Credit: Found On Internet

Fancy strolling down the Palace Pier with The Rakes for some candyfloss capers? Or maybe sharing an ice lolly with CSS on a pebbly beach? Anything is possible if the sun shines on Brighton during The Great Escape. From 17-19^th May, Brighton’s international arts festival will be sucking in its gut to cram in 227 bands from all over the world.

Barfly’s second annual shindig has confirmed James Yorkston, Archie Bronson Outfit, The Magic Numbers, Micah P Hinson, Vincent Vincent and the Villains, Black Twang, Birdy Nam Nam, British Sea Power, The Maccabees, The Rakes, The Early Years, The Whip, CSS, Norway’s 120 Days, Dub Pistols, Kitty Daisy and Lewis, Nouvelle Vague and Minotaurs. And there are plenty of unsigned and unknown bands to investigate as well.

The festival has arrived at a time when the UK festival schedule could hardly be busier, so instead of coming up with a radical new idea for The Great Escape, Barfly have combined some tried and tested ones: the multi-genre approach of the early All Tomorrow’s Parties, the internationalism of Glastonbury and the music industry convention of Manchester’s In The City. And in Brighton, there is the convenience of an urban location with decent public transport links and a lot of accommodation albeit either dank, manky but overpriced or fantastically fashionable with a price tag only fashionistas and financiers won’t wince at. Regardless, those allergic to tents and port-a-loos will be delighted. And it’s by the seaside! Hurrah! Ice creams! Fish and Chips! Arcade games! Pebbles!

The daytime schedule is reserved for the convention which covers two main strands this time; Music in Media and Digital Day. For those wanting to hob-nob with industry-types, the debates, interviews and talks will feature representatives from Universal Music Publishing, Pinnacle Records, T-Mobile, O2, Orange, Sony Playstation, EMI, the BBC, AIM, The Arts Council, PPL and PRS.

The evening schedule is when the festival proper really kicks off.  This year, bands hail all the way from Australia, China, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia and the US. Europe is represented well with acts from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, Iceland, R.O.I. and heaps from the UK and more specifically Brighton.