Category: Festival

The Great Escape, multi-venue across Brighton, 13th – 16th May 2026

Largely blessed with sunshine despite forecasts of rain all week, this year’s Great Escape pulled off another masterclass in programming a massive event over the duration of the four-day festival’s 20th anniversary. Hundreds of artists from around the world, an abundance of venues, and music from all genres offered up something for everyone. True to its tagline The Festival for New Music, there was plenty to explore and some new favourite acts to discover in every corner.

We started Wednesday evening with the range of local talent being promoted on the BBC Introducing stage at Concorde 2; Winter Gardens up first. The band seem to continually refine their fusion of gothic shoegaze, and manage to create the same ambience whatever size stage they’re on. It was a solid start to proceedings and we stayed on for the next act, Gilska, who blended alt-pop with modulated synth breaks with ease.

top: Winter Gardens, bottom: Gilska

Time for a quick wander along the seafront to check out the layout for The Beach stages – and just in time because as we were leaving the area was already operating a one-out one-in policy, largely down to the huge queues for the Canadian disguised duo of Angine de Poitrine. We were headed to a packed Daltons for a hip hop – grime – metal mash up perfectly executed by Native James, who somehow got a circle pit going where there surely wasn’t enough room to do so!

Native James

The draw back to Concorde was driven by Lemonsuckr, definitely on the must-see list for a lot of festival-goers, this seemed like our best chance of catching them as their other pending sets were in much smaller venues. Despite the hype, they didn’t disappoint, with an immersive show from the outset. The formula is well established by the likes of Deadletter and Gurriers, but the five-piece manage to add a quirky confidence-filled touch that elevates their spiky post-punk offering into something fresh. It won’t be a surprise to see them taking on bigger headline slots over the coming year.

Lemonsuckr

Onto fuller days and a wonderfully impressive performance to kick off Thursday from Aimée Fatale on The Beach Soundwaves stage, with echoes of Dusty Springfield / Nancy Sinatra and a strong 60s’ vibe and styling. It’s clear from her online fanbase that Aimée is grabbing attention for all the right reasons – her delivery is smooth, her songs are well put together, and there’s a speakeasy atmosphere to boot. Final song, The Way It Is, is something quite special. Will see again.

Aimée Fatale

A couple more acts at The Beach before heading into the city – Marina Josephina caused us to stop off at The Jetty stage to take a listen to her jazz-tinged vocals, then back to Soundwaves for a switch up to some indie rock tunes from Ireland’s Black Nylon. And all of this before lunch…

top: Marina Josephina, bottom: Black Nylon

The afternoon took in a trip to the Canada House showcase. Micah Sage gave us some fine alt-pop along with a ‘Favourite Ex-Girlfriend’ sash presented to – well, her favourite ex-girlfriend. Following on, Featurette turned up the volume and turned down the lights for jagged electronics overlaid with powerful vocals. An impressive mix of different styles and genres, which continued the next day with an energetic and engaging set from Vera Daisies, nodding towards indie/grunge but also adding in some lighter elements and interesting attempts at bi-lingual conversations by the crowd – let’s just say her English was better than their French!

top left: Micah Sage, top right: Featurette, bottom: Vera Daisies

The evening saw some big queues joining up between neighbouring venues at Waterbear Music Bar for Walt Disco, followed by Pigeon at Charles St Tap. For those lucky enough to make it inside, Walt Disco in their latest evolution were beset with technical issues which ultimately cut their set short. However, the songs they managed to squeeze in were well received, with latest single Coup de Foudre probably getting the biggest reaction. To say there was a queue for Pigeon is something of an understatement as, where the pavement ran out on one side, there was actually a second line formed across the road. Missing the first 10 minutes of their slot didn’t take away from the quality of what came next. Bags of energy and clap-alongs ensued, their afro-funk beats grabbing the crowd by the hand and insisting it danced along. One of the stand out shows of the week for sure.

Walt Disco

Pigeon

Over at Patterns, Annie-Claude Deschênes was making the most of the club speakers for her dystopian disco party. Whilst a chunk of the crowd may not really have known what to expect, the whole room seemed to be having a good time, resulting in the only stage invasion we witnessed.

Back at Charles St Tap, The Orielles packed the venue. Still with their original line-up, they don’t look old enough to have been around as long as they have but, given they were barely into their teens when they formed that does add up. While they’ve overhauled their sound and it’s definitely less poppy than before, it’s good to see them still in their element and as in sync as ever. Another artist who hit success in their teens, Australia’s Ruel is now one of their biggest names in pop and proved popular with the late night crowd at Brighthelm.

