10 acts not to miss at The Great Escape 2025
Each year, for a long weekend in May, it feels as if the entire music world descends on the seaside for a big party with all the best things: fish, chips, a sea swim to get rid of a hangover, and every best new bands around, all within walking distance of one another. That’s what The Great Escape brings to the table, and this year, the lineup is a feast.
This 2025 edition feels especially powerful given the way last year’s event was derailed by an incredible to witness boycott. As artists dropped out in inspiring numbers, it was the alt-escape that won out as musicians pledged their support for Palestine and refused to back the festival when they were Barclay-sponsored. Now, free from that financial tie, the 2025 comeback lineup is the festival’s strongest in recent years, and the energy promises to be amazing as the fun resumes.
The festival’s strength is its ability to bring together an international class of ones to watch. It feels as if every name heard whispered around, any new act that has any amount of intrigue or buzz about it, descends on the city. From brand new baby acts with only a single or two to their name, to more established units who are still building toward an inevitable boom, they’re all in one place, scattered across the city’s beloved venues which are all largely in walking distance, or sprinting distance depending on how packed the day’s schedule is.
This year it is incredibly packed. As I write this, I’m starting to do my stretches to limber up, preparing for the relay race each year inevitably turns into when you find yourself running from the seafront up into town. It’s not for the weak but it’s definitely worth it, epecially when it comes to these ten acts who should be topping the must-see priorities list.
10 acts not to miss at The Great Escape 2025:
Folk Bitch Trio
The best thing about The Great Escape is the way one weekend brings international talent together. Over the course of a few days, you can see global ones-to-watch that you might not have usually had the chance to catch until they were 10x as big as they are now.
Melbourne’s Folk Bitch Trio are a perfect example of that. Since 2022, they’ve been an ‘if you know, you know’ type name as their track ‘Shivers’ earned them a cultish following, of which Julia Jacklin is a devout member. Since they’ve only released a scattering of singles, I’d catch their Brighton set to still be able to say you were an early member of their clan.
Komedia Basement – 2:40pm Thursday
Brighthelm – 9:15pm Thursday
Luvcat
Luvcat is a new name, but I’d predict this is probably your last chance to see her in a room this small. Hailing from Liverpool but by way of some crazy, inspiring antics like running off with rockstars and sailors or joining the Parisian circus, her The Cure-inspired name is a perfect insight into her gothic, cinematic music that has people instantly hooked.
Five singles in, and she’s already touring the world, amassing a huge amount of interest. We’re witnessing a meteoric rise here, and it shows no signs of stopping, as each new track has only been better than the last. With bigger and bigger things surely in the pipeline, this show feels like it’ll give you future bragging rights.
Chalk – 7:15pm Thursday
Komedia Basement – 9:30pm Friday
Pem
Last year, I gave Pem’s EP Cloud Work a perfect score, and I still agree with it today. In fact, my love for that project has only grown as her music is so rich in feeling and meaning that each repeat listen seems to only reveal more.
At the centre of it all though is her utterly unique vocal that could silence any room. They’re staggeringly beautiful and unlike any other artist, leaving her completely peerless and needing to be heard to truly understood as no references could do it justice. She’s playing one set with a full band which is sure to be impactful, but her next set is a solo set in a church which will undoubtedly be heavenly.
Dust – 11:15pm Thursday (with band)
Unitarian Church – 7.30pm Friday (solo show)
Westside Cowboy
If a showcase festival like The Great Escape is for sussing out hypey new names, then Westside Cowboy would be one to have on your to-see list. However, the band have already had their worth more than co-signed as they won Glastonbury’s coveted emerging talent prize, beating out thousands upon thousands of applicants to win a slot at the festival.
With only two singles out, both tracks speak to exactly the kind of hooking and special sound that earned them the prize. But as always, there is no better way to truly get to grips with an act being labelled with ‘one-to-watch’ status than by…going to watch them. Given that they’re playing four times across the festival, they’re giving plenty of opportunity to do so.
