convinced about the ‘one to watch’ hype Heartworms were generating. I had seen them on a full bill, though good, I felt there were better bands on the bill who weren’t generating the hype. But they are as good as the hype. I’ve seen them a few times since and become convinced that those hyping them were right. Jojo Orme is a brilliant songwriter with great stage presence. Her dark gothic post-punk sound feels fresh. The addition of the theremin adds a different dimension to the songs and her performance. Hopefully a debut album is coming soon.

Big Special are one of my current favourites. I think 2024 will bring big things for them. They kind of sit alongside bands like Benefits, Sleaford Mods and Bob Vylan. They have written songs that reflect on modern society. Songs are part spoken with a tongue firmly placed in cheek. Singer Joe Hicklin, has a wry sense of humour and for somebody who talks for most of the songs, a really brilliant voice. I think that’s what makes them different. They have his voice available to add in a different dynamic.

Ditz are a great live band. They know how to work the room. Cal, unhappy the lead on the mic was really short and that bands aren’t allowed to bring drinks on to the stage, paced around the stage looking like he was being wound up like a coil ready to spring. This was going to be good. A radio mic was procured and as soon as they started, he was off into the crowd to see how far he could get. Complaining that he wanted the music louder. I think Cal was converted to using radio mics. He had a new toy for the rest of the set he made good use of it. I half expected to see him singing from behind the bar.

(In fairness to the sound engineer, if loudness was what caused yesterday’s sound issues. They had the levels right and when I was further back, I thought the sound levels were fine)

As with any DITZ performance. Cal moves around the stage unable to stand in any one position, pacing as if he’s planning mischief. Much to the annoyance of the stage crew, this involved climbing the rigging, and like a parent who knows there is no way their kids will do what they are asking. The sound engineer dejectedly walked across the stage knowing he wouldn’t be listened to. Upturning and standing on a monitor probably didn’t endear Cal any further with the stage crew. But the audience loved it. I think Ditz made a lot of new fans today.

Finally, I’ve seen JOHN! I had tickets to see them twice and missed them. The last one, due to a train strike. The risk was that they wouldn’t live up to my anticipation. We were worried before their set that John (drummer) wouldn’t be seen at the back of the stage. Thankfully, they moved the drums to the side so that we could see him (well mostly, there was a lot of smoke). They were everything I wanted them to be. The two Johns produced a loud and imposing sound that hits you in the stomach. Music you turn up to 11.

Unfortunately, given 8 hours standing in the same spot, my feet were killing me and my stomach was telling me I needed to feed it. I headed up to catch the end of the Skids set. While they sounded okay, I decided it was better to get some food. The feedback about their set was really positive, but I think I made the right decision. I’m not really bothered about discovering a band from the 1970s. There’s so many new bands to discover.

I have been hearing excited whispers about amazing Fat Dog performances coming out of South London. They have created a small but strong London following. I did have a ticket to see them earlier in the year and based on tonight, I can see why they would be great in a small London venue. First, there seemed to be loads of people on stage. We all love seeing a chaotic stage. Then there’s a mix of instruments that makes them look like they are a band of whoever turned up with a musical instrument that evening. Then when they play, it’s pure dance music. At the end of the evening, after a few pints, they would be brilliant. I hadn’t drunk anything and they made me feel like I needed to have a drink. I could see what I was missing. Hearing that the bars were running out of beer, after watching half their set, I headed to get some beer.

This is one of the problems with Butlins, beer, or rather the lack of it. I’ve mentioned it in previous years. Their beer options are limited. They seem to focus on offering lager and Guinness. This year they had improved their offering with a small micro-pub provided by Sharps. Sadly, they started to run out on Saturday night and by the end of Sunday, even the Guinness had run out. This isn’t a fault of the festival organisers and Butlins do seem to be listening to our feedback and trying to offer new options, sadly, they didn’t get it right this year. I’m sure next year they will.

Still relatively sober, I headed up to catch Sleaford Mods. I saw them play a local venue around the time of their first album. While, I liked the album. I was unimpressed by their live presence. However, I wanted to give them a chance. They’ve been playing big stages for years. Surely must be more than a bloke shouting into a microphone and a guy pressing play on the computer? Yes, Andrew now dances. If anything, they were worse than in the small club. At that performance Jason was in touching distance. The performance was in your face. Here there was no intimacy. It was like watching a pissed angry guy ranting away in the corner of a pub and like that situation, I opted to move on.

