Micro-Festival – Son Estrella Galicia Brighton (Panic Shack

SON Estrella Galicia micro-festival at The Prince Albert, Brighton, 23rd March 2024

Bringing together beer, food and music seems like a pretty on-point pitch for a Saturday in Brighton, and a packed Prince Albert proved the theory correct.

The first of this series of micro-festivals outside London, the concept is the brainchild of Son Estrella Galicia, the cultural arm of the family-owned Spanish brewery that mixes a multi-sensory experience with consideration for sustainability – of the environment and also specifically of grass roots venues. With beer tasting in the afternoon and freshly made Mexican street food on offer from local gastronomers Carlito Burrito, there was plenty to enjoy throughout the day.

A significant part of the event was of course the music, with DJ sets downstairs in the bar from Kike Louie, Lee Petryszyn, and Henry WP keeping the atmosphere flowing until the evening opened up live music sets upstairs. First up, local psych/jazz ensemble Plantoid filled the stage with a melange of percussive instruments, guitars and vocals from Chloe Spence straight out of the Grace Slick school of melody. Then an astute booking for the headline slot, Panic Shack are already a welcome visitor to the Brighton circuit, their short, sharp punk-influenced songs and obvious camaraderie as a bunch of friends having fun giving a healthy antidote to the mainstream music industry’s typecasting of women in bands. With a set full of catchy hooks and their own take on voguing, Panic Shack are surely set to fill much bigger venues than this, but the chance to see them in one was quickly grabbed by those lucky enough to snap up tickets.

Hopefully, the success of the day will bring further events like this to Brighton, we’ll certainly be keeping our fingers crossed for more to come.

Plantoid