Aussie acts in The Great Escape’s First 50 list
A number of Australian names were among the first 50 acts announced to play the 12th The Great Escape festival in Brighton, UK.
The conference and showcase event – renowned for being the place for label and publishing executives, tour and festival promoters and artist managers to find new talent – has long supported new music from this country.
Joining acts from the UK, Europe and North America are Sydney’s Middle Kids and Tiger Town, and Melbourne’s Gold Class.
The first 50 includes Norwegian feminist band Slotface whose blistering single Take Me Dancing is an ode to individualism, London singer Anna Straker stepping out on her own after featuring on tracks by Years & Years and Rudimental, Swiss jazz-pop multi-instrumentalist Sophie Hunger, and British singer Ray Blk who on her single My Hood teamed with grime MC Stormzy to sing about loving and hating life in south London,
Also starting to get attention in Australia are Icelandic hip-hop artist Starla Atlas, London teen hip hop/soul act Age of L.U.N.A, fast-rising South London post-grunge quartet Goat Girl who trended on Twitter as they released their debut single and Manchester post-punk –surf gang Cabbage.
Featured in a special showcase is gravelly blues-voiced Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, who was discovered at the Great Escape, and who recently visited Australia.
A further 400 acts will be announced over the coming months, and expected to include more Australians.
Next year, The Great Escape’s lead country partner is Switzerland. Aside from Sophie Hunger who’s been playing UK festivals since 2009, emerging Swiss acts as Evelinn Trouble, BOY, Klaus Johann Grobe, James Gruntz and OY have also made their presence felt.
Previous lead international partnerships have included the likes of Canada (2006), New Zealand (2009), France (2007) and Latvia and Lithuania (2016).