The decision was an easy one. Dream Wife were playing Reds. I first saw them play the Touting Tram and Social to a few of us there for the music, in a pub full of people out to have a drink. Even back then, they were fully formed. Since then they’ve released three albums and gained a strong following, especially amongst young women, due to them creating a welcoming space for women at their gigs. In fairness, it’s less welcoming to ‘down at the front’ men who queued to be at the front and then are kicked to the back. However, there’s loads of bands we can go and see and feel safe and welcome. That’s not the same for women.

Their festival set was fun, but their message was still there. Interestingly, their lyric from Somebody off their first album, ‘I am not my body, I’m somebody’ seemed to have hit home with a number of men who I heard quoting it over the weekend. The way Rakel sings, it has become their anthem. It’s damn catchy.

It was great to see how far the band has come. When blokes say there are no female bands who can headline stages. Well Rockaway showed that’s not true. In fact Dream Wife and Hinds would have been a better headliner than Sleaford.

Hopefully, Rockaway will go the full distance next year and include a female headliner on the main stage. Both Hinds and Dream Wife are good candidates.

Like previous years, I decided to take Sunday more easily. It is hard work being ‘Down At the Front’. As I had previously photographed pretty much everyone on Sunday’s Red bill. I decided to take less gear and head for a late breakfast, rather than being first into Reds.

First up was a brilliant festival band, Enjoyable Listens. Let’s say they are a less-then-serious band. Singer, Luke Duffett, creates a well observed caricature of a crooner. There’s a lot of similarity with Jesse Hughes’ rockstar caricature. Taking all the sterotypes of a crooner working a room, the secret of Enjoyable Listens isn’t the music, which is fun, but the stories, explaining the songs. And like every great star, by the end of the set, he had everyone eating out of his hands.

For the rest of the afternoon, I dipped in and out. I had seen all the acts before and while I like most of them, this was my day off. Japanese Television play laid back surf-rock with a Japanese influence. Very chilled and tight. I’ve listen to Joyeria a lot since seeing him in 2022. Firmly rooted in early 90s US alt-rock. I think he deserves to be listened to more and after this set, he definitely has a few extra fans. I can see the appeal of Shelf Lives, with their fun, danceable, electric punk. They just don’t work for me, but the audience were lapping them up. I think TRAAMS surprised everyone. I saw them in 2013(ish) and then I didn’t hear about them for years, picking them up again last year. Using the Krautrock formula to build up momentum to monumental performances. They were the pick of many who went to Rockaway and I could see why.

At this point, I decided to jump back onto the barrier for a few songs of Snayx. I have seen them quite a few times and they have a strong, enthusiastic following that seems to has spawned out of IDLES AF gang. I’m going to be honest, I am not fully convinced by them. But they are good to photograph and fun to watch.

They are a trio. Vocals (Charlie), bass (Ollie) and drums (Laney). Ollie’s bass is heavily altered by effects pedals, so it creates a sound more reminiscent of dance music. I think why they have so many fans is the way Charlie and Ollie bounce around the stage and continually engage with the crowd. It is all good on surface, but I’m always left feeling wanting more musically. While their music has a political edge, it just feels blunted by the dance sound coming out of the bass. I like my post-punk angular. But there is no denying they are good fun and do more than most bands do to keep you entertained. I moved further back and let the real fans enjoy my place.

I was waiting the whole festival for Deadletter. I think they are one of the best bands around at the moment. I saw them at one of these ‘one to watch’ nights in early 2022. I’ve seen them grow and gain some influential backers like Steve Lamacq. I am surprised they have yet to release an album. I’m hoping early 2024 will see the release of the album and they hit the streets and capitalise on their momentum.

I have a feeling the post-punk revival is nearing its end. I think Deadletter are the culmination of all that’s gone before. They manage to be as vital as anyone before them, have tongues in cheek when needed and write finely crafted songs that Talking Heads would be happy to have written. All driven by supremely confident front person, Zac, who knows how to work the crowd while also keeping a detached persona when he needs to. He performs in his space. He performs in the space the songs need, sometime we are in it, sometimes not. Tonight, was a classic Deadletter set. The crowd loved them.

