“It’s time for the odd to get even,” claims the flyer for this autumn’s Brighton Antifolk Festival. And it’s an appropriate tagline for this quirky, neuro-diverse salad bowl of an event.

Its organiser, Filthy Pedro (of recent Blang Records signings En Heat) co-founded the London Antifolk Festival in London in 2004, inspired by the New York scene that spawned the likes of Moldy Peaches, Jeffrey Lewis and Beck. Its aim: to provide an anarchic counterweight to the po-faced folk scene of the time.

“It’s the 20th anniversary of the first Antifolk UK Festival this year,” Pedro tells us. “And this is the first proper Brighton Antifolk Fest. I’ve put on Brighton gigs in the past, under the banner of Filthy Pedro Presents… but this is the first one to be billed as an actual antifolk festival.”

We have to laugh when Pedro mistakenly labels local band Pog (who play at 7.45pm) as “poke funk”. We assume he means “folk punk” but, let’s face it, poke funk sounds substantially sexier.

The London festival’s other co-founder, Tom Mayne, is also on the bill — headlining with excellent scene veterans David Cronenberg’s Wife.

Expect a friendly, diverse, DIY vibe. And make sure you get there early for ace local, wonky electronic duo Fruity Water, who have been building a rep recently with some high-quality support slots.

Next year’s inaugural poke funk festival should also be a riot.

The Pipeline, Saturday 12th October 2024, 4pm-late, free entry

Line-up
10:00 David Cronenberg’s Wife
9:15 Red Peril
8:30 En Heat
7:45 Pog
7:00 Lucy’s Diary
6:15 Jimmy Bullet And The Worn Out Shoes
5:30 Boy In The Cupboard
4:45 Fruity Water
4:00 Jon McLean