From May 14th to May 17th, music industry professionals from the United Kingdom and beyond travelled to Brighton to attend the 19th edition of the Great Escape Festival. Every year, Brighton is the set for the biggest showcase festival and music business conference. We attended the festival and are here to share our favourite new artists with you, who you will surely hear more about in the future.

This upcoming band has only released two singles – ‘I lied, Amber’ and ‘Thorn’, but has gained a lot of traction in the English indie-rock scene over the past couple of months. It is therefore no surprise that there were long queues to attend their two sets at the festival, with venues reaching full capacity. The Keo Soundwaves set showed that the band lives up to the hype surrounding them, promising a lot for their future. It is clear that the band has done a lot of work to find their own sound and adapted their stage presence to the indie-rock genre in their own way. The unreleased songs that they played may be even better than their released songs, definitely keep your eye open for ‘Spaceman’. 

Another promising band is Balancing Act. Their music feels fresh and surprising, and with it they are crafting their own space as an indie band. Though they were set to play at 1 pm, the tent was filled with people, and it felt like every audience member was into it, which was not common for every set over the weekend due to many industry professionals attending. With Balancing Act, you don’t know what you’re getting next, their sound switching from polished to Kai’s vocals sounding rougher, to suddenly hearing cowbells in the music. Perhaps it is in the name, but it works together wonderfully. The songs played from their new upcoming EP promise more and are hopefully their break to a bigger audience.

Signed by Chess Club Records, SOFY appeared at their festival showcase, immediately making clear that something is in the air surrounding her, as she played to a full room. She is not your average indie girlie, as she blends alt rock, pop and indie into an exciting mix, surpassing traditional bedroom pop. Though she still played on a small stage, there are a lot of opportunities for her to build out her show and get more creative with it, like she is with her album concepts.

Together with Keo and Westside Cowboy, Welly was the talk of the town. On Friday, they played a set in the sun at TGE Beach – The Jetty. This atmosphere suited them incredibly well with their uplifting sound and high energy on stage, making the caravan they played in move with their jumping and moving around. Welly is best described as indie-disco, punk, escapism pop and DIY electronics, creating a unique sound. Because they had no issues with capacity limits at this set compared to the other stages they played during the weekend, their popularity was visualised with a big crowd watching their set, nearly hitting the bar on the other side of the festival site. Welly is sure to keep gaining bigger crowds in the future and has music ready to be the anthem of your summer.

This Dutch band has developed itself already and gained an audience in the Netherlands and other European countries, but has not yet broken through in the United Kingdom or other territories. With hopeful songs full of instrumental versatility with violins, trumpets and percussion, this 7-person band is ready to give the world some positivity and escapism. The charismatic Camiel (lead vocalist) sets the tone for the party that Son Mieux is sure to give, and the other band members follow when they interact on stage, radiating joy. You will thoroughly enjoy their live performance and walk away from a Son Mieux performance amazed, wanting to watch this indie and disco-pop sensation again and again.