Holiday Ghosts – Patterns
What better way to launch the good ship TGE than the pure joy that is Holiday Ghosts who throw their picnic plate setlists onto the stage in a carefree manner before launching straight into their perfect pop punk. Sam’s guitar work soring over Kat’s metronome beat. “Who knows Mr Herandi? He’s our old Landlord. This is about him”. Heads are soon nodding away in the rammed cellar. (NM)

Junior Brother – Soundwaves
A nice discordant Irish stomp to kick things off and we’re even treated to a mandolin solo. Already! And if excitement levels because the festival has kicked off / there’s been an early doors mandolin solo aren;t high enough, we even get a bonus stroke of Pete Doherty’s dog! 2025 is going to be crackerjack. (JW)

TRAAMS – Patterns
From the first note of ‘Dry’, the tone TRAAMS create is just so perfectly satisfying it whips up the crowd as it hits loud. Truly should this band be in every right thinking record collection in the land. ‘The Greyhound’ is then a hypnotic groove explosion. Then we are treated to a fantastic new track Helpline. After a second new track , called ‘Chalk’, that sails close to the best of early Pixies; ‘House on Fire’ is a pure jerky nervy adrenaline rush. (NM)

Trampolene – The Deep End
We stay stationed down on the beach (there’s zero queue for the bar) and this one is totally going out to the SE1 postcode. A joyous classic rock performance as the evening sun streams into the tent and this is what The Great Escape is all about; some absolute lads having a genuine blast on stage completely taking their audience with them. On a beach. At sunset. (JW)

Abdomen – Patterns
We are enveloped in a bright orange spotlight as Abdomen do their best to shake the foundations of Patterns. It’s a fierce dirty sound. A distorted Jesus lizard, with a lot of feedback. It’s a full on experience I. The oppressive heat, but snippets of melody and song are just enough to pull you through. (NM)

Vona Vella – Soundwaves
We’ve met Doherty’s dog and now it’s time to meet a band on his record label. The silky lead vocal, sassy loping grooves and supertight harmonies tell us very quickly that Vona Vella are a band well deserving of the attention they’ve been getting. The set hits peaks of pop perfection and we can’t wait for the new album to drop later this year. (JW)

Warmsuscher – The Deep End
Slutty, sleazy, fuzzed up and way better than we remember when we last caught them. The band seem more focused and more intent than previous Brighton shows we’ve been party to and the bulging and bouncing tent absolutely laps it up. Warmduscher ooze class and really are becoming a world class act. (JW)

Slag – Jubilee Square
There has been a lot of chat lately around town about Slag, so we head to jubilee square to check them out. It’s a full nineties American rock sound. A touch Hole with a bit of Smashing Pumpkins led by a charismatic frontwoman who has some serious pipes. ‘Ripped’ draws a raw off approval from the crowd. The boys in the band would do well to make the effort to dress as stylishly as the ladies. (NM)

Big Teahead – BIMM showcase @ Patterns Upstairs
So this is what the kids have been up to! Out of the blocks the band recall Sonic Youth and this confident performance is a calling card. File under Ones To Watch for sure. (JW)

Congratulations – Jubilee Square
And what a way to end Day One on the Jubilee Stage Congratulations go full tilt and deliver a gloriously frenetic rock star performance. With coming-of-age levels of confidence on full display, we’re going to have to face the fact that we’ll be sharing these Brighton-based babes with the rest of the globe now. Lucky old planet! (JW

Real Lies – Daltons
We nip into Daltons on our way home. Real Lies start with a dirty urban grime sound, that seems disturbigly aggressive and off-puttingly harshly male. It quickly and very surisingly transforms into a pumping acid house sound, that wins us over. A strange juxtaposition from the impression the early track gave as two dancers join the stage, and suddenly you can see this band going down a storm in London clubs like Heaven or the Vauxhall Tavern. (NM)

The Great Escape 2025 – Day 1
Various Venues – 14th May

Words: Nick McAllister and Jason Warner
Photos: Stan O’Shea and Jason Warner