Ruel

Some highlights from the seafront venues on Friday included the long walk down the pier to Horatio’s to catch Marsy’s mix of indie-folk songs. Their music was easily enjoyable and entwined with pop sensibilities and delicate melodies. They were followed by Y, fusing together different genres and previous band influences. Complete with shades and an air of intentional chaos, ‘experimental’ is clearly high in their vocabulary.

Always good to finish up with some thumping electronic beats; veering almost to trip-hop in their newer material, PVA have been stalwarts of the dance/rave scene for the best part of 10 years now and seem comfortable in their skins as festival-pleasers. Certainly regulars on the Brighton events calendar, it’s fitting to have them here this week.

So there we have it, another year done and dusted, a hive of activity all across the city, lots of connections made, and a plethora of new music names introduced to us and many others. We’ll be checking in with some of the artists we saw at TGE over the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for more of an insight into about they enjoyed the festival and what they’re up to next…

You can find photos from Peaches’ spotlight show at TGE by Mike Burnell here

Limited super early bird tickets for next year’s Great Escape are available now on this link

Review by Callum & Siobhan
Photos by Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 18th May 2026

Homegrown Festival, multi-venue across Brighton, 11th April 2026

Back for its third year to celebrate Brighton’s thriving grassroots artists, venues and community, Homegrown Festival took in 9 of the city’s favourite live rooms and offered up an eclectic mix of talent to choose from. With busy queuing for wristbands and the threat of rain, it was a trepidatious start that quickly picked up pace as the music kicked off.

First on my list were SoftTop at Daltons – their ‘soft music for soft people’ was the perfect way to start the day and proved enough to bring the sunshine out as well. A multitude of not seen often enough instruments including clarinet, cello and flute filled the stage, with understated melodies still managing to pack a punch. Shout out to Daltons too – a venue putting heaps of effort into building a welcoming space for everyone.

SoftTop

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Next, onto what feels like my home from home at The Hope & Ruin. Lots of buzz around My Precious Bunny, the new project by Lily from Penelope Isles and friends. Playing as a 7-piece, the camaraderie between band members was crystal clear and they sounded on point – a suitably dreamy and nostalgia-filled addition to the Bella Union roster. Their debut album A Moment In My Eyes is out next month with more dates pending if you want to check them out. 

My Precious Bunny

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I stuck around at The Hope to catch The Daniel Wakeford Experience, a charming and enjoyable set filled with some cleverly formed rock-pop songs. Lots of singalongs from the crowd, unsurprisingly perhaps for his tribute to Brighton, Wonderful City. A stripped back cover of Jealous Guy was the highlight for me and I’d guess for the many swaying hands in the air too.

The Daniel Wakeford Experience

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Onto another new venue that is a welcome addition to the local scene – Alphabet is situated in what was the Rialto Theatre and the decor has retained an appropriately retro Speakeasy feel. On stage, Cowboy Lyf played electronic beats through a sea of dried ice and dimmed lights, creating pockets of clubland dancers in the crowd – impressive for an early evening set.

Cowboy Lyf

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Back up the road to The Albert for, as expected, an accomplished performance of gritty grunge-pop and fake blood from Girl Apocrypha, a happy late inclusion on the line-up. Including a guest book for everyone to sign and a cover of MGMT’s Kids, beneath the visual gimmickry there are some strong songs and vocals, and this act feels very much like a contender for the ‘ones to watch’ list.

Girl Apocrypha

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Although there was much more music continuing into the night, the final visit for me was to Green Door to see AtticOmatic, a band whose musicianship is right up there and who manage to genre-hop seamlessly. Their skills are downplayed but obvious, and they manage to convey a solid sense of emotional questioning and balance. It would have been a tough act to follow and finished things off flawlessly.

AtticOmatic

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A reminder of the diverse talent and nurturing environment Brighton has to offer, Homegrown put on a formidable showcase. Please support grassroots venues – the world of music would be significantly lesser without them and the breakthrough artists they foster.

Review & Photos by Siobhan O’Driscoll – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 13th April 2026

Simple Things Festival, multi-venue Bristol, 8th November 2025

The Simple Things ethos really is simple – a commitment to promoting an innovative and forward-facing music culture with hosted events throughout the year, culminating in a multi-venue city festival that attracts artists from far and wide, spanning multiple genres. Centring around the versatility of Bristol Beacon’s numerous stages, there was also live music taking place at Rough Trade, Sportsmans, Strange Brew and Zed Alley.

