Various Venues, Brighton

With over 400 acts playing across three days, it’s little surprise that this seaside festival is often pegged as being the UK’s answer to SXSW.

The original bedrock of The Great Escape, when launched in the mid-noughties, seemed to be landfill indie. However, in the past few years the range of new acts showcasing themselves has diversified to incorporate a genuinely eclectic mix. This year that mix includes the likes of grime MCs such as Stormzy and D Double E, desert-punk band Songhoy and the soulful blues-pop of Rationale.

With such a wealth of choices available festival-goers tend to enter a three day cycle of venue hopping. On Thursday, The Haunt played host to the eccentric indie folk of sisterly duo Let’s Eat Grandma, heartfelt pop from ex-S.C.U.M frontman Thomas Cohen and pent up punk angst from the fiery Nova Twins.

Friday night offered the gritty grunge of Toronto punk band Dilly Dally, who were hosted on the Crack Magazine stage alongside ascendant rapper Rejjie Snow, who delivered deftly constructed flows within an upbeat and energetic performance. Difficult choices had to be made on the closing day, but we managed to catch the futuristic synth pop of NZCA Lines, The Big Moon’s unpretentious indie rock, the orchestral tinged works of classical composer and pop artist Anna Meredith and Jagwar Ma’s danceable shoegaze. It was yet another day that showed that, while some still mourn the demise of the music business’s glory days, there is still much to get excited about in its future.