Over the past few years I’ve worked hard to round up all the unofficial gigs that take place over Great Escape weekend. This year I’ve had people asking when I’ll be making the post, and others asking for their gigs to be included. A lot of eyes will be on the unofficial gigs this year after bands pulled out of the main festival, so let’s get straight to it. There’s links for almost everything, so check back in for set times / line up changes. Where I haven’t put a line up it’s because it’s not listed yet, or it’s a multi day event. If I’ve missed anything please let me know! Tuesday 14/5/24 F ..read more

Our focus on New Releases has mainly switched over to our Instagram Stories these days, but we’re making an exception for a band who have seemed to appear from nowhere fully formed. We first caught them at the Albert last November, bottom of a bill which would have people queuing around the block for these days, alongside the New Eves and Fliptop Head. At that point Van Zon had only been going for a few months, but managed to leave a big impression. A few months down the road, and they’re ready to release their debut effort Cannon Fodder. You could call it a single, but it clocks in just shy ..read more

Unless this is your first visit to this site, it’s probably no surprise that we’re big supporters of Brighton’s thriving music scene. So when a one day festival announced showcasing some of the best local talent we jumped straight in and bought an early bird ticket quicker than it would take to count all the members of Fliptop Head. When Saturday came we had an ambitious plan to try and see a dozen bands. What the day did highlight is just what a blind spot we have when it comes to Brighton’s rock scene – It’s nothing personal, and the fact that the day had sold out indicates that there’s defi ..read more

Last week Maximilian released his debut album Surrender, on Dead Dog records, and last night he played it live start to finish at Fabrica supported by Skydaddy and Brighton’s Opal Mag. Playing an album all the way through in sequential order isn’t the most obvious thing to do – A set of songs which might make for a good gig can be quite different to a playlist / ordering that makes for a good album, but Maximilian created an immersive world last night aided and abetted by some of Brighton’s finest musicians that more than lived up to the challenge – intimate, and uplifting, the evening felt li ..read more

Last Friday Glasshouse Red Spider Mite played their first headline show, promoting their debut single Erstwhile, which came out on 20th March (which you’d have spotted if Instagram showed you our story on release day). Support came Van Zon, who we can’t get enough of these days, and out of towners Plainmoor. If you missed the gig and want to hear more from the band, you can catch them (and Van Zon) at Homegrown festival on Saturday 13th April click through to view large:     ..read more

Yesterday Lime Garden released their debut album One More Time. After a strong run of singles, of which only those released in the last twelve months feature on the record, and years of playing live honing their skills, they’ve come up with an accomplished collection of songs dealing with hope, humdrum and matters of the heart. Broadening their palette beyond guitar pop Floor and Pop Star casually toss in a bit of autotune, and Fears almost ditches guitars altogether save for a few riffs towards the end. The closing pair of tracks, It and Looking, strip things right back and remind us that it ..read more

Last Friday Plantoid released their debut album Terrapath on Bella Union records, which follows the singles Dog’s Life, Pressure and Modulator: It’s influences are rooted in 1970s prog rock – album opener Is That You? clocks in at over six minutes and jumps time signatures – but there’s a lot more to the record than that. Stick with it, and by the time you reach the lilting highlight Wander/Wonder you’re transported to South America as a whole load of Latin influences slip seamlessly in. Elsewhere the album rocks hard, on GY Drift, and wraps you in gossamer, on album closer Softly Speaking ..read more

Today Hutch release their new single Ice on the Lake, taken from their forthcoming Smile & Wave EP, so we caught up with them at the Lord Nelson (just opposite The Radiator Centre) up to talk about the EP, the upcoming tour, and the buzz around Brighton bands at the moment. Track One : The Bow The bow was the first single from the EP, and came out last September. “It’s a song we had before we ever started gigging – there’s an early version of it up on Bandcamp – but we revisited it a couple of years later. We love long jams but we wanted to write some snappier songs. We started opening se ..read more

HAPPY NEW YEAR! When we first saw Van Zon supporting Flip Top Head last year we knew it wouldn’t be long before they were headlining gigs, and last night they did, playing their first bill topping gig at Green Door Store. If you missed it, they’ve got a whole bunch more shows coming up – check their instagram for details. Support came from Moon Idle, playing their modern take on trip hop, and Nina Kohout, whose layered vocal tracks definitely pushed our buttons. As usual, click through to view large   ..read more

It’s that time again where we give a shout out to the bands we’ve loved over the last year. As always it’s worth flagging that it’s a subjective thing, and also that huge swathes of music passes me by – which is to get my apology in early for anything and everything that isn’t in here. The local music scene feels like it’s in rude health at the moment, despite being knocked sideways a bit over lockdown and social media becoming less and less effective. But anyway, onto the music… Firstly a shoutout to what I like to think of as the Old Guard. Fatboy Slim DJed at the Prince Albert when it felt ..read more