The Great Escape Festival's getting close!
From June to September the UK is inundated with an influx of both new and well established music festivals, but poor old May is often left off the calendar, leaving prospective festival goers scratching their heads as to how to fill the start of the season. Well, here at Licklist we think we have found the answer. From Thursday 19th - Saturday 21st May 2016, the buzzing borough of Brighton plays host to The Great Escape, offering the ideal way to kick-off the summer festival season. Here more than 30 venues around the city provide the location to the ultimate form of Great Escapism in which over 450 artists shall delight crowds over the weekend.
The festival is held in extremely high regard in terms of showcasing the latest talent and new up-and-coming artists. It’s been billed by The Times, amongst others, as the SXSW of the UK, as well as the best British festival to discover emerging acts, where Great Escape attendees can find a host of artists playing in intimate settings before they’ll be headlining main stages around the world. This really is the best opportunity of the year to discover your new favourite act.A wide array of artists from across the globe shall be performing at this year’s event, including SG Lewis, Logan Sama, Mabel, Riko Dan, Kloe, D Double E, Clean Cut Kid, and AJ Tracey. Special recommendations from Licklist include grime MC Jammz, Irish electronic producer MMOTHS, NTS radio host and renowned eclectic selector Throwing Shade and Ninja Tune’s Letherette. One act however who is no stranger to the music scene is Craig David, who shall be performing both an acoustic set during the day on Thursday as well as bringing his TS5 show to the Wagner Hall to see you through to the early hours of the Friday morning.
The emphasis of the event though is certainly on new acts and therefore the recommendation as to how to plan your weekend is to wander the city and stumble across the next big thing you may have previously never given a chance to listen to. Okay, maybe not everything will be your taste, but given the vast array of artists, there is bound to be something you’ll have the time of your life listening to. And that’s part of the excitement of the festival, the fact that TGE grants exposure to little known acts from the UK, Belgium, Canada and beyond. There’s no shortage of diversity to the various venues on offer either. For instance you can find yourself listening to artists in anywhere from a pop-up bar, The Spiegelpub, to a church which isn’t too dissimilar to the Pantheon in Rome, to dimly lit bars and clubs such as the Hope and Ruin and Coalition, and even to the majestic surroundings of the Jubilee Gardens. Remember to download the official The Great Escape app to ensure you’re aware of what’s happening when and what’s happening where.
In addition to the festival itself, The Great Escape will be hosting 3 spotlight shows over the weekend. The first of these features Oh Wonder and Shura, off the back of her fantastic single ‘Touch’, while the second sees Malian musicians Songhoy Blues and Fatoumata Diawara performing live. The final show is topped by grime phenomenon Stormzy, alongside Westrn and M.O. These events each cost £8 as a top-up for festival attendees, or can be bought separately. Given that most of the shows across the weekend are strictly 18+, the festival has curated an additional lineup exclusively reserved for young adults, where access to these shows is limited to people of 16 - 17 years of age. Some of the acts appearing at these shows include Band of Skulls, Mystery Jets and Lady Leshurr.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of TGE is that it offers a music industry convention, setting apart the festival from the standard ‘let’s down as much vodka in the back of a taxi before we stumble over to watch Years & Years on the main stage’. Here you can expect to see 3500 international industry experts engage in debates, enlighten us music enthusiasts with workshops and offer opportunities for networking. Some of this year’s speakers include representatives from Spotify, VICE and Vevo, with topics ranging from discussing the merits of vinyl over CDs, the proliferation of YouTube, as well as how the music industry operates and how new artists are able to break into the scene. Expect to see yourself standing alongside some of these experts at the various gigs throughout the weekend, as they too are on the lookout for that new special act.
For those people interested in the festival that are not from Brighton itself, the website lists several potential accommodation options in the local area, from 4-star hotels to youth hostels. You’ve longed for a festival to kick-start your summer, so what are you waiting for? The Great Escape has you covered so Steve McQueen your way to Brighton and uncover your newest musical passions.
Adult weekend tickets are priced at £65.50, while single day tickets range from £31.90 for the Thursday to £42.90 for the Saturday. A 3-day young persons pass will set you back £49.50. All of these are available here.
Chris Gill