Last week, The Great Escape returned to sunny Brighton. For another year, over 400 artists from around the world were invited to play in the city's favourite venues alongside other less conventional basements, churches, courtyards and just about anywhere can rig a PA and summon a crowd.

The Great Escape is a celebration of emerging musical talent across genres and geographies but this year it also felt like there was a greater effort to spotlight more homegrown acts. This was very much welcomed. As was their decision to drop Barclays as a sponsor, which led to many artists boycotting the festival last year following widespread criticism over the bank's link to weapons manufacturers fueling the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

Alongside TGE was the unofficial escape, a grassroots mobilisation of venues, bookers and artists hosting shows across the city for free. With more unofficial escape shows than ever before, we had quite a mission on our hands to try and see as much as we could from international, national and local bands. Hundreds of artists played these guerrilla shows (including many who played official shows), democratising the festival and enabling everyone to access the magic of live music. 

It's a sticky but wondrous symbiotic relationship, and one we hope continues to grow.

So, here it is! Our diary of twenty-six artists across three and a half days in the marathon that is The Great Escape.

WEDNESDAY

TRAAMS kicked off our festival at Fat Cat's showcase at Patterns. They opened with 'Dry' from their latest album personal best (2022), a huge brooding churner, and never really looked back. Ever-evolving over the past decade, they delivered all of their classic psych-garage tracks alongside some new tunes that suggest a more melodic but experimental forward path. They closed with the hell-raising 'A House on Fire' and took the room with it. An amazing start to our festival and a delight to chat to ahead of the show - interview coming soon.

We dashed over to the Nice Swan Records evening at The Hope & Ruin to catch Manchester's Westside Cowboy, winners of the coveted Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition. Described as 'Britainacana', they played their own concoction of country rock, tender folk and indie pop. The instrumental aspects of their music felt like a fitting intro to a good cowboy western film. There was a lovely looseness to their set that closed with the drummer coming to the front of the stage armed with just his snare and a single drum stick, as all four gathered around one mic for a final shanty.

tHURSDAY

The Great Escape really comes alive from Thursday. We started the day at Sounds Australia's stage at Komedia for Folk Bitch Trio. The Melbourne-based trio started with an a cappella take on Talking Heads' 'This Must Be the Place' - slow and achingly perfect. Their blend of buttery vocals was stunning, their tones melted and oozed together sweetly. With pin drop silence in the audience, we listened intently to their musings on love, friendship and a few bad habits. Reminiscent of the likes of Laura Marling, Courtney Barnett and of course, Joni Mitchell, this was a necessary moment of hush in a loud weekend.

On the absolute opposite end of the noise spectrum was Canada's Truck Violence, over at Patterns for the M for Montreal showcase. Their hardcore punk meets folk and sludge sound was brutal and beautiful. It was like watching something on the verge of unraveling but in a great, authentic way. The only thing that was missing was their banjo, which they said they couldn’t get across the border this time around.

Later, we found ourselves upstairs at The Grand Central for one of our Brighton-based favourites, Opal Mag. It was the second of six (!) shows they'd play across the busy weekend. Their latest lineup of musicians is the tightest yet with fuzzy guitars, starry synths and drums that drive without crowding. Opal Mag's songs are characterised by catchy melodies and emotional pulls, and are totally designed to make you want to sing along. Closing the set with the single 'Love To See You Shine', we may have had a little sing-song ourselves.

We bustled through the crowds down to the seafront for So Young's showcase at Charles Street Tap, whose sticky club floors fixed us in place. First up was green star, a London band who have been on our radar for some time thanks to much hype. Their sultry shoegaze leaned into grunge dynamics and played with melody and momentum through mysterious blazes of noisy post-rock. The bass player and two guitarists took turns on lead vocal, creating a varied and interesting texture to the set. The band barely spoke but their presence was total.

With lynchpin Steve Lamacq standing next to us waiting for So Young's next band, we had a feeling we made the right choice sticking at Charles Street Tap. We're pleased to report that we weren't wrong. Mên An Tol's sound reflected their London-via-Cornwall creation. Gritty, anarchic folk merged with the confidence and brightness of Britpop, creating something truly timeless and modern. What we loved so much was how accessible their songs were, something often amiss in much alternative contemporary songwriting.

