The Great Escape 2023 brought the good times to Brighton
The music world descended on the south coast for another jam-packed Great Escape festival, set over three days in all manner of nooks and crannies across Brighton, and on the beach in the glorious sunshine.
Early on the first day, Bristol’s Minor Conflict delivered interesting post-punky/folky soundscapes, complete with harp and trumpet, before New Zealand songsmith Reb Fountain impressed with her set, which at points had touches of the Sharon Van Etten about it. Meanwhile, down in the basement of the Queens Hotel, Amy Montgomery‘s infectious energy was a hit with the crowd.
With the forecast rain nowhere to be seen, a stroll up the famous pier offered sunshine and gorgeous views of the city, as well as a Scottish showcase in Horatio’s bar. After soaking up the very un-Scottish weather, punters were treated to a mesmerising set by Katie Gregson-MacLeod. Her tales of life and love were heartfelt and honest, her interactions with the packed room charming and funny. We will definitely be hearing much more from this singer-songwriter.
The Great Escape doesn’t just offer hot new acts. Along with the music programme is the TGE conference for delegates, with plenty of industry talks and networking events such as the Wide Days Scottish networking gathering at a seafront hotel. The yearly occasion is popular with delegates, not least because of the vegan haggis and the always popular – and always delicious – deep fried Mars Bars.
Alongside the main festival, the (completely free) Alterative Escape also kicked off on the Thursday, with many bands from the main TGE line-up playing supplementary shows in bars around the city. Personal Trainer were one such group to give a free show on two occasions. But more about them later.
Highlight of the first day was Billie Marten. To a packed room, the singer-songwriter from North Yorkshire delivered songs from her new album, Drop Cherries, as well as some offerings from her previous LPs. Backed by her band of impressive musicians, the artist’s set included Willow and I Can’t Get My Head Around You from her beautiful new record.
Despite the sound at Brighton’s Komedia hardly complimenting the nuances of her music – and with the lead vocal being painfully low in the mix to the point that it was often hard to hear – the beauty of Billie Marten’s songwriting prowess still shone through and this standout set at TGE proved that she is an artist to cherish.
Next at the same venue was Willie J. Healey, who played pop-infected rock ānā roll with the kind of swagger and confidence that made it easy to see why Florence Welch handpicked him to support her band’s arena tour.
At the same time in the Komedia’s upstairs studio, Lila Drew sang poppy anthems that wouldn’t have been out of place in an early 2000’s teen rom-com. Which is no bad thing.
With varying degrees of hangover, punters shuffled back onto the streets of Brighton for the second day of Great Escape festivities, and learned that there is no better way to shake off the cobwebs than a walk along a rainy seafront for free vegan hotdogs at the German music showcase.
With stomachs full and the late morning soft drinks and beers going down a treat, festival-goers were treated to the soulful sounds of Becky Sikassa and the double denim delight of Moon Mates and their catchy folk rock tunes.
After saying Auf Wiedersehen to the Deutsch showcase, it was time to head to the Brighthelm Centre for Scottish artist and Fred Again collaborator Terra Kin and her hard-to-pigeonhole sound which is influenced by jazz and folk.
Then, it was back to the seafront to join an EPICALLY long queue for the day’s hot ticket, Personal Trainer. With the festival set across lots of different sized venues around the city, queuing is to be expected but if you are well organised, you can usually squeeze in to see what you want. The Personal Trainer queue was a timely reminder, however, that if you want to are desperate to see an act at TGE, get there EARLY – like, two or three bands beforehand – and then just remain until the act you want to see.
We were pretty much the last in the queue to make it into the tiny, cavernous under-200 capacity seafront venue, leaving hundreds outside. And, boy, did we feel lucky to be there. The Amsterdam collective delivered songs that were in equal parts impressive in their structure and simple enough that even the uninitiated were singing along before a song’s first chorus had even finished.
Frontman Willem Smit was an engaging presence on the packed, tiny stage, as the band ripped through tunes from their excellent 2022 album, Big Love Blanket. By the time set-closer The Lazer caused a joyous singalong, everyone in the venue had a new favourite band.
