The sun came up for day 2 of The Great Escape, and The Beach Stages at TGE Beach Brighton were a great place to catch some action. Before that however, The Spanish Wave demanded a visit, at the iconic Horatio’s at the end of Brighton Pier.
Each Great Escape has a feature country, and this year it was Spain. They had two showcases, two parties, conference panels and more. Nine of their up and coming artists performed, and the majority were female.
I dont’ have the stats, but it felt that there was a majority of female-led acts, a stark contrast to many Australian festivals of recent times. Amongst the performers early on at the Beach stages were London’s Lizzie Essau and South London’s Eli.
We headed to Jubilee Square to catch the sweet reggae sounds of Aleighcia Scott. With a Welsh mother and Jamaican father, Aleighcia had the crowd dancing in the early afternoon.
Back the beach, Nigeria’s The Cavemen played a short but sweet set which fused elements of highlife, afrobeat, jazz, and soul. They oozed charm and cool.
Eva Ruiz was another of the Spanish contingent, and her smooth and warm RnB vibes had us swaying and wanting more. The three-piece Girlband! from London were load of fun. Full of energy, character and well-crafted songs, they have plenty to give. Expect big things from them.
Lauran Hibberd is also an artist very much on the rise. She was in Australia recently, where she was supporting All Time Low, and it was great to see her on home soil.
It was back into town, and up to the Prince Albert, to catch Sydney’s The Buoys. They rocked the small stage, the final show of their European tour. No doubt they’v won a legion of new fans in the UK.
The Arch was the venue for Fcukers (spell check!) – from the USA. It was dark, moody and pulsating. I felt like I was in a Berlin nightclub at three in the morning.
Heading back to The Deep End stage at The Beach, CHINCHILLA was blowing the roof off, with her enormous vocals and high-energy show.
Closing out the night at the Deep End stage on the Beach was the fabulous Lauren Mayberry, from CHVRCHES who has has been releasing singles on the way to her debut solo album (out 1st September). Lauren is always captivating live, and there was much love in the audience for her. It was the perfect end for a superb day of music.
Check out more photos of the day from Bruce below.