My final band of the festival were Desperate Journalist. They played Rockaway before. I saw them just before Christmas. A good choice for the main stage and a fine way to end my festival.

Sadly, I meant to catch the Cribs and Vaselines, but after Deadletter, I ended up talking to various people and the rest of the night disappeared. I even ended up in the silent disco. But I don’t come to Rockaway for the legacy bands. I come for the interesting undercard. The festival organisers have a very good track record of gauging the pulse of the indie scene and this year they out did themselves. Many of these bands will have much higher profiles by Rockaway 2025.

2025 is the 10th anniversary of Rockaway Beach. I started out thinking it didn’t provide enough music. Each year, my love of it has grown. It will be interesting to see what they have planned. Hopefully, next year they will have some element of ‘Rockaway Greats’ to celebrate the anniversary. If they do, they could do worse than having a female headliner who has played the festival before. There were two good candidates this year, but my pick would Nadine Shah.

Is it worth going? It’s January. Can you think of anything better than this to do? Give it a try. Butlins staff are friendly. There’s loads to do on site. Decent food options. You head back to a room every night. And you get to listen to great new music. Can you see why it has got its claws into me? I know I will be back next year. I have already bought my ticket. See you in 2025.

Full gallery available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/pahudson/albums/72177720313910407

This year was about making the festival sustainable. The biggest change was a switch from a four day festival, to a three day festival. This new format worked better. The four day format had two shorter days. Three full days meant the festival was busy throughout and also meant on the Monday, we weren’t fighting with the Bank Holiday traffic returning from a day in the Lake District.

There was also a big increase in numbers and a more sensible ticket price, with a ‘supporter’ tier which included a meet and greet with Sea Power in the ‘salubrious’ backstage area. I have to admit I had some trepidation about the increased numbers, however, I should not have worried. With a few minor tweaks to the layout of the festival site, I hardly noticed the increase. The festival site was busy, but comfortable and the barn, full, but not overcrowded. 

Like previous years, the micro festival had a DIY charm. Based at Muncaster Castle on the edge of the Lake District. The Sea Power and Muncaster Castle teams work hard to make everyone welcome, creating a nice laid back and friendly atmosphere.

For this year’s festival the courtyard had been altered, with the introduction of a much bigger bar area under the covered barn. The range of food options was improved in both in quality and options. I never had to wait too long to be served and the prices were reasonable.

With the increase in numbers and non-Sea Power fans there was a chance that the DIY ethic might have been lost or not appeal to the new audience. But I spoke to so many people over the weekend who were not Sea Power fans, who absolutely loved the welcoming and safe vibe, many saying they want to come back. This is a credit to the organisers. 

The festival had the usual mix of talks, fell walks, train rides, dog shows, birds of prey, oh and some music.

As is customary, the festival was opened by Peter Frost-Pennington and along with castle staff, the family were helping throughout the weekend. One of the major reasons why this festival is so great is you feel like they are welcoming you into their home.

On Friday night, for the first time in the festival’s history, a big storm hit the festival site. While the barn offered protection from the thunder and heavy rains, the courtyard looked like it might wash away. Luckily, I hadn’t been drinking and was able to drive back to me B&B in the town. But the road to the town was flowing with water coming off the hills and the road was flooded. Next day, I feared the worst, but the Penningtons and their team were helping cars that had become stranded in the fields and shoring up the festival site. By late afternoon, with the sun out, you wouldn’t have known there had been a massive storm the night before (which apparently only hit Muncaster and not the rest of the Lake District)

This year’s lineup was strong, with headline sets from Deefhoof, The Go Team and Sea Power playing Do You Like Rock Music in full. Highlights were too many to mention. I liked something in every performance. But there were a few standout performances.

