Five Folk-Influenced Acts You'll Love At The Great Escape 2025

Folk music is back with a vengeance, and it’s time we all had our reckoning with it! Starting with a handful of undercurrents in the counterculture scene and evolving into a proper part of the zeitgeist, complete with memes and an aesthetic of its own, the growing influence of folk on the UK music scene is one of the most interesting developments in the last couple of years. 

Dipping into the sonorities of old-style ballads and all sorts of less-than-usual instruments, this trend has produced an amazingly versatile range of different realisations, from the philological to the avant-garde, grafting itself into pop, rock, punk, and even electronica. Whether you’re already into all things folk-rock, or you’re looking for a point of access and finding yourself overwhelmed with options, you will find more than enough to satisfy all of your folk-influenced cravings at The Great Escape 2025. 

The huge musical showcase, running in Brighton venues on May 14^th-17^th, features an impressive array of folk-adjacent acts within this year’s line-up. Here are five suggestions, in no particular order, to start you off – but this rabbit hole runs deep, and much more lurks under the surface…

1 – The New Eves

Anyone looking for a memorable live experience should go watch one of The New Eves’ sets at least once in their lives. Toeing the line between live music and performance art, the experimental Brighton four-piece bring to the stage an intense, almost primal vibe, compounded by an unusual handling of instruments such as cello and flute and a sprinkling of spoken word. They are also having a lot of fun while doing it, which keeps their sets well clear of the risk of taking themselves too seriously. Tapping into the ancestral roots of folk music with a punk ethos, they have been creating something with no close parallels in the contemporary scene.

2 – Mên An Tol

Hailing from London by way of Cornwall and getting their name from a standing stone formation (the name is Cornish for ‘Stone of the Hole’), this is a band that has been building its live credentials for a while before delivering beautifully textured, lyrically eloquent studio pieces. Pairing a clear love for their musical heritage with a sharply modern self-awareness, they have channelled a music sensitivity reminiscent of impromptu live performances in traditional pubs into a style that is lively and pop-adjacent without feeling shallow. Traditional instruments like the mandolin and compositional structures from folk ballads are grafted onto snappy rock melodies which will easily speak to a contemporary audience.

3 – Bishopskin

With an ever-changing line-up constantly bringing something new and unexpected to their music, a stunningly layered debut album at their back, and a flurry of new music showing up in their most recent live appearances, this avant-garde outfit from London couples imagery from Medieval Christianity, folk themes from a much older (and perhaps mythical) time, and sonorities inspired by all sorts of music old and new. Charismatic stage presence, virtuoso guitars, and a love of the theatrical make Bishopskin one of the most unique, entrancing, and often emotional experiences offered on a live stage by an up-and-coming band. They might evade definition, but their confidence in their artistic vision is certainly contagious.

4 – Brògeal

From the Lowlands of Scotland come Brògeal, a five-piece on a mission to pair the vitality and heartiness of Scottish and Irish folk music with the melodic sensitivities of indie rock, adding more than a pinch of garage-rock DIY ethos for good measure. If that sounds like a potentially explosive mix, it’s because it is, but Brògeal have found the balance in the chaos and the result is a beautiful blend of sounds from different traditions, coming together into a powerfully unique voice. Never losing sight of the original spirit of the folk music that is its compass, their sets are a testament to how traditional music elements can still be relevant without losing their soul.

5 – Folk Bitch Trio

Stepping forward from the UK scene, take a detour to Melbourne, Australia to enjoy the stylings of Folk Bitch Trio, whose name, by their own claim, is both descriptor and manifesto. Coming from a country with a broad and much-loved folk tradition, this is a truly collaborative enterprise making excellent use of collective songwriting and complex harmonies to sing of profoundly relatable and almost confessional moments over clever, finely-wrought acoustic harmonies. A different take on folk-rock contamination, further showing the versatility of this combination and delivering tracks that feel both heartfelt and engaging.

Chiara Strazzulla

@cstrazzull

Image: The Great Escape Official Artwork

 

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