The Great Escape: The Best of LGBTQ+ Up and Coming Talent

By Zoë Schulz, myGwork

The Great Escape is back, and the lineup is packed with LGBTQ+ up-and-coming talent, including a stage dedicated solely to queer acts. The iconic Brighton-based festival takes place this weekend over three days and will platform over 500 emerging artists from all over the world.

The music industry is notoriously hard to break into, and artists early in their careers often face an uphill battle in booking stages to play in front of fans. This is why the space that The Great Escape has created is vital; by platforming emerging musicians, they offer an invaluable haven where new artists can bloom. Founded in 2006, they have proven there is a hunger from audiences to support acts during the early phase of their career, and they offer the unique opportunity to see your favourite bands in an intimate setting before they go on to headline festivals.

Although LGBTQ+ representation within music is growing steadily, there is still a crucial need for diverse, authentic representation of queer artists. There is power in being able to listen to songs about queer love and seeing LGBTQ+ artists defiantly proud of their identity, particularly at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under threat. However, in an industry as competitive as music, many LGBTQ+ artists struggle to get their foot in the door. On top of this, we often see LGBTQ+ artists overlooked for what is seen as a more palatable option – we've even seen Pride events repeatedly book straight cisgender headliners.

This is why spaces where emerging LGBTQ+ artists can grow are indispensable. We need festivals that see the value in diversity and are platforming marginalised artists, and it is refreshing to see so many queer soon-to-be stars across this weekend's The Great Escape lineup. With a dedicated LGBTQ+ stage at Brighton's iconic venue Revenge as well as queer artists performing across all other stages, there is a noted effort to support these artists in growing into the next queer superstars.

"The Great Escape is looking forward to hosting the festival's very first LGBTQ+ stage in Brighton this year," Adam Ryan, Head of Music at The Great Escape, shared. "The Great Escape is proud of its diverse fanbase and has built up a loyal following within the LGBTQ+ community across the years."

With hundreds of bands playing at The Great Escape this weekend, including countless talented LGBTQ+ up-and-coming acts, here are the queer artists you don't want to miss:

Dream Wife

Dream Wife is an English rock band formed in Brighton in 2016. Mixing punk rock and pop, the band comprises of Rakel Mjöll, Alice Go, and Bella Podpadec. Their songs explore queer love, miscarriage and misogyny, and they work with an all-female recording team.

Their new single, Orbit, has just been released from their forthcoming third album, Social Lubricant. Due out on 9th June, the band share what you can expect to hear: "Hyper lusty rock and roll with a political punch, exploring the alchemy of attraction, the lust for life, embracing community and calling out the patriarchy. With a healthy dose of playfulness and fun thrown in."

Dream Wife will be playing at Chalk 12:00am Friday 12th May 2023.

Grove

Grove is exactly the queer up-and-coming talent that festivals such as The Great Escape should be platforming. The singer's EP Queer + Black was released earlier this year, delving into visibility and party culture – with the song Sticky celebrating Black queer nightlife.

"This track is written about my first experience going to Pxssy Palace, a party in London run 'by' queer and black femme people 'for' queer and black femme people. Something that was fundamentally perspective and life-changing," Grove shares.

The Bristol-based non-binary producer, vocalist and DJ explores the political and the personal across their music, bringing together genres to create club-centred bangers: "If you chuck dancehall, punk, pop and jungle into a blender, whisk it up, pop it in your glass – that's a bit of me."

Grove will be playing at Patterns Downstairs 10:00pm Thursday 11th May, Fabrica 2:30pm Friday 12th May, and Revenge 8:30pm Friday 12th May 2023.

Jazmin Bean

This English singer-songwriter and make-up artist first grew an audience across social media for their unique make-up looks. They've been performing their music since the age of 15, with a surreal debut performance that involved rubbing chicken liver on their body. Bringing together horror, metal and hyperpop, the artist released the single Puppy Pound earlier this year in March, with an album coming soon. Bean has been outspoken about being on the autism spectrum, their agender identity, and attending rehab for ketamine addiction. Their music explores themes of trauma and escape, as they shared: "It's all I ever wanted to do when I was younger. I wanted to escape so badly. What could I do? I would transform into this."

Jazmin Bean is playing at Revenge 9:45pm Friday 12th May 2023.

Jessica Winter

Jessica Winter coined the phrase crance for what she wants you to do to her music – cry and dance. Diagnosed with hip dysplasia as a child, Winter spent much of her childhood in the hospital or at home and started playing the piano to pass the time when she could not do much else.

Her debut single, Sad Music, came out in 2020, with a sequel-like album, More Sad Music, released in 2021. Her latest EP, Limerence, came out earlier this year, filled with vibrant infectious pop bangers.

Jessica Winter is playing at Revenge 7:45pm Friday 12th May 2023.

Kai Bosch

Based in London, the 20-year-old musician his debut EP, SLIPPING is set to be released later this year, and it's already had the support of BBC Introducing, Radio 1 and more. With nods to the sounds of James Blake, The XX and Lorde, featuring four tracks, it shares the story of hazy lost nights and fleeting moments.

"With me, it's always been about creating music that sounds like how it feels," Kai shares of his sound. "I want to make songs that sound like 5am, that blue light, lying next to someone who's not in love with you anymore – taking that silent sadness and turning it into sound. What synth sounds like being broken up with at 5am?"

Kai Bosch will be playing at Brighthelm 8:15pm Thursday 11th May, and Revenge 6:45pm Friday 12th May 2023.

Gen and the Degenerates

Alternative punk rockers and agents of chaos, this is one of the most exciting emerging British rock bands, and their live performances bring a riot of stage presence. Their debut EP, Only Alive When In Motion, came out in 2022, followed by the single My Perfect, which is a punk ode to queer forbidden love.

"I was inspired by my own experiences of course, but also by conversations with one of my close friends who grew up in Poland; a very religious country where there is a lot of stigma around queerness. I wanted the lyrics to feel both intimate and dangerous," explains vocalist Genevieve Glynn-Reeves.

"My Perfect is a song about forbidden love, which has always been a big theme in songwriting but has historically been from a straight male narrative, especially in rock. If we're going to talk about real forbidden love, like the kind of love that's in contempt of both church and state, then queer people have a lot to bring to the table."

Gen and the Degenerates are playing at Revenge 7:30pm Thursday 11th May 2023.

Arlo Parks

Technically not an up-and-coming act, but this year's headliner could not be missed off the list. Performing a sold-out spotlight show at Brighton Dome, Arlo Parks is known for weaving dreamily poetic lyrics and beautifully arranged indie beats together. The British star released her first album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, in 2021 to critical acclaim, peaking at number three in the UK charts and earning her two Grammy nominations.

Earlier this year, the trailblazing singer opened up about the influence her queer identity has had on her music: "My queer identity has always made its way into my music because it's who I am. And I've always written about love, finding myself in the world and coming of age. I feel like music was also treated as a journal for me, and it was a way that I processed the world around me and became more comfortable and confident with who I was."

Arlo Parks is playing at The Brighton Dome at 9:45pm Saturday 13th May 2023, this is a spotlight show, and tickets are sold separately to The Great Escape wristbands.

See the full line and find out more about The Great Escape.