The Great Escape Festival
Encyclopedia
The Great Escape Festival is a major music festival
that covers all genres of music and is held in the city of Brighton
every year over 3 days in May. The dates for 2012 are May 10th to 12th. It kick starts the festival season, introducing 15,000 music lovers to the key artists and sounds of the year. The festival covers most venues around Brighton
's city centre. Since being founded in 2006, The Great Escape has been firmly established internationally as the leading event for showcasing new music, with over 300 bands playing in 30 venues over 3 days.
In addition to pre-publicised performances and impromptu street gigs, The Great Escape has also developed a Convention side to it and The Alternative Escape. Both initiatives enrich the festival experience with varied talks, debates, meet and greets, club nights, label parties, industry showcases, unique collaborations and outdoor gigs.
Previous highlights included:
2006 - Bat For Lashes, British Sea Power, The Cribs, The Gossip, Guillemots, Klaxons, The Maccabees, Mystery Jets
2007 - CSS, Foals, Friendly Fires, Kate Nash, Laura Marling, These New Puritans
2008 - Bombay Bicycle Club, Crystal Castles, Glasvegas, Mumford & Sons, Santogold, Vampire Weekend
2009 - Kasabian, Noah And The Whale, Patrick Wolf, The Joy Formidable, The Temper Trap, The XX
2010 - Broken Social Scene, Chase & Status, The Cribs, Darwin Deez, Delphic, Ellie Goulding, Tinie Tempah
2011 - Dj Shadow, Friendly Fires, Katy B, Surfjan Stevens, Example, The View, The Vaccines, The Naked and Famous
It combines a series of insightful industry talks, panel debates, targeted networking sessions and keynote speakers run alongside the festival and is attended by over 3000 delegates annually from across the globe. Speakers include people from the radio, record companies, band members, website owners and festival organisers.
The Great Escape Convention takes place under one roof in The Brighton Dome. The programme runs daily between 10am and 5pm and consists of panels and debates for experienced music industry delegates, new music entrepreneur presentations, high end key note interviews, short Q&A sessions, case studies and educational workshops for new entrants to the industry. This runs alongside the festival and is attended by over 3000 delegates annually from across the globe.
Targeted networking sessions, parties and sponsored lunches are run every day giving delegates plenty of opportunities to form new business relationships and to catch up with established partners.
act Johnny Truant.
's leading new music festivals. It also saw the return of Battle, The Pigeon Detectives and British Sea Power. Brighton's own Architects made their Great Escape debut, playing with Johnny Truant (who also made a return) at The Engine Rooms.
bands.
, Nullifier, Abe Vigoda
, The Vivian Girls
, Rogues, The Teenagers
, David Stith, The Maccabees
, Hockey
, thecocknbullkid, Video Nasties, The Invisible
, Everything Everything
, Rumblestrips, LoveLikeFire
, Gran Ronde, Mumford and Sons, Fight Like Apes
, Marina and the Diamonds and Dan Smith
.
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
that covers all genres of music and is held in the city of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
every year over 3 days in May. The dates for 2012 are May 10th to 12th. It kick starts the festival season, introducing 15,000 music lovers to the key artists and sounds of the year. The festival covers most venues around Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
's city centre. Since being founded in 2006, The Great Escape has been firmly established internationally as the leading event for showcasing new music, with over 300 bands playing in 30 venues over 3 days.
In addition to pre-publicised performances and impromptu street gigs, The Great Escape has also developed a Convention side to it and The Alternative Escape. Both initiatives enrich the festival experience with varied talks, debates, meet and greets, club nights, label parties, industry showcases, unique collaborations and outdoor gigs.
Previous highlights included:
2006 - Bat For Lashes, British Sea Power, The Cribs, The Gossip, Guillemots, Klaxons, The Maccabees, Mystery Jets
2007 - CSS, Foals, Friendly Fires, Kate Nash, Laura Marling, These New Puritans
2008 - Bombay Bicycle Club, Crystal Castles, Glasvegas, Mumford & Sons, Santogold, Vampire Weekend
2009 - Kasabian, Noah And The Whale, Patrick Wolf, The Joy Formidable, The Temper Trap, The XX
2010 - Broken Social Scene, Chase & Status, The Cribs, Darwin Deez, Delphic, Ellie Goulding, Tinie Tempah
2011 - Dj Shadow, Friendly Fires, Katy B, Surfjan Stevens, Example, The View, The Vaccines, The Naked and Famous
Convention
The Great Escape Convention runs alongside the festival and aims at bringing together music business professionals from across the world to discuss, evaluate and share the new approaches that are emerging for developing, launching and monetising artists and music rights.It combines a series of insightful industry talks, panel debates, targeted networking sessions and keynote speakers run alongside the festival and is attended by over 3000 delegates annually from across the globe. Speakers include people from the radio, record companies, band members, website owners and festival organisers.
The Great Escape Convention takes place under one roof in The Brighton Dome. The programme runs daily between 10am and 5pm and consists of panels and debates for experienced music industry delegates, new music entrepreneur presentations, high end key note interviews, short Q&A sessions, case studies and educational workshops for new entrants to the industry. This runs alongside the festival and is attended by over 3000 delegates annually from across the globe.
Targeted networking sessions, parties and sponsored lunches are run every day giving delegates plenty of opportunities to form new business relationships and to catch up with established partners.
