There's a number of events in Brighton which really stand out from the rest; Pride is one, The Fringe is another, and The Great Escape, we propose, is a third.

For three glorious days, the entire city is swept up with a single desire: seeking out the very best in new music from across the world. By staging the festival at venues throughout the city (and not in a field three hours from the closest offie), TGE combines urban exploration with sonic discovery.

The festival's USP is the number of shows it boasts - upwards of 700, usually 30-minute sets with quick changeovers - and the prospect of unearthing the next hot commodity.

What TGE doesn't boast is an eye-watering lineup of household names - but that's precisely the point. Understated, undiscovered and unfazed, the big names at Great Escape are big names of the future. Here's a list of artists that have played the festival in the past:

Adele (2007), Bon Iver (2008), The XX (2009), Mount Kimbie (2010), Ed Sheeran (2011), Alt-J (2012), King Krule (2013), Jungle (2014), Kali Uchis (2015), Rag n Bone Man (2016).

And that's just one name from each year. You can check out the rest of previous lineups here. 

The Beach

New for 2018 was the beach area, a 2000 cap space hosting three venues - The Beach Club, The Beach House, and the Dr. Martens stage. A little out of the way, festival-goers had to trek down towards Concorde 2 (not a TGE venue this year) to reach the new location, but once there, they were greeted with spacious outdoor bars, street food, and three exciting new gig spaces which hosted the likes of NAO (pictured, top), Dream Wife, and Bristol punk rock group Idles.

K.O.G. and the Zongo Brigade

Performing at 1.45pm at the Jubilee Square stage, K.O.G. & The Zongo Brigade would have been the first act for many weary travellers - meaning they'd have to work extra hard to get an energetic rise out of the very sober crowd. Not a problem. Fusing elements of African highlife, psychedelia, modern funk, jazz, reggae, and hip-hop, the six-piece band had the crowd dancing from the very first song, lead by the impressively dynamic vocals of frontman K.O.G. Follow them here 

Pale Waves

With an aesthetic straight out of the Addams family and a sound that would fit perfectly into the emotional climax of a John Hughes film, Pale Waves are a band performing way above their level. This isn't an insult - they've only released a handful of singles, the first of which came out in 2017 - yet they perform with the confidence of a band more used to the main stage than anywhere else, and we suspect that's exactly where they'll end up. Tight original tunes and stage presence for days. 

Photo by Phoebe Fox

Ross From Friends

Having released his latest EP on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder imprint to tremendous acclaim, the prospect of seeing Ross From Friends live was one of the most exciting billings of the festival. Part of the customary 'Late Escape' shows that take place at club venues across the city, Ross From Friends performed to an absolutely heaving crowd at Patterns on Friday night.

A simple setup of guitar, sax and beatpads / synths was all that was needed to construct live renditions of crowd favourites like 'Talk To Me You'll Understand' and the floaty, Burial-esque 'There's A Hole In My Heart. Whilst the performance was a good one, live sets are a fairly new venture for the UK producer, and you get the impression that there is a lot more to come. Despite this, there is no doubt that Ross From Friends has found his sound.

Sons of Kemet

One of Shabaka Hutchins' many, many, amazing projects (Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming, Melt Yourself Down, Shabaka and the ancestors), Sons of Kemet are an absolute force in UK Jazz at the moment. Appearing on stage with a sax, tuba, and two drummers, the quartet launched into 30m of almost non-stop energy, resting, only to catch their breath. Performing songs from their latest album Your Queen is a Reptile, Sons of Kemet put in the tightest performance of the festival, until...

Yussef Dayes

Former counterpart of Henry Wu in the earth-shatteringly good Yussef Kamaal, and drummer of the equally splendid United Vibrations, Yussef Dayes has done exceedingly well for himself since parting ways with Wu (following one of the greatest debut albums ever). With Dayes on drums, Mansur Brown on guitar and an additional third party I couldn't see from my place behind Patterns' trademark pillar. The trio performed an explosive set in the Patterns basement and Brown stole the show with some absolutely face-melting guitar work, capping off a phenomenal Great Escape 2018.