The Great Escape reveals lineup for 2026 First Fifty festival launch

The Great Escape Festival has confirmed that it’ll once again be taking over East London this Autumn for its First Fifty launch: a series of gigs taking place on 13th November across eight different venues, featuring a whole host of exciting emerging artists who’ll be playing at TGE 2026. 

Kicking off the countdown to next May’s annual new music knees-up, this year’s First Fifty shows will be held in MOTH Club, Folklore, Oslo, Paper Dress Vintage, Sebright Arms, The Victoria, and new additions The George Tavern and The Jago. 

What’s more, DIY will be taking up residency under MOTH’s iconic gold ceiling for the evening, as we play host to three of the lineup’s buzziest names: Liverpool pop force Girl Group, Parisian multi-hyphenate Max Baby, and Irish indie riser Annie-Dog.

You can nab presale tickets for DIY’s First Fifty showcase here, while tickets for all eight First Fifty shows will be available via general sale at 10am on Friday 19th September here. 

The Great Escape 2026 will take place from 13th-16th May in various venues across Brighton. Find out more via the festival’s website, and check out full details of all the First Fifty bills below.