Festivals English Teacher, Paris Paloma & more: here’s six of the must-see acts playing at Mutations 2023

Paris Paloma is having one hell of a year. Having released her breakthrough single ‘Labour’ back in March, its powerful message - digging into the detrimental impact that patriarchal structures still bear upon women’s lives everywhere - spread like wildfire online, earning over 70 million streams, and she’s barely looked back since. Now, with her latest track ‘drywall’ out in the open, she’ll be playing her final show of 2023 at Mutations this weekend, and it’s certain to be a showstopper.

Paris Paloma plays Patterns on Thursday 2nd November.

Despite having formed just a little over a year ago, there’s no doubting that Mary In The Junkyard are already one of the buzziest bands of the moment. After steadily building their reputation and following thanks to a slew of brilliant gigs, it was only a month ago that their hypnotic debut ‘Tuesday’ finally landed, but what an introduction it was. Get a taste of what more’s to come when they take to the stage in Brighton this weekend.

Mary In The Junkyard play Patterns on Friday 3rd November.

Having become well-known for their electrifying live shows over the past few years, Grove’s upcoming set in Brighton will not only get crowds ready for the almost-certain chaos of Fat White Family’s headline slot, but it doubles as the multi-hyphenate’s first show in their upcoming ‘P*W*R // PL*Y’ tour, which marks the release of their darkly seductive new EP.

Grove plays Chalk on Saturday 4th November.

Alien Chicks are no strangers to live performance, having cut their teeth at the wealth of independent venues in and around South London. They’ve recently joined English Teacher on the road for a UK tour and play London’s iconic 100 Club tonight - their biggest headline show to date - so we’d say that if you fancy catching their feisty, fun, groove-infused punk in an intimate venue, Mutations may well be one of your last chances.

Alien Chicks play The Prince Albert on Saturday 4th November.

Just a few weeks ago now English Teacher took to the stage at our own showcase during Hamburg’s Reeperbahn fest, and truly blew us away by just how much they’d transformed as an outfit: “Vocalist Lily Fontaine’s resplendent afro feels like a visual metaphor for the singer’s growth herself; these days, she’s a frontperson to behold, dead-eyeing the crowd at points, leaning into big, dynamic vocals at others, and confidently taking up all the space she needs.” At this weekend’s Mutations, we’re hoping for more of the same.

English Teacher play Chalk on Sunday 5th November.

There aren’t many bands out there who’d transform themselves into farm animals for the sake of their artwork, but then again, there aren’t many bands like cumgirl8. Fresh from releasing their third EP - the infectious, irreverent ‘phantasea pharm’ - back in August, the New York quartet will be bringing their brand of playful, boundless post-punk to Brighton for a turn on our very own DIY Stage on Sunday night, in what’s sure to be a memorable way end to the fest.

cumgirl8 play the DIY Stage at Green Door Store on Sunday 5th November.

Mutations Festival takes place from Wednesday 1st to Sunday 5th November in venues across Brighton. For more information, or to grab one of the last tickets, head to their website now.

Tags: Alien Chicks, cumgirl8, English Teacher, Paris Paloma, Mutations, Features