The Great Escape Festival is a three-day
music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or hol ...
held in
Brighton and Hove
Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages.
Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and ...
,
England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music
from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts 300 bands across 30 venues throughout the city.
It has been likened to
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...
.
There is also a music industry convention section to the event,
which is attended by over 3000 delegates. The 2011-2014 conferences have been programmed by the team from music industry publication
CMU. Speakers have included
Michael Eavis
Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis (born 17 October 1935) is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place at his farm in Pilton, Somerset.
Personal life
Eavis was born in Pilton, Somerset and grew up ...
,
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996.
Biography Early years (1989–1995)
DJ Sha ...
,
Paul Epworth
Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of ...
,
and representatives of companies such as
Beggars Group
Beggars Group is a British record company that owns or distributes several other labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Young.
History
The companies’ roots stem from the Beggars Banquet record shops, whi ...
,
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entertai ...
,
PRS for Music
PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertake ...
,
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
and
Topspin
In ball sports, topspin or overspin is a property of a ball that rotates forwards as it is moving. Topspin on a ball propelled through the air imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see Magnu ...
.
In addition to the main festival, there is also The Alternative Escape, a further strand of 'unofficial' shows.
The headliner in 2015 was
Alabama Shakes
Alabama Shakes were an American rock band formed in Athens, Alabama, in 2009. The band consists of lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell, and drummer Steve Johnson.
The band began its career tourin ...
.
There was no event in 2020, and the festival was held in 2021 but was entirely online, both due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
See also
*
Music of Sussex
The historic county of Sussex in southern England has a rich musical heritage that encompasses the genres of folk, classical and rock and popular music amongst others. With the unbroken survival of its indigenous music, Sussex was at the forefront ...
References
External links
*
The Guardian's Great Escape festival page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Escape Festival
Rock festivals in England
Music festivals established in 2006
Music in Brighton and Hove
Festivals in Brighton and Hove
2006 establishments in England
Music festivals in East Sussex