We’re into day two of The Great Escape in Brighton, and there are still a whole lot of shows to come in venues around the city. Here we’ve pulled together some of our top picks for artists playing on Friday and Saturday - all artists we love and know will put on a great show. Check them out if you’re there, and click through to read our full Approved articles on each.
Ugly
With a sound that’s as sticky as a Wetherspoons carpet, Ugly radiate good energy with jangly, shimmering guitar melodies and a King Krule-esque croon.
One Church, Friday 7.15pm
DUST, Saturday 3pm
Frost Children
Frost Children channel a wide array of sounds, from big room DJs to early 2000s emo. Even if you can get your head around that, there’s still a long way to go before you can adequately describe their music. Best to just listen to it, starting with one of their standout tracks, ‘Flatline’.
The Arch, Friday 9pm
Canty
Set to release his new EP ‘hahahahahahahahahahahahaha’ later this month, Canty recently put out the first track from it, ‘hahaha’. As neither name suggests, the song is a downbeat ode to accepting your fate but hoping it will be a good one.
Prince Albert, Friday 8.30pm
Emmeline
Originally starting out as a spoken word artist, performing at poetry nights, Emmeline came to feel that she was actually performing lyrics that had no music. Later taken under the wing of producer Fraser T Smith, she was transformed into a rapper.
Green Door Store, Friday 8.15pm
King Hannah
King Hannah are set to release their second album ‘Big Swimmer’ at the end of this month, the follow up to their brilliant 2022 debut ‘I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me’. Their excellent live show is not to be missed.
Patterns Upstairs, Saturday 2.30pm
Players, Saturday 9.30pm
Elisabeth Elektra
Since her 2020 debut album ‘Mercurial’, Elisabeth Elektra’s sound has shifted to something heavier, as shown on her Broken Promises EP last year, which was produced by Jonny Scott of Chvrches and features guitars from Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite.
Three Wise Cats, Saturday 3.20pm
Tendertwin
Singer-songwriter Tendertwin recently released ‘Asking’, the first track from her debut EP ‘Ship Argo’, which is out in July. Using sudden and unexpected musical twists and turns, she rides the emotional wave of the song’s lyrics that balance despair and resilience.
Waterbear Venue, Saturday 12.30pm
O.
One of the absolute best acts we caught at last year’s Great Escape, instrumental duo O. create dance music using drums, saxophone and little else. Their debut album ‘WeirdOs’ is out this summer, but if you can see them in the flesh, you absolutely should.
Charles Street Tap, Friday 11.15pm
