Great Escape 2015 Everyone’s a champion: A guide to Brighton’s unsung new bands

It’s not a secret: Brighton is buzzing. Way more than in recent years. The city’s Great Escape Festival is always a welcome mix of local gems and giants from the other side of the planet, but the city’s talents are managing to steal the show in 2015. Royal Blood might have wavered about whether they were from here or in the not-too-distant Worthing, but the majority of new acts are embracing their roots and giving the seaside something to be excited about, beyond skinny dipping and getting doughnuts on the pier.

Later today (15th May), we’re hosting an Alt Escape show at Brighton Bleach alongside Echochamp, a collective comprising of some of the city’s most exciting new names. Less a label, more a showcase of who’s doing what, new projects come and go in an instant, and members of various acts interchange and produce each other’s songs.

Central to this is The Magic Gang, Brighton’s biggest hope of potential world domination. If you’re a regular on DIY, you’re probably familiar with the Weezer-nodding four-piece. The same goes for Demob Happy - self-starters with a serious cause, and their own Brighton cafe space to boot - and the ravaged Black Honey, unpredictable rock ’n roll gems.

Part of the Bleach all-dayer is to showcase some of the Brighton acts you might be slightly less aware of. As a preview, we’ve put together a quick guide to the Echochamp-backed gems playing today’s shindig. While you’re at it, check out Londoners Pix and Oscar, two more gems on the bill. Don’t worry. London’s cool too.