Friday at The Great Escape 2025
Words by Willow Shields, Photographs by Briony Graham-Rudd
I’m sunburnt, it’s all I can think about. We sat in parks, we sat on beaches and we sat in pub gardens. And I got sunburnt.
We started the day at Molly Malones, with Coco and The Lost. And we left feeling as if it should've been 1am and not mid afternoon. Front woman Ella Flannery brought a stage presence made of heart, 50’s Hollywood actresses, and something unsettling that you cannot tear your eyes away from. You’d never have believed her if she told you that Ella had never set foot in Molly Malones until this day, as she was hanging off railings and commanding the room, treating us to a new track titled ‘Um and Ah.’ Sunlight poured through the stained glass window behind the stage and casted hues over the band as they played, and Ella sat on the edge of the stage and poured her soul into her voice.
Leaving with sweat on the forehead and a desire for a breeze, we stepped into the sunlight once again and made our way to Komedia Basement to see the mystical Sunday (1994). They brought their slice of somber pop to the darkest bluest room in Brighton on Friday. Their live sound had more of a country twang than I would’ve expected from their releases and it was beautiful. One thing about Sunday (1994) is if you put me and them performing in the same room, I’m going to have full body chills. They packed out Komedia Basement with a subtle ease, making everyone heat up a little, but not mind it. We left and I was in a daze, akin to the Luvcat daze but a different flavour.
Through town and to The Beach we walked, finding ourselves in the midst of apparently the busiest The Jetty Stage has ever been, to see funtime folks Welly. They jumped up and down, rattling the silver camper they were set up in. Frontman Welly picking on people from the crowd, a man near us had to sing a “perfect B flat” because apparently he said he could, the power of sheer social embarrassment. Between songs the chat was more energetic than in recent times, more stand up material similar to when we first saw Welly at Green Door Store all those years ago. It was fun, it was frantic. We saw it all on Thursday and saw it a second time on Friday. What a life.
After lying on the beach for some time, we got a notification saying that Ugly were playing at Players, and so we ran. Players I believe, in its usual state, is a games room type of vibe. Where you can get plastered with Glen from work, who works in HR and always wears a suit even when he's not working, and you can play pool and then never speak again. That sort of vibe. Ugly brought their folky magic and completely rearranged the chemistry of it all. We got there late so of course we were standing behind pillars, then older men, then older men talking about their careers, then we found a place to dance and all was well. Their set ended abruptly as so many of them do, with half an hour time slots never being long enough, especially if you’re prone to tardiness as we so often are.
Getdown Services at Revenge was the most fun ever. This writer was left speechless. They’re so fun and you must see them at your earliest convenience. Nonchalant and unsarcastic, just fun boys having fun times. I had stars in my eyes and a smile from ear to ear.
We then found ourselves back at Komedia Basement and Keo were on stage. They’re a band who everyone’s talking about, with only two singles under their belt. Their sound is nineties in tone but timeless in nature. The four-piece have an EP upcoming in June titled ‘Siren’ and to hear a sneak peak of that was a treat.
A drink, a little walk and we were back. James Marriott headlined Komedia Basement with his fans having brought day tickets just for him, I’m convinced of it. The packed room was lit up with fans screaming along to the lyrics. He played songs from his upcoming record ‘Don't Tell The Dog,’ which included ‘Toothache’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Live Like This Anymore.’ Which went down a treat with the fans in the front row.
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