It’s less than three weeks before The Great Escape festival kicks off in Brighton. As always, it’s stacked with Australian artists. There are currently thirty on the lineup.
For the past fifteen years, Sounds Australia has put together showcases at the festival, featuring Aussie artists, and this year the tradition continues. On Thursday, 15th May, head on down to Komedia Brighton, where there will be two stages, and on Saturday the 15th May, they are back at TGE Beach stages.
We’ve put together a playlist of one track from each of the artists – on Apple Music and Spotify, and given you a brief introduction to each act, the times they are performing, and a link to their socials.
Dive in, have a listen and grab yourself a ticket. We can’t wait.
Have a listen on Spotify
and on Apple Music
Australian Artists performing at The Great Escape 2025
Here are the thirty Australian artists performing at the festival. A very brief summary, which probably doesn’t do them justice, a link to their important ‘socials’, and the all-important details of when and where they are playing.
Acopia
Acopia is a Melbourne-based trio known for their dreamy blend of trip-hop, shoegaze, dream pop, and downtempo music.
Performing
Thursday 1:40 pm – Komedia Studio
Friday 11:10 pm – Manchester Street Arts Club
Find out more about Acopia via their links and Instagram
Amélie Farren
Amélie Farren is quickly becoming a defining voice for her generation, blending introspective lyrics with inventive, genre-fluid soundscapes Her breakout single, “Unsweetened Lemonade” (2024), established her as a powerful storyteller, resonating with themes of resilience and self-discovery.
Performing
Thursday 12:10 pm – Komdia Studio
Discover more about Amélie via her links, TikTok and Instagram
Armlock
Armlock‘s new album, Seashell Angel Lucky Charm, showcases the Australian duo Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell. The album features crystal clear guitars, tight rhythms, warm harmonies, and sparse arrangements that leave room for character and eccentricities. The result is inventively minimal music that does a lot with a little.
Performing
Thursday 3:25 pm – Komedia Basement
Friday 9:15pm – TGE Beach – Soundwaves
Find all the links for Armlock HERE and discover more on Instagram
Beddy Rays
Australia’s favourite fun-loving larrikins, Beddy Rays, have become a force on the Australian rock landscape with their feel-good high-energy rock n roll. They have recently released their sophomore album, Do What Ya Wanna, which captures the essence of the band’s unmistakable charm while pushing their sound into fresh territory.
Performing
Thursday 8:41 pm – The Hope and Ruin
Saturday 2:05 pm – TGE Beach – The Deep End
Find the Beddy Ray links HERE, find them on TikTok and on Instagram
Beth and Blue
Beth and Blue is the creative partnership of Imogen Grist (Babitha) and Marcus Index (Spookyland). Their music, which started as a bonding over shared influences and an innocent desire to sing duets together, quickly evolved into an expansive three-year project. Beth and Blue’s sound is marked by a hymnal quality that is defiantly ethereal and hard to place, addressing themes of desire, euphoria, fragility, and despair with equal doses of melodrama and surrealism.
Performing
Thursday 12:30 pm – Three Wise Cats
All the Bet and Blue links can be found HERE and more on Instagram
Close Counters
Close Counters, a Naarm/Melbourne-based band, has recently released their album LOVERS DANCE ACADEMY and is preparing for a European tour, including performances at notable festivals like Brick Lane Jazz Festival, Love Supreme, and Glastonbury. Their acclaimed album SOULACOASTA II has won a Music Victoria Award and received a nomination for the Australian Music Prize.
Performing
Saturday 3:00 pm – TGE Beach – The Jetty
The Close Counters links, TikTok and Instagram
Day We Ran
Day We Ran is a guitar-driven rock band from Lennox Head, NSW. They fuse the laid-back vibes of indie surf rock with captivating vocal harmonies. They capture the essence of coastal living.
Performing
Thursday 12:55 pm – Komedia Studio
Friday 1:30 pm – Three Wise Cats
Day We Ran links, TikTok and Instagram
DICE
DICE is comprised of four young lads from Perth who are making waves with their melodic rock featuring big choruses, jangly guitars and lyrics that resonate strongly with their generation.
Performing
Thursday 1:55 pm – Komedia Basement
Friday 8:15 pm – Brighthelm
Find DICE on Instagram
Divide and Dissolve
Divide and Dissolve‘s new album, Insatiable, is led by Black and Cherokee composer and multi-instrumentalist Takiaya Reed. The album acknowledges the dispossession caused by colonial violence, honors ancestors, opposes white supremacy, and calls for indigenous sovereignty. Known for their thunderous doom metal sound, the new collection delves into themes of freedom through impermanence and destruction versus compassion, urging listeners to imagine a better world.
Performing
Saturday 9:15 pm – The Arch
Divide and Dissolve links and Instagram
Donny Benét
A Donny Benét show is an experience. Charming, fun and ever-so-groovy, Donny has a legion of fans all over the world. I was in Prague last year, and one of the first posters I saw was for a Donny Benét gig. Head along and see why so many swoon for this master of post-disco. Get ready to dance.
