Five Acts You Can’t Miss At The 2025 Great Escape Festival

It is once again time to start considering the line-up of The Great Escape and, perhaps, become a little fretful about the looming shadow of stage clashes. Running from May 14^th to 17^th and attracting artists from the UK, Europe, and beyond, the Brighton alternative music extravaganza is always a landmark event for lovers of music of all stripes, as well as for those who are always keen to discover new and exciting acts. 

With such a long and diverse line-up, however, analysis paralysis is a very real threat when it comes to deciding what to see, both for the returning connoisseur and for those approaching the beautiful chaos of The Great Escape for the very first time. While the standards of this year’s line-up are so high that even picking a set at random is likely to allow for the discovery of something interesting, if you still don’t know where to start in planning your Brighton adventure, here are five picks, in no particular order – from the innovative, to the well-established, to the truly cult – of sets which promise to  deliver something truly special.

1 – Heavy Lungs

With a new album slated for release for April 2025, these enfants terribles of Bristol punk have long built a reputation for themselves among the heavy hitters of the UK live scene. The music cultivates a love of noise, a flirtation with hardcore, and has plenty of pent-up energy which usually results in live outings replete with moshing and mayhem. The lyrics are as political as punk should be and perhaps more relevant these days than ever. If you’re not scared of coming out of the pit with a few bruises (and a fairly intense adrenaline buzz) then this is the set for you.

2 – The Moonlandingz

It’s been a whopping eight years from their spectacular first, and thus far only, studio album, but now the UK’s most unusual supergroup is back with new and even more ambitious music, a new line-up, more left-field visuals, a spate of thrilling live shows, and an unchanged fascination with cling film (if you know you know). Nothing sounds like The Moonlandingz, because The Moonlandingz sound like everything all at once and still manage to make it make sense. They’re eclectic, tongue-in-cheek, defiant, ignoring all conventions, and they may disappear again for who knows how long at any given point. Catch them while you can.

3 – Lynks

There is a lot of boring pop music making the rounds these days, and then there’s Lynks. There is no censorship and no restraint in what is truly one of the most ambitious and interesting projects on the UK pop scene at the moment, with sharply satirical lyrics and infectious, bass-heavy dance bops delivered by a flamboyant, faceless presence which is as much performance art creation as musical artist. Studio album Abomination was a delight, but the music truly comes alive on the stage. This one is a must-see for anyone who feels pop music nowadays has lost its teeth: Lynks delivers something unique and with plenty of bite to it.

4 – Angry Blackmen

It is hard to pick a favourite out of the impressive rap offering at this year’s Great Escape, but if you want to witness a rap performance that is both technically proficient and thematically poignant then Angry Blackmen are the act you can’t miss. Adding plenty of texture to their beats through contamination with industrial rock, this duo out of Chicago makes good use of their individual years of experience on the scene to craft highly political performances which are in places true moments of poetry-through-music, exposing the ugly side of contemporary America while delivering a stark, sincere narrative of their personal perspective. Fundamental listening, even for those who are novices to the rap scene.

5 – The Klittens

Informed by an uncompromising DIY ethic, toying with elements drawn from genres as distant from each other as post-punk, indie rock, and shoegaze, and blending them all together into music that sounds carefree and lighthearted but deals with surprisingly poignant topics, the Amsterdam five-piece have by now rightfully achieved cult status. Their artistic research has remained true to itself while growing in ambition, their live sets have remained a lot of fun through all of their previous outings. Thoroughly enjoyable, both carefree and thought-provoking, and showcasing some of the best European indie has to offer, this is a set with subversive intention and a refreshingly broad appeal.

Bonus: Spotlight Show ft. Peter Doherty, Warmduscher, and Trampolene

Ticketed separately from the main festival but equally worth attending, this year’s spotlight show will take over the Great Escape Beach Site with what promises to be a showcase of quintessential British rock. Riding the wave of his latest single release and continuing in his unceasing support of the UK alternative music scene, Pete Doherty remains one of the great contemporary British rockstars; both bands joining him for the occasion are known to deliver extremely high-energy shows, with Warmduscher being by now infamous as purveyors of genre-defying chaos and Trampolene confirming themselves as spearheads of the best Welsh punk has to offer. The mix promises to be explosive, in the best possible way.

 

Chiara Strazzulla

@cstrazzull

Image: The Great Escape Festival Poster

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