The Great Escape has announced the first acts confirmed to perform over 16th-18th May when it returns to Brighton for its eighth year running.

Europe’s answer to SXSW, this year’s three day festival will present the hottest emerging talent, from the local to the international, to over 16,000 music lovers in 30+ venues. 

With the foundations of another taste-making line-up already in place the first acts announced sees an eclectic collection of genres come together to form a compelling hybrid of sounds; from the melodies of dreamy lo-fi pop trio UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA to the reflective and rapturous compositions of critically acclaimed TOM ODELL to the immersive soundscapes of KING KRULE and thrashing guitars of US melodic hardcore outfit TITLE FIGHT. The preliminary program also includes the haunting ballads of 1940s lounge singer-by-way-of Graceland EDDI FRONT, electro innovators ALUNAGEORGE, dancehall DJ master DAVID RODIGAN, ferocious genre-distorting grime artist SCRUFIZZER and slick synth magic from lyrical electro-pop threesome CHVRCHES.

This year’s festival will also see the return of the magnificent BΔSTILLE*, who first dished out doses of their own-brand of melodic storytelling at a tiny venue to rapturous crowds in 2011, and now two years later will storm the festivals biggest stage. Following the release of their much anticipated debut album out in March, the four piece will play the Brighton Dome at TGE 2013.

The line up so far also includes THE 1975 / ALLAH-LAS / ALUNAGEORGE / AWAKEN I AM / BΔSTILLE / BEAR'S DEN / THE BLACK HEART REBELLION / BLACKEYE / BLAUDZUN / BRODKA / CAITLIN PARK / CHARLIE STRAIGHT / CHILDHOOD / CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS / CHVRCHES / CLOUD BOAT / COUSINS  / CUB SCOUTS / DAN CROLL / DARK STAR / DAVID RODIGAN / DEL BARBER / DINGUS KHAN   / DINOSAUR PILE-UP / DRENGE / DUNE / EAGULLS / ECHO AND THE EMPRESS / EDDI FRONT / ED HARCOURT / ELIZA AND THE BEAR / FIST CITY /  FOAM LAKE /  GALLOPS / HOW TO DRESS WELL / HUMANS / HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY / INDIANS / JACCO GARDNER / KING KRULE / LAB COAST / LAWRENCE ARABIA / LEWIS WATSON / LUKE SITAL-SINGH / MAC DEMARCO / MADE IN JAPAN / MARMOZETS / MØ / THE NATURALS / THE NEIGHBOURHOOD / NEIGHBOURHOOD YOUTH / NICK MULVEY / NIGHT ENGINE / PHOSPHORESCENT / PORTASOUND / RAINY MILO / ROYAL CANOE / RYAN KEEN / SAN ZHI / SKATERS / SKIP&DIE / SLEEPMAKEWAVES / SNAKADAKTAL / SOAK / SPECTRES / STONEFIELD / SUPERFOOD /  SWEET BABOO / SWIM DEEP / TELEMAN / TO KILL A KING / TOM ODELL / TOMORROW'S WORLD / TOWNS / TRES B / THE TROUBLE WITH TEMPLETON / THE UPSKIRTS / UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA / VELCRO HOOKS / VELOCIRAPTOR / WALL / WOLF ALICE / YOUNG RIVAL with many more to be announced soon. 

Kick starting the festival season, attendees of The Great Escape are the first to be introduced to the sounds of the year and beyond, and have the unique opportunity to witness rare, career-establishing performances in intimate venues. In its eight year history, The Great Escape has earned a reputable track record for presenting artists on the brink of universal discovery, having seen seminal performances from Adele, Bat For Lashes, The XX, Foals, Django Django, Alabama Shakes, Haim and Alt+J to name but a few.. 

Festival Director, Kat Morris said: “The core aim of TGE is to champion new music, and it’s great to be in a position where we can give festival goers an exciting cross-section of new artists to engage with. In our 8th year we are completely focussed on delivering another programme that wholly embodies this ethos, and  our initial line-up is full of promise for this year to be one of our best to date.” 

Year-on-year, the varied line-up of The Great Escape has led the festival to widespread recognition as an international platform for new talent. Having represented over 30 countries in its history, the 2013 festival will again host artists from across the world to perform in front of varied and influential audiences. TGE is delighted to welcome to the festival TRES B and BRODKA, as part of the lead International partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, who will present ‘Don’t Panic! We’re From Poland’ as a standalone showcase.   

Running alongside the festival is The Great Escape convention which will once again host a variety of insightful industry talks, panel debates, targeted networking sessions and keynote interviews for industry professionals and music business fans. Attended by over 3000 delegates from over 25 different countries in 2012, last year’s highlights of the 100 key-note speakers in the programme included Rob da Bank and Michael Eavis in conversation, Brian Molko of Placebo, XFM DJ John Kennedy and spotlight sessions presented by Arts Council England. 

Super Early Bird festival tickets have now SOLD OUT. Music lovers still have the opportunity to buy Early Bird tickets at only £45 for three-day access to the festival. This small run of cut-price tickets can be purchased via the escapegreat.com website or in person at Resident records in Brighton. Early Bird delegate passes are one sale at £145 and available HERE 

*A small number of shows will take place at The Dome in Brighton. The first of the 2013 Dome Shows to be announced is BΔSTILLE. To gain access to a Brighton Dome Show, attendees can top up their festival wristband for only £7 per show, or purchase a separate gig ticket for £14.50 HERE

Artists wishing to be considered for TGE 2013 should register via the TGE website. Please note artist registration closes on February 15th 2013 click HERE to apply.

THE GREAT ESCAPE FESTIVAL BRIGHTON, EAST SUSSEX, UK 16-18 MAY 2013 TICKETS

3-DAY FESTIVAL TICKETS (EARLY BIRD)                                              £45 (limited availability) 

3-DAY DELEGATE TICKETS (EARLY BIRD)                                          £145 (limited availability ) 

BΔSTILLE – TOP UP (BRIGHTON DOME SHOW)                                  £7

 (top up a 3 day festival ticket to ensure guaranteed access to BΔSTILLE show) 

BΔSTILLE – SINGLE TICKET (BRIGHTON DOME SHOW)                      £12.50

(guaranteed access to BΔSTILLE show only)           

HOSTEL & HOTEL PACKAGES

3-NIGHTS AT JOURNEYS HOSTEL                                                       £90

3-NIGHTS AT JOURNEYS + 3-DAY FESTIVAL TICKET                            £135 

3-NIGHTS AT THE QUEENS HOTEL                                                        from £420

3-NIGHTS AT THE QUEENS HOTEL + 3-DAY DELEGATE TICKET        £565 

Book the Industry Delegate Hotel for the Weekend HERE 

BRIGHTON DOME SHOWS AND 14+ SHOWS WILL BE ON SALE SOON

1 AND 2 DAY FESTIVAL PASSES WILL GO ON SALE IN EARLY 2013

The Great Escape has been nominated for the NME Awards 2013 in the ‘Best Small Festival (50,000 capacity or lower)’ category. Votes can be cast here