Previous speakers include: |
---|
Anthony Volodkin – Hype Machine |
Barney Wragg – Ex Head of EMI Digital |
Clive Dickins – Absolute Radio |
Colin Greenwood – Radiohead |
Daniel Ek – Spotify Founder |
Eric Garland – Big Champagne |
Francis Keeling – VP Digital, Universal |
Howard Marks aka Mr. Nice |
John Leckie – Legendry Producer |
John Niven – Novelist ‘ Kill Your Friends’ |
Matt Everitt – BBC 6 Music |
Michael Eavis – Glastonbury Festival |
Nathan Lovejoy – Limewire |
Nick Kent – Author / Music Journalist |
Norman Cook – aka Fat Boy Slim |
Patrick Walker – Google / You Tube |
Seymour Stein – Sire Records |
Simon Fox – CEO HMV |
Terry McBride – Nettwerk Music Group |
Tony Wadsworth – BPI / Brits Trust |
Will Page – PRS for Music |
2006 Highlights
2006 was the first ever year of the festival and people who attended the three day festival enjoyed many top acts of the time including the now split Still Remains, instrumentalists 65daysofstatic and prog rock giants Devil Sold His Soul. Home grown Brighton talent included British Sea Power doing not only one but two gigs, one of them being an acoustic set and also Brighton metalcoreMetalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
act Johnny Truant.
|
2007 Highlights
2007 saw the introduction of a more hardcore oriented line up along with some fine indie and metal acts, mostly much bigger than the 06 line up. Tickets completely sold out quite fast for 2007 and it really put The Great Escape Festival on the map as one of EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's leading new music festivals. It also saw the return of Battle, The Pigeon Detectives and British Sea Power. Brighton's own Architects made their Great Escape debut, playing with Johnny Truant (who also made a return) at The Engine Rooms.
|
2008 Highlights
2008 was and still is by far the biggest line up in TGE's history. Headlined by The Fratellis at The Dome, it also included the likes of The Ting Tings, Vampire Weekend, The Wombats, Glasvegas, The Blackout and was considered extremely indie-friendly. Most of these bands turned into giants of 2008, and this festival brought them all together in one unforgettable weekend. This festival also birthed the likes of Cage The Elephant, Late of the Pier and Friendly Fires who are all now extremely popular Indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
bands.
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2009 Highlights
Bands and acts included MetronomyMetronomy
Metronomy are an electronic music group formed by Joseph Mount in Totnes, Devon, England in 1999. The current band consists of Joseph Mount , Anna Prior , Oscar Cash and Gbenga Adelekan...
, Nullifier, Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda (band)
Abe Vigoda is a punk rock band based in Los Angeles, California, but are originally from Chino, California; a city in the Inland Empire. They frequently perform at The Smell. The May 2008 issue of The Fader magazine features an interview with the band....
, The Vivian Girls
The Vivian Girls
The Vivian Girls were an indie rock band in Melbourne, Australia, around 2000. Their music was heavily influenced by early 1980s New Wave and referenced both Australian post punk artists and Situationism. They released one self-titled album on the Radio One label, in 2000...
, Rogues, The Teenagers
The Teenagers (French band)
The Teenagers are a French synthpop band formed in late 2005, originally as a joke. They achieved some degree of notoriety with the song "Homecoming", both for its catchy sound and for its explicit language and misogynistic content...
, David Stith, The Maccabees
The Maccabees
The Maccabees are a indie rock band from Brighton, England. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In in 2007, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4 May 2009...
, Hockey
Hockey (band)
Hockey is an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon.-Members:Until October 2010, the band consisted of singer Benjamin Grubin, guitarist Brian Stuart White, bassist Jeremy Reynolds, drummer Anthony Stassi and touring keyboardist Ryan Dolliver, and have been compared in their sound to bands...
, thecocknbullkid, Video Nasties, The Invisible
The Invisible (band)
The Invisible are an indie rock/post-rock band based in and originating from London, and fronted by the singer and guitarist Dave Okumu, a long-time member of the London jazz scene. The band formed as Dave Okumu's solo project but quickly developed into a full fledged band with friends Tom Herbert ...
, Everything Everything
Everything Everything
Everything Everything are a British indie band that formed in late 2007, originate from Newcastle, Kent and Guernsey, and reside in Manchester. The band rose to fame when they were revealed as part of the BBC's Sound of 2010 poll on 7 December 2009...
, Rumblestrips, LoveLikeFire
LoveLikeFire
LoveLikeFire is a San Francisco-based indie rock band. The group was formed in 2006 and whilst an unsigned artist they independently released two EPs, Bed of Gold and An Ocean in the Air , as well as mounted a self-organized national tour to promote the latter release...
, Gran Ronde, Mumford and Sons, Fight Like Apes
Fight Like Apes
Fight Like Apes are an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006.Their current members are Mary-Kate "MayKay" Geraghty , Jamie "Pockets" Fox and Tom Ryan , while original member Adrian Mullan left the band in 2010 due to creative differences...
, Marina and the Diamonds and Dan Smith
Dan Smith
Dan Smith may refer to:* Dan Smith , retired American Army colonel and author* Dan Smith , illustrator and graphic artist* Dan Smith , Canadian ice hockey player...
.
2010 Highlights
2010 was the biggest year for the Festival to the date. It saw the likes of Groove Armada, Chase and Status and Ellie Goulding playing in some of Brighton's biggest venues.
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2011 Highlights
The Great Escape's 2011 line up included Katy B, Friendly Fires, Warpaint, Vaccines, Example, The View, The Naked and Famous, Guillmots, Anna Calvi, Cloud Control, The Joy Formidable, Villagers, Twin Shadow, Brother, Little Dragon and many more.
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