Every May, Brighton seems to move to a different beat, and in 2026 that energy returns from 13 to 16 May as The Great Escape brings more than 450 artists to 30+ venues across Brighton and Hove. Now celebrating its 20th edition, the festival is once again set to fill clubs, bars, theatres and seafront spaces with artists shaping what comes next.
As one of Europe’s biggest music showcase festivals, The Great Escape has long established itself as one of the best places to discover new artists. This year’s programme feels especially expansive, with the official line-up confirming 2026 Spotlight Shows from The Kooks, Kingfishr and Peaches, while the full schedule stretches from emerging local names to international acts and returning favourites.
This year’s line-up is so wide-ranging that it is hard to pick out just a handful of names, but TGE visitors can expect performances from Mandy, Indiana, Bimini, Girl in the year above, Taiga, Westside Cowboy, Lime Garden, Bnnyhunna, Angine de Poitrine, Lottery Winners, Wesley Joseph, Working Men’s Club, KEO, Jamaica Moana, Men An Tol, Lemonsuckr, Dead Dads Club, PVA, Tommy Wa, Girl Scout, Bleach 9:3, Hemi Hemmingway among many others.
The latest updates also reveal the full spread of 2026 stage hosts, with media titles including NME, Billboard UK, BBC Introducing, Clash, DIY, Dork, Kerrang!, The Independent and The Line of Best Fit featured across the programme. They are joined by independent labels such as Bella Union, Rough Trade, Transgressive Records and Third Man Records, while the festival’s official after-hours programme returns this year with Hospital Records leading a series devoted to electronic and club music across the weekend.
Running alongside the festival, the conference programme brings artists, executives and industry figures together in Brighton for three days of discussion, debate and networking. Among this year’s standout sessions are Emma Banks and Natasha Gregory in conversation, Melanie C with Jaguar, and Peaches alongside ILĀ, moderated by Roisin O’Connor of The Independent. Appearances from Ian Murray MP and Molly Neuman further cement the event’s place at the centre of conversations shaping the music business.
This year’s programme also carries a pleasing sense of history, with The Kooks returning for a 20th Anniversary Spotlight Show. Having played the very first edition of The Great Escape in 2006, the band’s Brighton appearance this May feels like a full-circle moment, arriving 20 years on from the release of Inside In/Inside Out. Presented by NME, the show takes place at The Deep End at the TGE Beach Site on Wednesday 13 May, with Girl in the Year Above on support.
For more information and to buy festival and conference tickets, visit The Great Escape’s official website.
Reporting on music, UK-based