The Hope and Ruin – 9:15pm Wednesday
Paganini Ballroom (The Old Ship) – 7:15pm Thursday
Charles Street Tap – 10:15pm Thursday
TGE Beach, The Deep End stage – 5:15pm Friday
Mandrake Handshake
This can be an antidote if you grow tired of the industry types standing there with their arms crossed, unmoving at the back. It’s impossible to know how many members are in the band, as they don’t even know. They say that at any given time, it can vary between seven and ten people, so who knows how many there will be on stage by the seaside.
But what is known is that they’ll bring the energy. Their true strength in numbers allows their sets to be rich and immersive, bringing their psych sound to life with zero compromises. It’s music that makes you move; it literally makes you. I dare you to try and stay still as their tracks seem to force your hips to at least sway a little.
Horatios – 9:15pm Friday
Witch Post
But if you are there to stand arms crossed, sussing new bands out, go try Witch Post on for size. This duo seemed to emerge out of nowhere this year with a beautiful story about meeting by chance, only to realise they’re both from the same town. Well, the same name town; Alaska Reid’s is in the US, and Dylan Fraser’s is in Scotland. But it was one of the many coincidences that appeared when the two started collaborating.
That synergy is definitely heard in the tunes as their debut EP is tight and gripping. It’s easy to get cynical when a new group emerge and boom quickly with powerful industry names behind them. However, when the music is as good as this, we should all take heart that clearly this world still works, finding a talented act and helping them make it happen. Want proof of that? Go test the waters at their show.
TGE Beach, Soundwaves stage – 10:15pm Friday
Man/Woman/Chainsaw
What can I say? I just love a band with a bouncing vocal and as Man/Woman/Chainsaw pass the duties back and forth between three members, it makes a sound that instantly has you hooked in and instantly has you excited.
That’s why the band have been darlings of the live scene for a long time and have been building and building and building, recently celebrating their 100th gig. Now with a still-growing mass of fans, they’ve cemented themselves as one of London’s favourite live acts and a name regularly found on festival lineups. Domination feels inevitable, so, as always, it’s best to get on board early.
Charles Street Tap – 11:15pm Thursday
ELLiS-D
You’re in Brighton, you should go see some of the incredible Brighton talent. ELLiS-D is one of the city’s finest. Maybe you’ve already seen him on stage with Fat Dog as their touring drummer, but it’s as the frontman and guitarist for his own project that the artist comes to life in a way that’s so hypnotic you can’t and don’t want to take your eyes off it.
Somewhere between David Bowie, David Byrne and Ian Curtis, his music is so stylistic. Cinematic doesn’t feel quite right to say, it doesn’t capture the electric energy of it. It’s music to thrill, almost music to baffle as the tracks are designed to kind of trip you up with false stops and riff that make you wonder how it’s all happening.
Prince Albert – 3:30pm Saturday
Good Health Good Wealth
Fan of Baxter Dury? The Streets? John Cooper Clarke? You’ll like this. Duo Good Health Good Wealth have that classic merge of spoken word verses and big hypey choruses that keep the energy up. But mostly, they’re masters of storytelling, as each song feels like a journey to follow along, and they manage to pack so much atmosphere into their work.
Their sound is a big mix of things, but mostly it feels so distinctly British. Inspired by homegrown artists as well as the scenes of their lives, it feels like the perfect music to hear and the perfect act to watch at a classic British seaside. Get some fish and chips after, and indulge in it.
Charles Street Tap – 8:15pm Friday
Dellaxoz
Similar to ELLiS-D but completely different musically, Dellaxoz is another hypnotic guitar player. Her twinkling riffs and details that colour her songs feel completely magical, almost spontaneous as they punctuate punching phrases about love, modern dating, capitalism and more.
Despite only being 20, Della has been a name to note for years. Since 2019, she’s been crafting and moulding her identity into something truly special. ‘Unhinged’ felt like a pinnacle of that, packed with perfectly put lyrics that are at once both full of feeling and totally witty and silly. It’s an incredibly mature balance to have found that speaks to an artist who’s only going to keep on getting better.
Daltons – 1:15pm Friday