Performing
Thursday 10:15 pm – The Old Market
Donny’s links can be found HERE and more greatness on Instagram
Eggy
Eggy is an avant-pop-rock band from Melbourne, Australia, influenced by artists like John Cale and Stereolab. They deliver a dynamic live performance and have shared stages with notable acts such as Kurt Vile and Tropical Fuck Storm. They are getting ready to release their third album, From Time to Time.
Performing
Friday 8:15 pm – Manchester Street Arts Club
Saturday 12:30 pm – TGE Beach – The Deep End
All Eggy links HERE and more via Instagram
Ella Ion
Hailing from Kaurna Land (Adelaide, South Australia), Ella Ion (she/her) is a singer-songwriter who was inspired after picking up classical guitar at 10 by world, folk and country music. Her music is a tantalising mix of delicate country-folk with gritty, post-rock arrangements.
Performing
Friday 1:15 pm – Manchester Street Arts Club
Saturday 1:20 pm – TGE Beach – The Jetty
All the Ella Ion links and Instagram
Folk Bitch Trio
We’ve fallen in love with Folk Bitch Trio at the AU review. Their beautiful harmonies, humorous, insightful and sometimes skewed take on life is entrancing and delightful. Bound to be one of the highlights.
Performing
Thursday 2:40 pm – Komedia Basement
Thursday 9:15 pm – Brighthelm
Catch Folk Bitch Trio on Instagram
Gauci
Gauci is an alt-pop three-piece band known for their experimental intersection of hard rock and shiny pop influences. They are a creative powerhouse, with vocalist Antonia Gauci also an acclaimed engineer (Troye Sivan, 700 Feel, GRAMMY nominated for Kesha), seasoned live performer David Gauci (Flowertruck, Hatchie) on guitar and multi-hyphenate mastermind Felix Lush (Brooke Candy) on bass. A supergroup indeed.
Performing
Friday 10:15 pm – DUST
Saturday 12:10 pm – TGE Beach – Soundwaves
All the Gauci links HERE and via Instagram
Gordi
Indie-pop singer, songwriter and producer Gordi (aka Sophie Payten) will be releasing her third studio solo album, Like Plasticine, on May 30th. The album chronicles the last few transformative years of Gordi’s life, exploring the beauty, heartbreak, and finite nature of human experience. Her latest release is “Peripheral Lover,” a celebratory queer pop anthem that blends yearning lyrics with a contagious synth beat.
Performing
Friday 7:15 pm – Brighthelm
Saturday 3:35 pm – TGE Beach – The Deep End
Find out more about Gordi HERE and on Instagram
Hachiku
Hachiku is the moniker of German-Australian producer Anika Ostendorf, who writes and produces worldly indie rock with an alt-pop appeal alongside her band . Through the release of their self-recorded and self-mixed EPs Hachiku (2017) and 99 Dreams (2020), and critically acclaimed debut LP I’ll Probably Be Asleep (2020), Hachiku has steadily built a loyal global fan base. Their music is characterized by catchy melodies, shimmering walls of sound, and praised live performances.
Performing
Thursday 7:15 pm – Green Door Store
Saturday 1:40 pm – TGE Beach – Soundwaves
Discover more about Hachiku via their Links and Instagram
Kita Alexander
Kita Alexander is a pop singer-songwriter and ARIA award nominated artist based in Byron Bay. She has garnered over 288 million global streams across her impressive catalogue of highly lauded pop-anthems. Last year she released her debut album, Young in Love, a celebration of self, life, love and traversing the waves of a relationship.
Performing
Friday 10:30 pm – Fabrica
Saturday 1:20 pm – TGE Beach – The Deep End
Find out more about Kita via her links , TiKTok and Instagram
Mel Blue
Mel Blue is a trio consisting of Oscar Sharah, Luke Gerber, and Jacob Siles. Their music captures the bittersweet sensation of nostalgia, longing for the childlike joy and wonder that once came so easily to us in our formative years.
Performing
Saturday 2:10 pm – TGE Beach – The Jetty
Head here for the Mel Blue links, TikTok and Instagram
Miss Kaninna
Proud Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali woman & multi-award-winning Naarm/Melbourne-via-lutriwita/Tasmania artist MISS KANINNA has been making waves breakout debut single “Blak Britney” in May 2023. It’s been a meteoric rise for the rapper/singer/songwriter who was named the Sydney SXSW Emerging Artist of the Year, with her 2024 debut EP, KANINNA, earning accolades at home and abroad.
Performing
Thursday 2:25 pm -Komedia Studio
Friday 8:30 pm – Komedia Basement
Saturday 3:50 pm – TGE Beach – The Jetty
Discover more about Miss Kaninna via her links, TikTok and Instagram
Pretty Girl (DJ Set)
Pretty Girl, the Melbourne-born, London-based producer, singer, and DJ, creates a world of her own through her warm-blooded dance music and the spiritual nature of the world’s dancefloors . With three EPs, millions of Spotify streams, and remixes for acclaimed artists such as Romy and George Fitzgerald, PG’s discography points to an artist who knows her sound and how to execute it.