We ran up to Green Door Store to catch the Manchester-based TTSSFU, led by bedroom music wizard Tasmin Stephens. The DIY gothic shoegazer performed with her iconic red heart-shaped guitar and created huge, driving soundscapes with her band. Her reverb-drenched vocals were haunting and ethereal but so powerful, honing in on sharp observations and experiences. The emotion in the music was evident, her glassy eyes reflected in her glittery black eyeshadow. All the tracks from her recent self produced, mixed and mastered EP Me, Jed and Andy featured alongside a couple new numbers including sweetly named 'Cat Piss'. Tasmin leapt bare-footed from the stage on penultimate song 'Studio 54', stirring the crowd ready for the huge, screaming, cathartic closer, 'I Hope You Die'. Possibly our favourite set of the weekend.

Swapping cobbles for pews, we made our way to One Church to catch Bishopskin. A wonderfully blasphemous band name for the venue. The London-based avant-garde ensemble delivered an eccentric show blending folk, blues, prog rock, punk and medieval choral songs. The experience was part sermon, part pagan rave. The septet included a violin, clarinet, shared vocals ranging into operatics and lots of performance drama to match. Jubilant, tempestuous and a good knees up.

Closing off the day was Brighton's big long sun at the lovely Pink Moon for Miohmi Records' takeover. We squeezed our way into the cafe/record shop/gallery/bar/venue/dim sum joint's upstairs room to witness another joyous set from another ensemble band. Beginning as Jamie Broughton's bedroom solo project, the band has grown many arms and legs, all of which bring their own flair and funk to the live show. We lapped up the band's rhythmic psychedelic rock, experimental pedal-induced textures and infectious, sunny creativity. big long sun are always fun.

FRIDAY

We started the day down on the beach, at the Jetty Stage for Bandcamp's showcase, where locals ladylike were playing into the midday sun. Their post-rock-folk sound held a kind of cinematic sprawl, with swirling synths and moments of poignant stillness. The shadowy atmosphere they created out in the blazing open was quite something. A standout was their most recent single 'Horse's Mouth', with its meandering melodies, delicate vocal delivery and huge, crashing crescendo ending.

From there, we slipped into Kate Peaches' debut show at The Black Lion, curated by Smithereens. Dressed in a leopard-print catsuit with bouffant hair that felt somewhere between punk and pin-up, she launched into glittered-up new-wave pop. Her vocals were tight and gliding, and a cover of Smalltown Boy was a real treat amongst other original songs that all stood on their own with a Blondie-esque bite. We’re already looking forward to more from the new Brighton artist.

Onto our third local band of the day, Shady Baby were up next at Molly Malones on the bill curated by Brighton friends Comforts. Teetering on the Irish pub's stage raised above faux wooden barrels in front of peculiarly placed stained glass, they brought a contrasting integrity led by strong melodic sensibilities and observational lyricism. They performed a driving and forward-looking new and untitled single which continues in the same grunge-tinged indie rock vein of their most recent release 'Held In'.

Tucked away on Middle Street just off the seafront, in a usually gated and inconspicuous space, BBC Radio 6's Chris Hawkins introduced Devon's Pale Blue Eyes to the Shipwright's Yard garage stage. Swaying between modernist pop and huge psychedelic shoegaze, the band layered shimmering guitars over driving basslines and floating organs that moved bodies and souls. It was the bass player's birthday and it was clear they were all celebrating. A lovely reminder that anywhere can become a third space if there’s enough music and enough people.

We went from an outdoor garage into an indoor cave to catch the Belfast noisehouse, Makeshift Art Bar. Players is usually a seafront nightclub but its Victorian brick interior archways really suited their noisy, industrial post-punk. Jagged guitar riffs, driving rhythms and vocals with a distinctive Belfast accent moved between poetic and provocative. Lap steel guitar spat out sheets of metallic sounds and feedback that bent the atmosphere.