Despite some technical issues constraining their set, Bodega blasted through their set in double quick time to make sure no one was short changed, winning many new fans. The Lovely Eggs fun filled set warmed up the crowd for a truly epic Sea Power set that built until it felt like the roof was going to come off the barn. Their performance of Lately was stunning. Bo Ningen put in another stellar performance. When Bo Ningen announced with 20 minutes left of their slot that they were going to play their last song, I knew we were going to get a special set. There are few better live bands than Bo Ningen. A real surprise for me were Haress who created stunning layered, textured music. Hamish Hawk continued to cast his charms. Gwenno’s set, with full band, also impressed. But there were no weak performances this year. Sea Power’s closing set, was also notable for a marriage proposal for Sea Power’s drummer, Tom. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.

In some ways, it isn’t the music that makes this festival special. While, the festival has managed to curate good lineups. This festival is about community. Yes, it is a Sea Power fan’s festival. While there were loads of friends and familiar faces. What was so nice about this year’s festival was the number of people who were not Sea Power fans who universally loved the friendly atmosphere we have built over the last few years. I spoke to several families who had brought their kids to their first festival and their kids loved how they could meet the bands and their parents felt it was safe to let their kids a little bit off the leash. This is the testament to the success of this year’s festival. Just like the Penningtons have welcomed us to their home. This year, Sea Power fans welcomed new fans to our festival. I’m already counting the days to next year’s festival.

Day 1

Opening the music part of the festival were Queer Freedom Drone Ensemble playing some transcendental, mediative, drone music, featuring Tom, Sea Power’s new drummer. The ensemble featured many familiar faces.

Playing their first festival, Cruush, played St Albans earlier in the year. At the time, I was impressed, thinking that I would be hearing more from them. I was really good to see their fine shoegaze, dream pop sound on a big stage. It won’t be the last time.

Warrington-Runcorn Newtown Development Plan’s electronica was not to my taste but many in the audience found this set to be one of their favourite of the weekend.

Stepping in at the last minute, Rachel Aggs played an infectious set of guitar-driven danceable lo-fi music.

Sex Swing

The DSM IV had played the 2019 festival and really didn’t work for me. This time, their performance clicked with me.

Excellent performance from Baba Ali.

I’m a big fan of H. Hawkline’s low-key music. Just him and an old tape machine. At times he was sublime.

Bodega were the only band to experience sound issues. Rather than getting annoyed and going into a huff. Being the professionals they are, they shifted songs around and blasted through another brilliant fun set, so we didn’t feel short changed.

I was looking forward to Deerhoof’s, but after Bodega, the set just felt flat.

Day Two

Simon Armitage

Lost Map Presents Weird Wave. Johnny knows how to work a crowd.

WH Lung impressed again.

Rozi Plain

Jeffrey Lewis and the Voltage

The Lovely Eggs are glorious fun.

Sea Power’s set was EPIC……

I’ve never been a fan of The Go Team. After Sea Power’s epic set, they had a mountain to climb. They didn’t work for me. But I was in a minority.

Day Three

Morning talks about Goth with goth royalty in the form of John Robb and Simon Price and the Lovely Eggs talking to Shaun Keaveny about their TV show.

The annual dog show with Shaun Keaveny

Brìghde Chaimbeul

Hayden Thorpe and Jack McNeil.

Unknown to me. Haress were a big surprise.

Personal Trainer are fun. The perfect festival band.

Cosmic Bingo featuring Utopia Strong and Bo Ningen

The Utopia Strong

When Bo Ningen say they are playing their last song and you look at your watch and there’s still 20 minutes of their set left, expect it to be epic. It was.

Hamish Hawk bringing his charm and wit to Muncaster

The Waeve, featuring long-time Sea Power friend, Rose Elinor Dougall, and her partner, Blur’s Graham Coxon.

Gwenno with band was brilliant

Sea Power closing the weekend playing Do You Like Rock Music.

Other photos

Full photo set is available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/pahudson/albums/72177720310720009

I don’t want to be unfair and suggest these types of events aren’t run properly. They are run just like any other music festival. The sound on each stage was great and stages were professionally managed throughout the day. Those involved in the event did a great job making the day run smoothly. But I’m not reviewing the event’s management. The point of this website is to review new music and events like these really care about new music. They are put on to create a relaxed atmosphere where people are happy to listen to bands playing their versions of other people’s songs while having a drink. The less challenging the music is, the better.

To be honest, I wasn’t going to go this year. I had tickets for the Rally festival in London. However, an RMT strike put paid to the Rally festival, so I grabbed a last-minute ticket.

