Despite our best hopes, yesterday was a rainy start to The Great Escape Festival! A flurry of anoraks and umbrellas shot between the venues of Brighton during changeovers, with hardened music fans undeterred by the dreadful weather!
Starting out at the BBC 6 Music Stage at The Paganini Ballroom within The Old Ship Hotel, the acts were handpicked and curated by the 6 music team and introduced by the station’s very own Tom Ravenscroft. Seemingly every year at the Festival, a venue pops up that not even Brighton residents have heard of and the Paganini Ballroom was that venue this year. Whilst not typical, the room looked amazing with its fine interior, dazzling chandeliers and professional pop up stage. First up was Goat Girl, who impressed with their own brand of post punk Americana drawl, akin to Fat White Family and clearly following in their footsteps as one of the new hyped bands to emerge from the Brixton Windmill.
Next up was Marika Hackman who is now accompanied by a full band and new material to best show off her alternative indie-rock songs and stylings. They were completely at home on a huge stage despite playing to what must have been a full capacity ballroom full of soggy music lovers and industry tippers! Hackman delivered a storming set, a firm highlight.
A quick dash to The Arch in a push to catch Finnish Singer / Songwriter Alma, whose delight was almost uncontainable as the crowd began to sing back the words to her hit single “Chasing Highs”.
Finally, over to Komedia for Pixx, whose folktronica tunes captivated the crowd as she played recent singles “I Bow Down” and “Grip”.
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