Next, we made our way to the extravagant cheetah-print-carpeted Hotel Pelirocco to catch The Roebucks at local label Goo's takeover. The quartet delivered their lovely free-wheeling country and bluesy rock songs to a packed room awash in woozy red lighting. The drummer and both guitarists shared lead vocals, harmonising their voices with lovely americana nostalgia whilst the bassist plucked incredibly funky basslines that stitched the set together.

Masked and anonymous, Milo Korbenski offered lo-fi garage indie that hit way harder live than on record. Playing at The Mesmerist for Smithereens as a duo with drums and SPD, he thickened his sound with octave-doubled vocals that created the illusion of a full backing band. His lyrics landed harder in the absence of visual distraction - sharp, intimate and a little weird (a standout being a breakup metaphor involving slugs and compost). A brilliant set from an overlooked Brighton artist.

Cordelia Gartside's set at WaterBear was the most intimate and emotionally charged performance of the weekend. Though she grew up in Brighton, this was her first time playing The Great Escape - a long-overdue hometown debut. Her songs moved from fragile to ferocious, her voice and expression shifting with raw, visceral feeling. The room was utterly still, every word and note held in reverent focus, while her superb band added depth and nuance to her already striking songwriting. It was breathtaking. An interview with Cordelia is coming soon.

We closed off Saturday down at The Deep End stage to catch English Teacher. In just three years, the band have gone from headlining 234 Fest at Green Door to headlining Billboard UK's main stage at The Great Escape on the back of winning the Mercury Prize for their debut record, This Could Be Texas. Their wild trajectory is thanks to the support and the will of the people who want to see great grassroots bands rise through the ranks and into stardom. Their set delivered favourites in succinct and sharp focus.

sATURDAY

Our final day kicked off at the Vocal Girls showcase, tucked down the end of the pier at Horatio's - the pub over the sea that transforms into a festival hotspot once a year. Dog Race singer Katie took the stage in a scarlet sailor skirt-suit, perfectly matching her nautical setting. But any aesthetic sweetness was quickly undercut by the band’s electrifying brand of synth-heavy goth rock. Theatrical and trance-like, Katie moved with purpose, casting spells with her unique vocal delivery. 

From the pier we headed to see Brighton's Bones Ate Arfa at The Actors for much-loved local radio station Slack City's takeover. The alt-rock trio delivered big riffs, snarling vocals and bruising basslines. A steady outro to the closing track featured droning bass strums and the drummer coming from behind his kit with a cowbell, rhythmically entrancing the crowd into a pit when the music dropped for one last wild ride. Aside from their great music, a serious note goes to their great hair that flashed across the stage in black, red and yellow headbangs. 

Next up: Comforts headlining their two-day takeover at Molly Malones. Over the course of the weekend, the Brighton band hosted 18 Brighton artists on a stage they curated with real care. Locals championing their own - we love to see it. Their set was packed with anthemic indie rock, every song driven by impossibly catchy melodies. Paired with frontman Sam’s soaring, heartfelt vocals, they landed squarely in that indie-pop sweet spot built for big festival stages.

Checking out the newly refurbished Manchester Street Arts Club (FKA Latest Music Bar) to see Radio Anorak didn't go to plan at first thanks to gargantuan tech issues. After a short 40 minute wait and an entirely different PA system, they launched into a bonkers, beat poetry set of noise tangents and glitched-out rhythms. Songs we’ve seen live before took new directions with improvised elements for an experimental rock'n'roll trip. Radio Anorak are architects of something unusual and special.

We closed the festival at Fiddler's Elbow with Love Thy Neighbour's unholy trinity of noise. First up was Northamptons' thistle., whose heavy, melodic grunge brought emotional weight and refreshing urgency. Then came C Turtle but not as you know them. A lineup shake-up has shifted their sound from lo-fi rock to metal-leaning noise rock. Finally, Brighton's seasoned newcomers Post Common took the stage. Made up of TRAAMS frontman, one of the Johns from JOHN (Times Two) and the bassist from Mazes, they unleashed a blistering wave of post-grunge noise. Probably the loudest gig we've ever been to.

Huge thanks to The Great Escape for a wonderful weekend. Until next year.