The night before the festival I combed through the listings and disappointingly, the majority of acts were cover bands. Sadly, the weather wasn’t great on the day of the festival. With heavy rain until early afternoon and then showers for most of the rest of the day. I debated if it was worth it. But the BBC Introducing stage featured a day of new music and there was a splattering of bands playing their own stuff on other stages, so I persuaded myself to walk down to the Old Town and sample what was on offer, even if it was just for a few hours.

As expected, a lot of the music was artists covering other artist’s songs. If it was just a single song, then I stayed and watched. I moved on if they covered more than one song. At one point I moved between two stages where the artists covered the same song. It isn’t really surprising, people prefer to hear songs they already know, so many songs are a staple of cover bands.

In terms of new music, there were slim pickings. But there was interesting music to be found on the BBC Introducing stage, Cinnabar, and Red Lion stage. Mainly singer-songwriters, on the first two and metal bands on the Red Lion stage. Sadly, there weren’t many Hertfordshire bands. Maybe the organisers could work with local promoters to get more local talent and help support the local scene. However, it was a welcome treat that any new music was included. I think most of the attendees wouldn’t have noticed if there was no new music.

Highlights, though slim, included singer-songwriter Alissimon, indie band Teddy Clarke and on one of the main stages, JW Paris showed you can put new music on and people can still have a great time.

With the rain, low crowds and I assume reduced trading for everyone. It will be interesting to see if Old Town Live continues next year. It is not really my thing. I know I am a music snob. But for what it is, Old Town Live is pretty decent.

After checked-in, I headed off to grab my badge. Last year I was off the pace, with issues with my calf muscles reducing my mobility. They have mainly held up since then. My only concern this year was the perennial size of the queues. Would 2023 continue the trend of turning paying music fans into second-class citizens, while the ‘off on a jolly to the seaside on work’s expenses’ crowd get preferential treatment?

Heading up to the Green Door Store for a few of the sets at one of the alt-Escape opening parties, for some reason. I found the venue unbearably hot and decided to head off for a beer and a quiet night. Before leaving I managed to catch three acts. The highlight, Porchlight. With that kind of anarchic Squid sound, popular at the moment. They put on an excellent show. But I decided to bail and save my energy for the full festival.

This year I spent more time planning who I was going to see. But as is usual, the plan didn’t hold up in reality. The day started off at the Prince Albert for Katie Phelan playing the Irish showcase. The curse of being on first. Katie Phelan suffered from sound issues. Though in fairness, I don’t think it was the sound engineer’s fault. I think Katie forgot to change her battery in her acoustic guitar and the sound engineer had to quickly mic up the guitar. But this is what festivals are for. They help artists deal with the logistics. Musically, it was a fairly standard singer-songwriter fair. Lots of little reflective vignettes. Pleasant, but focused on young concerns.

Reb Fountain at the North Lane Brewery was my first discovery. Her music blended elements of folk, blues, rock, pop, even a bit goth at times. Reb’s vocals are rich, bluesy and at times sultry. I was really impressed by her and caught her playing the Lexington on the way home.

Up at the Hope and Ruin, Cowboyy continued to impress with their intricate math rock. More intricate music and dare I say it, prog, appears to be rearing its head again as kids bore of the post-punk sound that has dominated the last few years. Cowboyy intricate math rock is definitely worth catching. 

But the post-punk revival hasn’t yet died. Surfing on the tail end of the revival and one of the best bands of the revival, Deadletter played the inappropriate Music Venue Trust Airstream stage down at the beach. I always photograph them in black and white and their music suits the dark. Seeing them in daylight somehow feels wrong. Luckily, they were still as good as always. Zac, as usual, went out into the crowd midway through the set. Being a festival set, they concentrated on all their most crowd-friendly songs.

The sound on the MVT stage was pretty poor all weekend. It is the nature of outdoor venues. However, it is unforgivable for the sound engineer to make things worse. Sadly Coach Party experienced an unacceptably bad sound. For some unknown reason, the sound engineer failed to notice the first song and part of the second song had no vocals. It probably won’t affect Coach Party, they already have a pretty dedicated fan base. But please TGE don’t let this happen again. This is a showcase for many artists. As you would expect, Coach Party’s infectious indie pop registered strongly with the afternoon crowd and the perfect breezy accompaniment to a sunny day on the beach

The evening was dominated by queues. But I did manage to see two great acts, the visceral Benefits I have covered numerous times. Playing the One Church. Kingsley’s sermon was received by a willing congregation. It was great to see such a positive reaction to what could be a hard festival sell.

