The Great Escape

Ingrid Håvik & Marte Eberson of Highasakite on Camp Echo & their new live shows

Highasakite are a day off releasing Camp Echo when we meet up in Brighton ahead of their Great Escape showcase. I sit down over some food with the gorgeous Ingrid Håvik and Marte Eberson – burgers, salads, milkshakes. The good stuff. Delving into the Norwegian group’s highly anticipated third album, both Håvik and Eberson describe the effect a solid amount of…

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Spring King (UK) on debut LP Tell Me If You Like To, touring with Courtney Barnett & Splendour in the Grass

Next month, Australian crowds will be introduced to Spring King for the first time. The British four piece are set to perform their debut Australian shows at Splendour in the Grass and alongside Beach Slang at their east coast sideshows, a perfect opportunity to dole out their now-popular chaotic post-punk rock show in some excellent venues. For now though,…

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Lewis Del Mar (US) on the success of their debut EP and touring the world in 2016

For Danny Miller and Max Harwood, their musical journey as Lewis Del Mar is one that is continuing to take on new shapes and layers with each show they lock down. Their debut EP dropped this year and off the back of its release, the duo have already impressed at SXSW and as we were to find out, The…

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Catching up with Oh Wonder (UK) ahead of a wild year of touring and new music!

When I sat down with London duo Oh Wonder at The Great Escape, we were a world away from the last time we met, just prior to New Year’s Eve at the Falls Festival in Victoria. For one thing, it wasn’t 40-something degrees. For another, we’d swapped the makeshift backstage set up at Mt. Duneed for…

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Blossoms (UK) chat global touring & more ahead of Splendour in the Grass

Next month, UK act Blossoms will be making their debut Australian appearances at Splendour in the Grass and then in Melbourne and Sydney alongside Jake Bugg. Their brand of pop-rock has seen them already smash out festival sets at the likes of Reading and Leeds and T in the Park, not to mention at a…

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Ed Nash talks branching out from Bombay Bicycle Club with solo outfit Toothless

When Bombay Bicycle Club announced they would be going on an indefinite hiatus it didn’t mean that they were quitting music by any means and for us, while we were bummed out by the band’s decision to put the Bombay focus on the back burner, the concept of new music projects from the members was exciting on its…

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Ry X on the success of Dawn & creating a unique live experience for fans

Seated across the road from Brighton’s Copperdollar Studios on a chilly Friday afternoon, Ry X is digging into some food ahead of a session slotted into his schedule at The Great Escape. “Would you like some?” he asks, offering me some of his meal as I join him on the bench. I gratefully decline, knowing how…

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Ryan Mc Closkey & John Doherty chat Little Hours’ forthcoming debut album at The Great Escape

Irish duo Little Hours came to my attention somewhere between the Norwegian indie pop and German rock selections on my Great Escape Spotify playlist last month. Between John Doherty and Ryan Mc Closkey, some gorgeous indie-folk sounds present themselves and after discovering their debut EP, I knew theirs was a set I’d wanted to see out in Brighton. Sitting down with both…

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Travel Diary: Touring the UK with Adelaide rock band Bad//Dreems

Adelaide-based rock band, BAD//DREEMS share an exclusive tour diary with the AU review on their exciting international adventure at The Great Escape from last year. Taking us along for the ride from Leeds to Derbyshire and from Birmingham to London, the band give us the lowdown on their life on the road. Live at Leeds…

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Travel Diary: Sydney’s Josef Salvat takes us to Brighton, England

Josef Salvat takes the AU review along on his tour of England for The Great Escape last year. Salvat brings us quirky photos of his trip including his visit to Brighton, chill days at the beach, seeing live bands like Slaves and stumbling upon a pigeon that oddly enough, gives him a new perspective on…

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Travel Diary: Liz Drummond of Sydney trio Little May takes us to The Great Escape in Brighton

Last year, Sydney indie/folk band, Little May had an incredible time at The Great Escape festival in Brighton, England. Seeing talent from the likes of Jesse Davidson, BAD//DREEMS and Sakswatch, the talent that this festival had was enormous – and it looks no different for 2016. Before we kick this year off, however, Liz Drummond…

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Aussies Abroad: The Temper Trap, Jagwar Ma & DMA’s added to The Great Escape line up

Talk about a triple whammy. With The Great Escape Festival preparing to take over Brighton, England next week, an Aussie trio in The Temper Trap, Jagwar Ma and DMA’s have just been announced on the already extensive and diverse line up! The Temper Trap have just wrapped up some successful shows here in Australia, their first headline dates in…

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How to get to Brighton (UK) from Australia or the USA on a budget

The music conference and festival The Great Escape is one of the most popular annual events in all of the UK and Europe – serving as a place for hundreds of bands from around the region, and the world (including plenty of Australians) to make their mark. Last year, I discovered artists like Jack Garratt,…

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Flight Review: Norwegian Airlines (New York JFK to London Gatwick) DY7016 – Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner

Last Year, as we flew from New York City’s JFK to London’s Gatwick to make it to The Great Escape, AU Abroad’s Larry Heath tried out the service of Norwegian Airlines for the first time. It also marked his first flight on the new Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner. A budget airline along the lines of Jetstar,…

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Aussies Abroad: Ella Fence announces tour dates in Canada and UK

Ella Fence, whose debut EP Wanderlust garnered international attention, is touring the US, Canada and the UK with her all-female Folk/Pop band. This week the artist has already performed at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe and last night at New York’s The Bowery Electric, before travelling to Toronto for Canadian Music Week through the first week of May, and…

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Travel Diary: Holy Holy take us around Europe and the UK for The Great Escape, Primavera and more!

While in the UK and Europe for a run of festivals last year, including The Great Escape and Primavera Sound, Australian group HOLY HOLY documented their experiences while on the road and share with us their tour diary. From driving through Europe and being regular tourists, to pre-show exercises and visiting the great John Bonham’s grave,…

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Aussies Abroad: Gang of Youths reveal European and American tour details

Sydney’s Gang of Youths have announced the dates for their May/June tour of Europe and America, which will see them playing a string of headline shows, alongside festival appearances at the iconic Great Escape in Brighton and Primavera Sound in Barcelona, alongside the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Radiohead. Their debut album The Positions received five…

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Julia Jacklin, Gang of Youths, City Calm Down & more added to The Great Escape line up!

Brighton mega-festival and industry convention, The Great Escape, has just added a whole new round of artists to the 2016 bill because evidently 300 musicians on the first announcement signified that they were only getting started. The new announcement includes exciting artists including Thomas Cohen, Barns Courtney, SG Lewis  and Carnival Youth, while Australian acts like Julia Jacklin, Gang of Youths, City Calm Down, Vallis Alps and Kim…

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Aussies Abroad: Julia Jacklin, Gang of Youths, City Calm Down & more added to The Great Escape line up!

Brighton mega-festival and industry convention, The Great Escape, has just added a whole new round of artists to the 2016 bill because evidently 300 musicians on the first announcement signified that they were only getting started. The new announcement includes exciting artists including Thomas Cohen, Barns Courtney, SG Lewis  and Carnival Youth, while Australian acts like Julia Jacklin, Gang of Youths, City Calm Down, Vallis Alps and Kim…

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