With the whole of the Beacon busy, the open lobby space of Bridgehouse was perfectly placed to welcome attendees into the party – on our first trip in we were greeted by The Zawose Queens’ polyphonic song and dance, returning later to a rapturous performance from Joshua Idehen, ably backed by the entire crowd singing along. Opening act on the Beacon Hall stage was progressive folk hero Richard Dawson, creating an altogether different mood with songs and storytelling – some big indie names followed on through the afternoon including DITZ and Dry Cleaning, both a big pull on ticket sales at a guess.

top left: Richard Dawson, top right: Zawose Queens, bottom row: Joshua Idehen

Lantern Hall also ran an eclectic mix across its line-up. After what felt like an overly long set up time, Japanese singer-songwriter Eiko Ishibashi played to an appreciative and very patient room, along with a band encompassing a plethora of instruments and clearly lots of talent – an unusual precursor to indie-rock trio The Orielles. Between 10pm – 2am, the same space was taken over firstly by a shoegaze in the dark set from Jadu Heart (we couldn’t really see them and it seemed this was mutual, but they sounded great), followed by Atlanta punk collective Upchuck’s socio-political commentary complete with crowd surfing and singer swapping. Final act VLURE continued the crowd interaction and rejuvenated the energy of the stay-laters, never any doubt that they would be worth sticking around into the early hours for, one last party to end the night.

top row: Eiko Ishibashi, second row: Upchuck, remaining shots: VLURE

Special mentions elsewhere to No Windows and Adult DVD at Rough Trade and Hotline TNT at Sportsmans. All the venues fared well and there was a really positive buzz around the whole event – shout out to the many bar staff and security who kept smiling all day long. There’s a lot going on in Bristol and Simple Things gave a great reflection of that with an extensive and diverse line-up, and loads of opportunities to discover new music at every turn.

Catch up with Simple Things here

Words and photos © Siobhan 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 11th November 2025

Victorious Festival, Southsea Common, 22nd – 24th August 2025

Header shot © Hannah Mesquitta

Actions have consequences, and sometimes those actions have unintended consequences. The Streisand Effect was first used as a term in 2005 after the singer Barbra Steisand attempted to block the publication of an aerial photo that included her home in Malibu. The image’s intended purpose was to highlight the impact that coastal erosion was having on the area. However, Streisand sued the photographer for violation of privacy and lost the case, which subsequently brought more attention to the environmental issue and helped to increase public awareness of the project.

It’s no secret that Victorious Festival has been involved in its own controversy this Bank Holiday weekend. On Friday, Irish folk band The Mary Wallopers had their set cut brutally short after taking a pro-Palestinian stance on the Common Stage. The story has since found its way onto numerous news sites including the Irish Independent, BBC and CNN, and this only served to raise the band’s profile whilst giving them a much larger platform to spread their message. By attempting to censor the band in real time and then publishing a misleading statement on the incident afterwards, the festival organisers unintentionally created more drama and backlash than simply allowing the band to stand up for what they (and many) believe is right. Further consequences of the organiser’s decision to cut The Mary Wallopers off included several bands scheduled to perform on the Saturday pulling out in solidarity, including The Last Dinner Party, The Academic and The Cliffords. Saturday’s Common Stage headliners Vampire Weekend also waded into the situation during their performance stating that the Irish band ‘deserve an apology’. With the ongoing backlash (mostly online of course) and acts themselves calling out the decision to cancel The Mary Wallopers, the festival organisers were forced to issue a further statement saying, ‘We are sorry that this situation has come about and will be making a substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people’. I do hope Victorious are sincere about this commitment to the people of Palestine, and that they avoid censoring bands in future by instead seeking to protect freedom of speech and expression.

Drama aside for now, I did in fact manage to see some bands over the weekend. First up we have Ash on the Castle Stage. Walking on to the theme from The A-Team (see what they did there?), they launch into A Life Less Ordinary followed by another summer favourite Oh Yeah. At the midpoint of the set, we get a punk-inspired calypso cover of Harry Belafonte’s Jump In The Line (Shake Senora) with things coming to a thunderous close following a great rendition of Burn Baby Burn.

