The Kooks had originally been scheduled to play a homecoming Spotlight Show on the beach that evening, but the band have been forced to cancel their appearance due to injury. The beach party is part of The Great Escape’s core festival programme, meaning that fans will have access to the show with a festival wristband. Festival-goers are encouraged to plan ahead and arrive early to secure their spot.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Great Escape, the festival for new and emerging music, and it is set to run between May 13 and 16. Over 450 up-and-coming and hotly tipped artists will play across 35 walkable venues in the city, and the full line-up has now been announced – check it out via the official mobile app here. Find remaining tickets to The Great Escape here.

NME is also hosting its own stage at the festival, which will be located at The Old Market on Friday May 15. French/Mancunian noiseniks Mandy, Indiana and Swedish garage rockers Girl Scout top the bill, both recent stars of The Cover, NME’s flagship cover story franchise spotlighting the best and brightest in new music. The NME Stage line-up is rounded out by NYC alt-pop trio Chanpan and Aussie indie five-piece Any Young Mechanics.

NME will also be presenting the NME 100 Gig Guide: The Great Escape Edition – the definitive guide to seeing artists from the NME 100, our annual list of essential emerging artists, who will be playing live in Brighton next month. Explore the full NME 100 of 2026 list ahead of the festival here. View this post on Instagram “I’m so excited to announce the return of the NME Stage at the Great Escape with an electrifying line-up, and can’t wait to see Any Young Mechanic, Chanpan, Girl Scout and Mandy, Indiana pack out the Old Market,” said NME Managing Editor (Music), Karen Gwee.

“NME and The Great Escape have long shared a common goal of music discovery, exemplified in the overlap between NME 100 acts and TGE performers. The Great Escape edition of the NME 100 Gig Guide will be NME readers’ handy companion as they check out the best emerging artists in Brighton this year.” At the accompanying conference programme, NME will moderate a special panel with War Child UK about the ‘Help (2)’ charity album, which featured contributions from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Damon Albarn, Fontaines D.C., Young Fathers, and a comeback single from Arctic Monkeys. Mel C will also to appear at the festival as a keynote speaker.

Other speakers will include Ian Murray MP – a minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – who will address the UK’s creative industries, touring, broadcasting and the night-time economy. Angine De Poitrine are formed of “Khn de Poitrine” on microtonal guitars and vocals and “Klek de Poitrine” on percussion and vocals. Their debut album arrived in 2024 and was titled ‘Vol.

I’, and they recently announced their sophomore record. Their flamboyant fashion and idiosyncratic performances have seen them grabbing attention from far and wide in recent months, including Dave Grohl, and they have a recently-upgraded UK tour coming in September and October.