The Great Escape has long been the UK’s answer to SXSW – a sprawling, sea-breezed celebration of what’s next in music. But while Brighton is bursting with buzzy showcases, few carry the weight – or the taste – of Planetary Group and Impressive PR’s annual international stage. Back for their third year and taking over the Secret Comedy Club on Thursday 15th May, the US/UK team-up isn’t just delivering another curated day of emerging artists. They’re throwing down the gauntlet.
Running from midday to 4pm, this officially recognised Alternative Escape stage is a whistle-stop world tour featuring artists from Australia, Taiwan, the UK and the US – including two exclusives you won’t catch anywhere else all weekend. No filler, no flab. Just six artists at the tipping point.
First up are Day We Ran, the New South Wales outfit making guitar-driven indie rock that lands somewhere between coastal daydreams and heartbreak singalongs. With close to half a million monthly listeners and a sync slot on Outer Banks, the Aussie quartet are already blipping on the radar. Think The War on Drugs by way of Byron Bay.
Then it’s Lab Rat – a walking, shouting catharsis wrapped in grunge, rap, and alt-rock distortion. Based between the UK and Australia, the Mushroom Pillow signee is on the brink of releasing his debut album In The Walls, We Wait, a record born out of addiction, grief and the kind of personal redemption arc that could’ve come from a Danny Boyle screenplay. One of his tracks features in a forthcoming Netflix series. His set? Exclusive. Get in.
By early afternoon, Sly Withers take over with their fists-in-the-air anthems about growing up, falling apart, and pulling yourself together with a scream and a chorus. If you like your punk-inflected alt-rock big, bold, and bleeding with honesty, you’re in the right place. Their ARIA-charting LPs Gardens and Overgrown put them in the ring with the likes of The 1975 and Violent Soho – and they’re not pulling punches.
From the American heartland, Annie DiRusso lands with a set that feels like eavesdropping on a twentysomething’s stream of consciousness – but set to guitars that wouldn’t be out of place on a Nirvana B-side. Her viral rise, late-night TV debut and indie credentials (Haim, beabadoobee, Colbert) are impressive enough – but it’s the post-tour rebirth, the wine-fuelled songwriting and her refusal to self-censor that make her one to watch.
And then: dinosaurs. The Dinosaur’s Skin, to be exact. The Taiwanese duo – “Trex” and “Triceratops”, naturally – claim to be the last two dinosaurs on Earth, having travelled through a wormhole from the Cretaceous period. And if you think that’s wild, wait till you hear the music: a warped blend of synth-pop, lo-fi rock and Jurassic melodrama that sounds like MGMT got lost in a prehistoric fever dream. Their UK debut is happening here – and only here.
Finally, Gordi closes out with the kind of emotional, synth-laced indie-pop that makes you want to cry, dance, and text your ex all at once. With collaborations ranging from Bon Iver to Troye Sivan, and a third album (Like Plasticine) landing at the end of the month, Gordi’s set promises big, bittersweet moments and a reminder that pop can still cut deep. Her latest single Peripheral Lover is already turning heads – and rightly so.
Six artists. One venue. Four hours of genre-hopping, border-crossing, heart-expanding brilliance. Planetary Group and Impressive PR have done it again – offering up not just a showcase, but a reminder of why we still fall in love with new music.
Catch it before the rest of the world does.
Planetary Group & Impressive PR Present: Official Alternative Great Escape Stage
Thursday 15th May | 12pm – 4pm
Secret Comedy Club, 42 Brighton Square
Line-Up:
12:00 – 12:25 | Day We Ran (Australia)
12:40 – 1:05 | Lab Rat (UK/Australia) – exclusive set
1:20 – 1:45 | Sly Withers (Australia)
2:00 – 2:25 | Annie DiRusso (USA)
2:40 – 3:05 | The Dinosaur’s Skin (Taiwan) – exclusive set
3:20 – 3:45 | Gordi (Australia)