Ash © Hannah Mesquitta

After the incident involving The Mary Wallopers earlier today, it’s up to Wunderhorse to liven things up on the Common Stage. Starting things off with Midas there’s plenty of passion on display here, and it’s clear why they are creating a bit of a buzz right now. Next up, we’re back to the Castle Stage to see Everything Everything. Again, the weather is the perfect backdrop for their brand of electro indie floor fillers. Songs like Pizza Boy, Kemosabe, Jennifer and Cold Reactor have the crowd up and dancing along to every beat, and the band are clearly having a good time as well.

Left: Wunderhorse, Right: Everything Everything © Hannah Mesquitta

It’s then back over to the Common Stage to catch the last half of the Kaiser Chiefs’ set before Friday’s headliners. The Chiefs are replacements for Michael Kiwanuka who has unfortunately had to pull out due to ongoing illness. I’ve never really been a fan of the Kaiser Chiefs personally, but they roll out all the hits you’d expect in quick succession and there’s even a mosh pit during Angry Mob. Careful now.

So, we’ve made it to the end of day one, and it’s up to Queens of the Stone Age to end things on a high note. The band immediately launch into the mind-melting You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire, followed by No One Knows, which the crowd transform into a mass sing-along akin to how the main riff from Seven Nation Army has become a staple at sports events. There’s plenty of banter in between songs, with frontman Josh Homme at one point asking the crowd, ‘Are we gonna give each other a night we’ll never remember?’ I hope not, as the set is packed with bangers including Paper Machete, I Sat By The Ocean, Little Sister (a request from the crowd) and Sick, Sick, Sick. With the set drawing to a close, the band end with two heavy hitters Go With The Flow and the always awesome Song For The Dead. Here, drummer Jon Theodore hammers out all the parts Dave Grohl originally played beat for beat, but somehow better! It’s heavy, it’s groovy and as the band are building towards the end of the song, it’s time for the obligatory headline act fireworks, which signify the end of day one and I leave site with plenty to think about.

Queens of the Stone Age © Hannah Mesquitta

Saturday’s schedule has been moved around a bit due to several bands pulling out after the events that took place yesterday, but the line-up still includes sets from long serving Brit Poppers Shed Seven and Travis, with Vampire Weekend (Common Stage) and Nelly Furtado (Castle Stage) as our headliners for this evening. Despite the last-minute changes, I’m able to catch Circa Waves who are playing over on Castle Stage, whilst The Manatees are doing their best to keep the 90’s revival alive on the Under The Trees stage. Public Service Broadcasting are due on the Castle Stage next, and once they hit their stride, things really start to pick up. Tracks like Blue Heaven, Spitfire and Go! get the crowd really going. The energy starts to build, and the last three songs take the band’s Kraftwerk leaning tunes into Chic territory. People Let’s Dance, Gargarin and set closer Everest feature guest appearances from a trumpet and sax player, with some added background dancing from an astronaut thrown in for good measure. Public Service Broadcasting might look like geography teachers on a sabbatical, but boy are they fun to watch.

Top: The Manatees, Bottom: Public Service Broadcasting © Hannah Mesquitta

Sunday’s lineup includes the usual mix of older indie bands including The Zutons, Reverend & The Makers, Bloc Party and festival closers Kings of Leon, alongside pop staples such as Craig David and his TS5, Gabrielle and Melanie C.

Top: Reverend & the Makers, Bottom: Bloc Party © Hannah Mesquitta

Upon reflection, the weather was better than last year, and it’s fair to say that the majority of people attending the festival enjoyed themselves. It’s just a shame that the incident on Friday was handled the way it was, as I came away from the experience feeling disappointed. Victorious Festival bills itself as a festival with something for everyone. Just be sure to leave your political views at the entrance.

Left: Caity Baser, Top Right: Craig David
Bottom Right: Bradley Simpson © Dave Sloan

Top: She’s Got Brass, Bottom: Kojaks Revenge © Hannah Mesquitta

Left: Lani Jordan, Top Right: The Showhawk Duo
Bottom Right: Circa Waves © Hannah Mesquitta

Top: Crystal Tides, Bottom: Massaoke © Dave Sloan

Left: Andy Foster, Top Right: Florence Noon
Bottom Right: Starsailor © Hannah Mesquitta

Top: The Monkey Butlars, Bottom: Silent Movie Star © Hannah Mesquitta

Left: Joel Dommett, Top Right: The Pill
Bottom Right: Scouting for Girls © Dave Sloan

Top: Greenness, Bottom: She’s in Parties © Hannah Mesquitta

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Photos by: Hannah Mesquitta – Instagram | Dave Sloan – Instagram
Review by Ryan Howarth

Published 30th August 2025