Enjoy our gallery of superb images of some of the best and most interesting acts from day # 3 [Friday] of TGE across many different stages and venues, including some exclusive portrait shoots by our brilliant brace of lens legends…
UK festival season has started with The Great Escape 2025 in Brighton…
Blessed with four days of blazing sunshine and decent temperatures, more than 450 bands and artists took over the city’s main venues for four days – Weds 14th May to Saturday 17th – in circa 32 official venues, plus the free entry fringe gigs.
TGE is very focused on brand new artists and giving bands their first taste of festival crowds, and 2025’s edition delivered a brilliantly diverse and vibrant mass showcase for new music and probably some will become arena fillers in years to come. Plus a few major names such as Peter Doherty, Skunk Anansie, Mercury-Prize winners English Teacher, The K’s, The Horrors and Rizzle Kicks.
The festival attracted acts from circa 35 countries around the world such as USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Iran, Faroe Islands, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Indonesia, Brazil, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland, and most countries across Europe.
Thousands of fans from across the globe flocked to this eclectic festival which was founded in 2006 – plus there is the conference side of TGE, with VIP guest speakers and industry events all week.
The festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the Panedemic, and it was an on-line virtual event in 2021. Last year, 2024, there was controversy when many acts pulled out in protest at Barclaycard being a sponsor.
But the event is back with a bang in 2025, hailed a big success by fans and the bands and artists who performed, and this year the organisers made sure the city that hosts the event had many of their own bands and artists getting a chance to shine.
Music Republic Magazine was invited along for the third consecutive year of our coverage of the festival, to soak up the atmosphere and for our snappers to capture some stunning photographs; catching a bunch of cracking bands and talented artists in action.
Our fab photographers Alex Asprey and Manja Williams were out and about for us on all four days, covering a slew of bands and artists in many venues, including the headliners and some smaller fringe gigs. The eclectic lineup really was top notch…
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The Great Escape Festival next year is scheduled for 13th – 16th May 2026.
The Old market was the venue for the legendary Skunk Anansie to be loud and proud for a sold out audience. The UK alternative quartet Skunk Anansie is fronted by the larger than life Skin, who has to be seen and heard at least once in a lifetime to soak up and appreciate her unique contribution to live music.
Skin began singing in high school for a classmate’s band and six years after that band broke up, the members of Skunk Anansie (including bass player Cass, guitarist Ace, and drummer Robbie France, who was replaced by Mark Richardson in 1995) met one another by chance.
Their name is taken from the West Indian folktales of Anansi the Spider-Man, with a slight change of spelling and “Skunk” added to make the name nastier.
Probably the best gig of the entire festival for sheer power and the band’s usual faultless and incendiary performance. One word sumps it up: “Wow!” If you were there, you know…
Skin was also a keynote speaker at TGE Conference daytime on Friday, before her band’s killer gig at night, interviewed by The Independent’s music editor Roisin O’Connor.
Rizzle Kicks were one of the Spotlight shows for this year’s festival and saw sold out signs go up at the Brighton Dome.
Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule are hip hop / rap and pop outfit Rizzle Kicks and came together as a duo more than 20 years ago.
At around 10-years-old they both moved from London to Brighton where they attended different secondary schools but mixed with the same circles, playing on rival football teams.
Fate brought both of them from Brighton to the world-famous BRIT school, which nurtured creative talents such as Adele, Amy Winehouse and Tom Holland.
Jordan studied media, wanting to be a writer/director and Harley focussed on theatre, with visions of becoming an actor. They formed Rizzle Kicks in 2008 and had big success with their debut album and a slew of singles from 2011 onwards. In 2016 they took a hiatus, and reformed in May 2024.
Mercury Prize winners English Teacher rammed out the TGE Beach – The Deep End stage on Friday night with an uber-cool and impressive set.
The Leeds four-piece met in 2018 when singer Lily Fontaine met the rest of the members at the Leeds Conservatoire, where they were all students.
Lewis Whiting on guitar, Nicholas Eden on bass, Douglas Frost on drums and Lily sings and alternates between guitar and piano.
Gordi aka Sophie Payten is a star in her native country and had two slots at TGE; on Friday night at Brighthelm and TGE Beach – The Deep End on Saturday afternoon. She is brilliant…
She played songs from her two Top 20 [Australian chart] albums, 2017’s “Reservoir” and her 2020 LP, “Our Two Skins”, and new stuff from her imminent third album, “Like Plasticine” which is out in August 2025. The single “Peripheral Lover” from the new record is well worth a listen.
Singer-songwriter and producer Gordi reflects on the last few transformative years of her life. From coming out as “queer” and having to adjust the vision of her future, to working as a doctor on the frontline during the pandemic, Gordi explores the beauty, heartbreak and finite nature of human experience across 12 new songs.
The 32-year-old’s music has featured in various television series and films: her 2015 single “Can We Work It Out” featured in the seventh series of The Vampire Diaries, her 2017 single “Heaven I Know” featured in the tenth series of The Walking Dead, and her 2017 song “Something Like This” featured in the 2020 teen romantic comedy To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You.
Gordi met up with our ace photographer Manja Williams for an exclusive portrait shoot in Brighton and for some pix of Gordi’s fab live set. Lovely shots, eh?