Second standout of the evening was Lael Neale. I had tickets to see her at the Lexington the following week. I hoped I would catch her here, find her average and have an evening off to regain post-festival sleep. No chance. The album has been on heavy rotation and live, was just as beautiful. Many of the delicately crafted songs were played on an old omnichord and Lael’s swilling of her fingers around its pad, weirdly mesmeric.

For the rest of the evening, it was a case of finding any venue I could get into. In the end I decided to grab a few beers. While Brighton is more open than last year, many of my favourite pubs were still closing relatively early on week nights. Sad to see things are still catching up to pre-COVID times.

Friday started off with something different with Annie Taylor rocking out at Komedia Studio. Good old fashioned unreformed blues rock with lots of blue denim on show. Annie and band put on an energetic fun set. Not really my thing anymore. But still fun.

The second Benefits set was slightly more surreal than the previous evening in a church with Kingsley and co disturbing the beachgoers at the MVT stage. Sound continued to be an issue with vocals too low in the mix. It was good to see a significant number stayed to enjoy their set. You either love this band or you hate them. With this band there is no compromise.

The rest of the afternoon was particularly unsuccessful. Some of the bigger draws had long queues. I managed to squeeze into the Shipwright’s Yard to hear an excellent set from Pale Blue Eyes. Unless you are at the front you can’t see the band playing inside the garage. I have a fondness for this makeshift ‘venue’. TGE needs more of these pop-up venues.

My unsuccessful afternoon led to me deciding to grab a beer in the relatively empty Mesmerist and listen to what they had scheduled for the Alt-Escape. Listed on their board was ‘Sleeper’ playing in 30 minutes time. Could it be that Sleeper? Amazingly it was and the acoustic set they played was rather good. They all seemed so relaxed and at ease with each other. It was a joy to watch.

Given the difficulty of getting into venues, I decided to head for St Mary’s Church to catch FDR who I had heard good things about. JFDR didn’t do that much for me. But I caught the last 10 minutes of Penelope Trapes’s impressive dark brooding set accompanied by some excellent atmospheric lighting.

As the church is 15 minutes walk from the nearest venue. I decided to stay there for the next act. Once I left venue it was after 10pm and the rest of the evening was a bit of a miss. Everywhere I headed to was busy or I simply wasn’t interested in walking half the length of the town to find the queues.

Saturday was unlike any recent Great Escape. With a rail strike, there was a reduced train service to Brighton. The usual weekend hordes that descend on Brighton stayed away and many of the TGE audience who usually catch the late night Saturday trains back from Brighton (to avoid the ridiculously expensive Saturday night hotel prices) disappeared mid afternoon. Saturday was actually the most pleasant TGE for years. There were few queues to be seen and Brighton itself was relatively quiet. This is what TGE needs to be like all the time and closer to what it was like when I first started.

Saturday started well. Anna B Savage and band played a beautiful set upstairs at Patterns. It all seemed effortless from her and her band. I’m not completely sold on her distinctive vocals when she plays a full set. They start to become a bit wearing as I find her vocals after a certain point seems like an affectation. But these short festival sets have the opposite effect. Distinctive and rich, they add some spice to the day and Anna’s set really hit the mark.

The next band on my agenda wasn’t on for another hour. So I decided to head there via Volks for an interestingly named Rainbow Frog Biscuit. I think I walked into a parallel world of rainbows and unicorns and sugary candy floss pop. The kind of pop created by somebody who has grown up singing Frozen songs in front of the mirror. I’m not sure the 6Music audience is her target audience. But what a great voice she had. While very stagey, it suited her materials. Sadly, it was very much not my thing.

PABST at The Prince Albert offered up 90s inspired grunge rock. Energetically performed by the three piece band. A palette cleanser after Rainbow Frog Biscuit. Usually, The Prince Albert is rammed and unbearably hot on the Saturday afternoon. This year, it was pleasant making it easier to enjoy the band but a little bit more difficult for the band to get the audience participation they maybe hoped for when they asked us to form a circle and mosh.