Performing
Saturday 12:30 am -Patterns Downstairs
More Pretty Girl info can be found via her links, and Instagram
REDD.
REDD. is a 19-year-old singer/songwriter whose blend of punk, hip-hop, and pop is energetic and angsty, celebrating the present while accepting the future. Their path to self-discovery has been unconventional, marked by a love for theatre and music, including picking up a prestigious Palme d’Or along the way.
Performing
Thursday 12:30 am -Patterns Upstairs
Saturday 12:55 pm – TGE Beach – Soundwaves
More about REDD, can be found via his links , TikTok, and Instagram
Sex Mask
Post punk/alt rock band Sex Mask from Melbourne, their latest video is for “Beheadal”. Promises not to be dull.
Performing
Thursday 3:15 pm – Komedia Studio
Thursday 7:15 pm – Patterns Downstairs
Make Sex Mask discoveries via their links and Instagram
Sly Withers
Sly Withers are an emotive alt-rock band known for their heartfelt lyricism and huge live energy. With over 20 million Spotify streams, 2 ARIA Top 10 albums, multiple triple j Hottest 100 entries, and a string of sell-out Australian tours, they’re a force to be reckoned with.
Performing
Friday 6:45 pm – The Hope and Ruin
Saturday 5:30 pm – TGE Beach – The Jetty
Find our more about Sly Withers via their Website and Instagram
South Summit
South Summit has rapidly risen as a unique voice in the Australian indie scene, captivating audiences with their raw, genre-blending sound since emerging from the West Coast in 2021. Their music, influenced by rock, reggae, and hip-hop, offers fresh perspectives on life, reflected in their three EPs and debut album.
Performing
Friday 7:15 pm – Jubilee Square
Saturday 2:50 pm – TGE Beach – The Deep End
Follow South Summit via their links and Instagram
Stella Bridie
Stella Bridie is another rising artist making waves. She is currently touring the UK and the EU, following on from a her debut run of US shows. Her debut EP, Speaking Terms, has received widespread acclaim for its powerful delivery and poetic storytelling, leaving a lasting mark on listeners.
Performing
Thursday 1:10 pm – Komedia Basement
Thursday 11:15 pm – Fabrica
Discover more about Stella Bridie via via her website and Instagram
SWIM
SWIM is a Naarm-based (Melbourne) DJ, producer, and engineer who explores the intersection of techno, house, and emotive electronica,
Performing
Saturday 2:00 am – Patterns Downstairs
Discovery more abotu SWIM via his links and Instagram
Tia Gostelow
We’ve long been fans of indie powerhouse Tia Gostelow who burst onto the music scene at 16 with her debut “State of Art,” winning Triple J’s Unearthed High Indigenous Initiative and quickly gaining acclaim. Her 2018 debut album, Thick Skin, achieved GOLD certification, and the breakout single “Strangers” went PLATINUM, solidifying Tia as one of Australia’s most captivating young voices.
Performing
Friday 9:15 pm – One Church
Saturday 3:10 pm – TGE Beach – Soundwaves
Discovery more about Tia Gostelow via her links, TikTok, and Instagram
Tjaka
Tjaka, featuring brothers Geoff and Jake Fabila along with their best mate Felix Fogarty, blend electronic beats with rap flow, funk, reggae, and dance to create a contemporary Indigenous experience. Their high-energy performances include the Didjeribone (a slide didgeridoo, similar to a trombone), guitar solos, and the Face Bass (a seismic microphone used inside the mouth) are captivating audiences at iconic festivals worldwide.
Performing
Friday 3:15 pm – Jubilee Square
Saturday 4:40 pm – TGE Beach – The Jetty
More can be found about Tjaka via links, TikTok, and Instagram
total tommy
total tommy was one of the breakout Australian indie-rock stories of 2024. Infectious ear-worms that relate to her peers, the songs are raw, engaging and packed with humour. Will be one of the standouts.
Performing
Thursday 12:25 pm – Komedia Basement
Thursday 9:15 pm – Komedia Basement
Friday 10:15 pm – Horatios
There’s more about total tommy at her links, TikTok and Instagram
Wayside
Naarm duo Wayside today return with their captivating new single “Proud Of You”. The new release demonstrates a change of pace following their recent double single “Parallax Error”/ “Asymmetry”, and sees the band join forces once again with Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip (Turnstile / Title Fight / Balance & Composure).
Performing
Friday 7:45 pm – Volks
Saturday 2:25 pm – TGE Beach – Soundwaves
For more about Wayside, head to their links, and Instagram
Great Escape Ticketing Information
The festival runs for four days in Brighton from Wednesday 14th – Saturday 17th May 2025. Head to the official website for all the details.
