With The Great Escape wrapped up, it’s important to reflect on the impact it has on the music scene in Brighton. In this blog, I will be sharing some of my event highlights, bands that blew me away and the importance of the festival within the music industry in Brighton
I work for Pool Valley as the head of special ops. I started as an A&R scout, before taking on a new role. I learned what to look for in artists, both during live performances and their presence online. I now do research and development, trying to integrate new technology into our marketing strategies as well as our general operations.
Stages and Venues
The Great Escape had a wide variety of venues, from local bars, pubs and clubs, to pop-up stages on the beach. There were plenty of options for audiences to experience live music all over the city, all of which offered a different experience to the last. My personal favorites were the “Deep-end” on the seafront, which offered large grounds for food trucks, merch stands and bars as well as a big stage to showcase artists. The “Black-Lion” pub offered a smaller, more intimate stage, with incredible sound and atmosphere.
Artists
There are so many artists to watch over the course of the week, meaning everyone’s experience of the festival would be different. A few artists which stood out to me were ”Bones Ate Arfa”, “Slag”, “Snayx”, “Trapps”, and “Vermantics”. All of these bands brought loads of energy to their set, along with unique sounds and excellent skill. The talent that I saw displayed over the week was insane and I couldn’t recommend the bands I spoke about enough.
The performances stood out to me due to their stage presence, audience interaction, musical skill and energy. These are all aspects of a performance which are important when watching bands from an A&R point-of-view. For me, energy and audience interaction are the most important. The bands that can command the audience’s attention on stage, while also making them feel like part of the performance are the bands that I believe do best in the live industry.
Industry
The Great Escape brings the music industry to Brighton, with important industry figures, press and record labels active throughout the week. It’s the perfect time for
industry professionals to network, meet local talents and enjoy the festival. This gives bands the opportunity to showcase their talent to people that could potentially help them out in the future. I did some of my own scouting for Pool Valley, reaching out to bands I enjoyed to try and connect them with the record label in the future. I believe that there is no better opportunity to develop for everyone involved than The Great Escape in Brighton.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend this year, you should absolutely try next year, as there are endless opportunities to network and see some amazing artists.
The Pool Valley & Venerate Team – Blog written by Ben Patching (Head of Special Ops and A&R Assistant)