The Great Escape returns to Brighton with the kind of scale and ambition it has built its name on. Known as the festival for new music, it brings together more than 450 emerging artists from around the world, spread across 30 plus walkable venues and a pop up site along Brighton Beach. It is designed for discovery first, giving artists the space to play intimate rooms at the exact moment things start to build, long before bigger stages come calling.
It is not just about the gigs either. The festival draws in the wider music industry, all looking for what lands next, with a conference running alongside the live programme. Panels, keynotes and conversations sit next to the shows, while The Alternative Escape, Spotlight Shows, secret sets, club nights and last minute collaborations fill in the gaps. The result is a city that feels completely taken over by music for a few days, with something happening in every direction.
This year’s lineup leans fully into that identity, with depth across every genre and a huge number of artists worth paying attention to.
Here is the full lineup so far, running A to Z within each category.
Alternative & Indie
1000 Rabbits, Adult DVD, Afternoon Bike Ride, Ain’t, Alice Costelloe, Alice SK, Ally Nicholas, Amanzi, Ana de Llor, Angine de Poitrine, Annie-Dog, Ashaine White, Atomic Lobster, Babyrat, Bathing Suits, Benchwarmers, Bert, Big Long Son, Bitterfly, Bleach 9:3, Brooki, Casual Smart, Chanpan, Ciao Lucifer, Clothesline From Hell, Comastatic, Congratulations, Cowboyy, Cusp, Cyn Cwsg, Dead Dads Club, Dea Matrona, Dogworld, Dolder, East Exchange, Eaves Wilder, Em Beihold, Fellatio, Fez, Fool Nelson, Garage Flower, Gently Tender, Georgia Knight, Glasshouse Red Spider Mite, Glazyhaze, Goodbye, Half Happy, Hamish, Headsend, Heartworms, Heathers, Henry Coke, In Color, Jackson Roy, Joan & The Giants, Julia Cumming, Katzpascale, Keo, Kids Return, Lady of Mars, Ladylike, Leao, Legss, Lemonsuckr, Lime Garden, Lisl, Long Island, Luca George, Lucia & The Best Boys, Luxjury, Maddie Ashman, Mark William Lewis, Marsy, Max Baby, Maximilian, Mitch Santiago, Monks, Muroki, My Precious Bunny, Office Dog, Opal Mag, Oslo Twins, Pigeon, Pixie McCann, Power Plush, Raghad, Ratbag, Raynor, Reece Bibby, Ribbon Skirt, Salarymen, Shaking Hand, Shtëpi, Sistra, Slag, Sleepazoid, Spacestation, Spiral Drive, Steel., Steinza, Sunbrella, Sunday Club, Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon, Sylvie’s Head, Tanzana, Teenage Joans, Theatre, The Bracknall, The Cases, The Kitchen Sink Band, The Lottery Winners, The North, The Orielles, The Slates, The Slow Country, Tom A Smith, Tooth, Trampolene, Truthpaste, Tummyache, Ugly Ozo, Unsafe Space Garden, Vera Ellen, Villanelle, Way Dynamic, Weston Loney, Why Horses?, Yumi and the Weather
Grime, Rap & Hip-Hop
Bella Barbe, Boutique Feelings, Dawson, Hyphen, Jamaica Moana, John from, Joker Starr, Lord Apex, Marius DC, Meduulla, Money Badoo, Mudrat, Native James, Nenda, Pozzy, Sorvina, Tony Bontana, Who Shot Scott
Folk, Americana & Country
Any Young Mechanic, Chris Acker, Dermot Henry, Essy Sparrow, Family Stereo, Lumï, Madra Salach, Natalie Wildgoose, Sean Trelford, Skinny Dyck, Status/Non-Status, Tim Baker, Tommy WÁ, Tygermylk
Jazz, R&B & Soul
Blu Sam, Bnnyhunna, BombayMami, Brother Wallace, Bukky, Elsa, Jazz Cuti, James Emmanuel, Jnr Williams, Kimmortal, Levitation Orchestra, Lfay, Tukki, Wesley Joseph
Electronic & Dance
Annie-Claude Deschênes, Big Wett, Bug Teeth, Girl Group, Greta Svabo Bech, Hologramme, Ibsxjaur, Jessie Mac, La Sécurité, Leila Shii, Peaches, Silverwingkiller, Taiga, The Itch
Pop & Singer-Songwriters
Abbie Piper, AK Patterson, Archie, Argyl, Ava Joe, Blair Davie, Brodie Barclay, Charlie Houston, Chinese American Bear, Charli Lucas, Darcy Haven, Dirty Blond, Eileen Alister, Elín Hall, Elle Coves, Haute & Freddy, Heidi Curtis, Hemi Hemingway, Hetta Falzon, Hope Winter, Isak Benjamin, Issac Frank, Izzy Withers, Jos Rivers, Jude Kelly, Kilu, Lauren Auder, Lily Moore, Lina-Mariah, Lukas Oscar, Luvis, Lynne Sno, Mae Hill, Matthew Ifield, Micah Sage, Min Taka, Mira Taylor, Mother Soki, Nadia Loren, Ninush, Pat Hamilton, Persia Holder, Pollyfromthedirt, Quiet Man, Samira Hills, Sexytadhg, Slow Leaves, Storefront Church, Vera Daisies
Punk, Rock & Metal
Arson, Bonnie Trash, Cherym, Cobra The Impaler, Cold Court, Cowboy Hunters, Emnw, Eurotripp, Flooding, Frenzee, Frozemode, Girl Tones, Greenwing, Hank, Heave Blood & Die, Hetta, Hot Face, Martial Arts, Modern Guilt, Necry Talkie, Overgrown, Oversize, Problem Patterns, Proof of Life, Psychonaut, Really Good Time, Saint Clair, Sword II, The Baby Seals, The Gnomes, Twat Union, Yakkie
A lineup like this is exactly why The Great Escape continues to matter. It puts a huge amount of new music in one place and lets you decide what sticks.