Later, Aussie band (and SYS interviewees) Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers made their Great Escape debut, which was only their second ever UK gig. Their brand of punk-pop-rock was tight, power-packed and catchy as hell, and their onstage demeanour illustrated that the four-piece are clearly having the time of their lives. Final song Girl Sports was a brilliant “fuck off” to misogynists, and one of the standout moments of the festival so far. Brilliant stuff.
There were more Australian acts up next, with Mia Wray showcasing a massive, magnificent voice and a seriously commanding stage presence over at The Hope and Ruin, and Phoebe Go sharing heartfelt, beautiful and open stories at the Brighthelm Centre.
As the sun finally set on Friday, Sad Night Dynamite brought the party to seafront venue The Arch. Opening with fan favourite Demon, the duo of likely lads from Glastonbury whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their energetic glitch-hop electro set.
At one point, Josh climbed the barrier and told the crowd to form a circle around him, before cordially inviting them to “fuck him up”. A mass moshpit ensued, with the artist returning to the stage triumphant with a bloody nose. This didn’t stop Archie also climbing in and getting involved later. Pure chaos. Brilliant chaos.
We’ve covered almost every day of The Great Escape since the festival started over a decade-and-a-half ago, and we can say with total confidence that this grey Friday was one of its all-time best. Bravo.
The sun shone brightly on the final day of this year’s Great Escape festival, which was appropriate, as Saturday was the day when the Aussies hit the beach. Sure, there were pebbles underfoot rather than sand, but the vibe was suitably Australian, with a bunch of rising stars from Down Under performing under blue skies as waves lapped the shore.
Early attendees to the beach site caught a set from one of yesterday’s standouts, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, after which Eliza Hull, Gena Rose Bruce and Phoebe Go (who was a highlight from yesterday’s line-up) offered up emotive storytelling. The latter also reminded us to apply sunscreen as the sun beat down on the backs of necks and bare legs.
Back in the shadows of one of the tents, RVG‘s atmospheric, gothic post-punk sound soared. “Don’t go back in time. It’s not worth it,” vocalist Romy Vager implored during Squid. Whilst it was not the kind of day to be indoors, the Melbourne band’s spellbinding set entranced festival-goers in from the daylight until the tent was packed to the rafters. And those who chose to remain outside missed the highlight of the entire Aussie showcase.
Changing the vibe by approximately 100 percent was the next artist to appear on the same stage. Despite also coming out of Naarm/Melbs, Big Wett (pictured, below) was somewhat different to RVG, and indeed to anyone else playing at the festival. Dressed all in pink and singing over some big dance beats, the artist told tales about things like the time she “fucked your dad” and so on. “When you get high, and you get low, don’t forget my tongue was in your asshole,” she reminded us. Well, how could we forget?
The queue for the Beach Stage tent snaked almost to the sea as Nice Biscuit took to the stage, dressed magnificently as always. Their psychedelic soundscapes were hypnotic and complimented by choreographed moves and ethereal harmonies from vocalists Billie Star and Grace Cuell to create a visually and aurally impressive experience.
It wasn’t just about the Australians though. While the beach vibes were tempting huge crowds, the rest of the festival was in full swing as well, as was the Alternative Escape as the streets of Brighton brimmed with weekend revellers.
One of the focal points of the festival is the outdoor stage at Jubilee Square and, ahead of a Eurovision screening there, the feelgood live set of the festival took place. Local lad Daniel Wakeford is no stranger to The Great Escape, having graced the same stage back in 2017.
The Undateables legend drew a big crowd as Saturday afternoon turned into evening, and delighted them with a joyful performance which included an encore of fan-favourite track, Playboy Girls. Punctuating his energic set with high-kicks and air punches – his hair bouncing on the side of his head like a cocker spaniel’s ears – he sang “I’m a rock pop star, I’m a legend” and absolutely no-one in attendance could disagree with him. Life-affirming stuff.
Having created another epic queue for their second Alternative Escape gig of the festival at the Hope and Ruin earlier in the day, Personal Trainer brought our Great Escape to a close down on the beach with another mind-blowingly good set. The Dutch band’s songs sounded just as good in a tent as they did in a tiny, cavernous club or a pub. Of all the bands whose star ascended during TGE 2023, theirs perhaps flew the highest.
And that was it. Another year, another brilliant celebration of new music. See you on the seafront in 2024.
Review by Bobby Townsend and Jayne Cheeseman. Photo credits: Bobby Townsend / Press.