At Chalk, Flossing, the project of Heather Elle, Bodega’s old bass player, reminded me a lot of Jenny Beth’s post-Savages work. Heather cutting a confident, strong, no-nonsense stage presence. The music is equally as confident and direct. The electro-industrial sound accompanied by strong lighting really worked well. One of my highlights of the festival

Over at a packed Revenge, Butch Kassidy had started their set. Unable to get anywhere near the stage I watched some heads bobbing up and down in the distance to a thunderous heavy psych rock soundtrack. These guys are good. This was probably my favourite set of the festival. I need to catch them in a smaller venue where I can see them too.

Unusually for a Saturday night at TGE. I didn’t decide to stick to one venue. The lack of queues at many venues meant I managed to catch a few more acts before calling it a day. Pencil, featuring a whole host of familiar faces were interesting and I will no doubt catch them again. Closing the evening at Brighthelm and my festival, Anna Wolf put on a great festival show that perfectly capped off my festival.

Was this a successful TGE? Not really. I was surprised by Reb Fountain and I managed to catch a few artists who’ve been on my list for a while such as Flossing and Butch Kassidy. But the buzz bands were the buzz bands last year and I didn’t get anywhere near seeing them due to the queues. I think we are still seeing the effects of the pandemic. Most bands weathered the lockdowns. But the lockdowns seem to have affected the pipeline of new bands. I guess we will see them slowly appearing as the music scenes around the country build up their momentum again. But overall, I think the quality was an improvement on last year.

I’m in a quandary about my continued engagement with TGE. As a music review / photography site we aren’t big enough to get photo passes. That’s fair enough, we are small or is that ‘boutique’? While we have already grabbed an early-bird ticket for 2024. I’m not sure TGE is value for money anymore. As standard festival ticket holders, we are now second-class citizens. I arrived early on Friday and Saturday to get to the front at a venue as they opened, to then have the delegates waltz up five minutes before doors and walk in before me. Throughout the weekend they had priority in queuing situations. Why is this the case? They paid for a conference which comes with a TGE music pass. They shouldn’t have priority for the live music part. Many haven’t paid a dime for the tickets. Their companies have. Why do paying customers get handled as we do? It is getting to the point where you see more music by sticking to a single venue and if that’s the case, some of the free events have higher quality day line-ups. The joy of this type of festival is being able to move around and see new artists.

I guess my main issue is the cost of staying in Brighton. I have always had an issue with the venue creep and the lack of bands I see at TGE. When it was relatively cheap, I learned to treat the weekend as a short break with some music. Sadly, the hotels are now a rip-off. Nearly £600 for four nights in a Premier Inn. Looking at next year’s prices, several hotels are quoting £1000 for four nights when they were quoting £500 four years ago. Brighton is pricing itself out of this game. Is it really worth £150 a day to spend half your time queuing? If somehow TGE could make this year’s Saturday happen every year. I wouldn’t think twice. While I have a ticket for next year, I am in two minds if it is worth booking hotels or to pass on the ticket to somebody else. I don’t know. Maybe with clear light of day, I might change my mind. But at the moment, £600 would cover the cost of two festivals elsewhere. I suspect I will be back next year. But it will probably be my last unless there are some serious changes.

Artists at TGE and Brighton Festival

Day 0 – Yuanfan Yang, Moon Idle, Maximillian, Porchlight,
Day 1 – Katie Phelan, Reb Fountain, Connor Mac, Minas, The New Cut, Cowboyy, Freak Slug, Deadletter, Coach Party, Benefits, Pax Cultura, Lael Neale, Navy, Ruth Lyon, Storry
Day 2 – Annie Taylor, Luke RV, Baby Cool, Benefits, Sleeper, Lilo, Penelope Trappes, JFDR, Hinako Omori, Maria Chara Argiro
Day 3 – Anna B Savage (x2), Rainbow Frog Biscuit, Soak, Ombigizi, PABST, Nadia Sheikh, Sophie Jameson, Flossing, Butch Kassidy, Nice Biscuits, Ann Lu Cannon, Pencil, Anna Wolf