Get To Know... Paige Kennedy • Neu • DIY Magazine

What do you get when you mix over 500 new artists with dozens of venues, a few bevs in the sunshine, and a seaside view for good measure? The Great Escape, of course! Brighton’s bumper new music celebration is once again taking over the coast this month, and it’s - quite literally - going to be bigger than ever: it’s now kicking off a day earlier and is running its regular programme over four days, instead of the usual three. What’s more, they’ve got an ace bill to boot; from big names like Mercury Prize winners English Teacher™ and The Libertines frontman Peter Doherty, through to buzzy new acts like Westside Cowboy, Chloe Qisha, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, The New Eves and more, there’s tons to dive into by the sea this year.

Fresh from playing our Hello 2025 shows in London earlier this year, the brilliant Paige Kennedy will be joining us down at the bottom of the pier for our annual takeover of Horatio’s on Friday 16th May. A wilfully wacky multi-hyphenate (writer, producer, mixing engineer) who distils their biting perspective on heteronormativity and tired societal norms into catchy alt-pop bangers, they combine tongue-in-cheek wit with creative character play for music that is both impeccably executed and irresistibly fun. Ahead of their set, we get to know Paige a little better…

Describe your music to us in the form of a Tinder bio.
Looking for fun ;)

What’s your earliest musical memory?
Dancing in the kitchen with my siblings to ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Kate Bush with rudimentary choreography, while we baked a smarties chocolate cake.

What was it that first drew you towards songwriting?
I came up with a chord progression that went Am F C G when I was 11, convinced I had written a hit. I felt ecstatic, until I found out that I had actually just copied ‘The Passenger’ by Iggy Pop.

What was the first song you developed an obsession for?
‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson. I had a compilation DVD of his music videos when I was seven. My first CD was his greatest hits compilation, which I used to sing along to to get to sleep. Somehow, my brother tolerated this during the year we shared a bunk bed.

Who were some artists that inspired you when you were starting to write (and why)?
Radiohead (because I was an angsty teenager, so Thom Yorke made me feel understood); Kate Bush (since the baking incident I’ve been smitten with her work, it feels like home); David Bowie (particularly ‘Hunky Dory’ when I was starting out - no crazy sounds, just great songwriting); Björk (because her music sounded like it was from another planet); and Rage Against The Machine (again, I was an angsty teenager).

“[My last EP] reiterated to me that being incredibly specific can lead to the most relatable lyrics.”

Who would be your dream collaborator?
The producer Charlie Andrew; his work with Alt-J was really exciting to me growing up, his engineering and producing choices make their records sound so lively.

Last year, you released your ‘Babylotion’ EP. What do you think it taught you as a songwriter?
Writing ‘Babylotion’ taught me to be concise - I had to kill a lot of favourite ideas because they weren’t quite right. Also, it reiterated to me that being incredibly specific can lead to the most relatable lyrics.

Have you been working on anything new that you can let us in on?
Yes! So much new music I can’t wait to share - we’ll be playing a couple of tracks from the next project at The Great Escape, so come and hear for yourself!

As I’m writing, producing, mixing all the music; storyboarding, styling, editing all the music videos and shoots; tour managing, day to day managing, running the socials; designing, shipping all the merch; and working my day job outside of the project to fund it as well as my living, it can take a little while between releases! But as ever, I’m really grateful for the people who are patiently waiting for more music.

You’re going to be playing our very own stage at The Great Escape! How are you looking forward to it?
I’m extremely excited to be playing The Great Escape - it’s been on the bucket list for years and I can’t wait to fulfil that dream with some of my best pals (my band). It’s great to be playing the DIY stage, given the way DIY has supported the last EP. You can expect our live show to be all bangers; I imagine I’ll try and get some very reluctant industry heads to dance, and we’ll all have a silly old time.

Paige Kennedy will play DIY’s stage at The Great Escape, Horatio’s, on Friday 16th May at 7:15pm.

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