J Appiah was a success at his 1.15pm slot on the Jubilee Square stage. Dynamic with some moves….as you can see from the fab photograph at the top of the page which catches him in action.
The pop-infused rock and soul artist from Hackney in London is a second-generation Ghanian. A bedroom artist who has toured world stages. The grime and garage genres were as much a part of his formative years as was his African heritage.
He recently collected accolades for a spring stint on the road with Michael Kiwanuka. The two trekked across Europe and the UK to packed venues.
One to watch out for, for sure. We will be seeking him out again asap…
US artist Tyler Ballgame. The only act on the entire festival in scorching temperatures wearing a knitted sweater! Two sets at TGE: Komedia on Thursday and Revenge on Friday.
His brand of so-called “radical alt’ indie pop” is worth a listen, as he prepares his debut full-length album, “For The First Time, Again,” produced by long time collaborators Jonathan Rado and Ryan Pollie. He draws inspiration from the classic song writing of the ’60s and ’70s.
Chisara in Jubilee Square at 5.15pm on Friday.
Rooted in their creative education at a local theatre in Peckham, Chisara Agor’s work spans music, theatre, dance and visual art—with music drawing on early influences of soul, rock, folk, jazz and reggae.
Their latest EP project, “Shadows and Searchlights” saw Chisora earn the opportunity to record at the historic BBC Maida Vale Studios for BBC Music Introducing London,.
We love Lola Moxom and have championed her music and talents for a while now…
The UK’s rapidly-rising 20-year-old r&b artist Lola Moxom dropped one of the hottest tracks of the year “Cool With It”. The innate vocal runs are astounding…..this girl can saaaaannngg!
The London-based singer, songwriter, producer and performer draws influence from traditional and contemporary r&b, with music reflecting her deep appreciation for the genre’s roots while pushing the boundaries of its modern form. With a strong ear for producing music, Lola brings a fresh perspective to her craft, combining the essence of an old soul with a modern twist.
One of our new fave bands, Borderline from New Zealand. Played Revenge on Friday and Patterns on Thursday at TGE.
Borderline is Ben Glanfield (vocals, guitar, keys), Jackson Boswell (drums, vocals), Matthew McFadden (lead guitar), and Max Harries (bass).
Their recent singles “When It’s Raining” and “Heartbeat” both landed in the NZ charts, and won radio airplay globally, including spins on BBC Radio 1.
We tip them for big things here in the UK…Great sets at TGE 2025.
More on Lola Moxom… At 11, Lola from Rochester in Kent and from a musical family – mum and dad were in a band – started training at Spirit Young Performers Company, and in 2016 she was cast as the role of Sophie in the West End production of School of Rock the Musical.
In 2017 she was cast in the lead role in the West End production of Annie. In 2019 she was cast in the CBBC TV series “Almost Never.” She is the younger sister of Actress Lia Moxom.
Lola recently dropped her debut EP and she supported Flo on their UK and European tour in March. We caught her at The Paganini Ballroom at The Old Ship. She played a second set at Patterns also on Friday night. Stunning performance.
If you only get to see one vocalist live this year, go see Lola. Future superstar vibes? Listen out for her outrageous Top D Mariah Carey /Minnie Ripperton-style whistle note. Mad skillz!
More on Borderline…
Borderline’s recent singles “When It’s Raining” and “Heartbeat” both landed in the NZ charts, and won radio airplay globally, including spins on BBC Radio 1.
We tip them for big things here in the UK…Great sets at TGE 2025.
* Check out their latest single, “New Romance” which is really cool and has “hit” written all over it.*
Aussie trio Tjaka were one of the most unusual bands of the festival. Really cool sound…Jubilee Square Friday and TGE Beach – The Jetty on Saturday.
They are used to big festivals’ having played Splendour in the Grass, Dark Mofo, BIGSOUND, SXSW Sydney and captivating a crowd of 30,000 at Taiwan’s Pasiwali Festival.
Brothers Geoff and Jake Fabila, proud descendants of the Jabirr Jabirr tribe in the Western Australia, are joined by their best mate Felix Fogarty to blend electronic beats with a rap flow to mash up funk, reggae and dance genres into a heady vibe.
Tjaka’s high-energy set features the Didjeribone [a slide didgeridoo, similar to a trombone], creating a unique contemporary Indigenous experience. Bravo.
One of the big hits of the festival this year are Arista/RCA artists Sunday (1994). The L.A.-based band released their second EP, “Devotion” on 9th May 2025, follow-up to their 2024 self-titled debut EP. ”
A collaboration 10 years in the making, Paige Turner and Lee Newell knew they would make music together the second their relationship started. Without ever needing to discuss the sound, style or direction it would take. It just happened naturally.
Big crowds for their Thursday night slot at TGE Beach – The Deep End and at Komedia basement on Friday afternoon.
[See live pix of them in our Day 2 coverage] Here is an exclusive portrait shot backstage at TGE by our super snapper Alex Asprey…
Photos by:
Alex Asprey (captioned AA)
Manja Williams (captioned MW) – Including image at top of the page of J Appiah
10 x images supplied by the festival’s PR (captioned TGE)
Words by Steve Best
* Check out our coverage of day 1, 2 & 4….*
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