Ones to watch at The Great Escape 2017

The Great Escape promises to be an outstanding introduction to 2017’s festival season. This year’s international line up is jam-packed with emerging acts from every corner of the music industry.

Here are the acts we recommend you don’t miss performing at The Great Escape 2017.

Cherry Glazerr

American band Cherry Glazerr are unapologetically loud. It’s the right kind of loud, too. Put your phones away, and listen out for ‘Insta’ – a pissed-off rant about screen-centric, social media-obsessed culture.

Cherry Glazerr play The Haunt at 9.30pm on Saturday.

Dan Caplen

Think left-field pop nous of James Blake and SBTRKT, mixed with John Legend’s emotionally honest R&B. Dan Caplen possesses a talent for yearning, confessional lyrics, delivered with the gravelly blues tones of an artist twice his age.

Dan Caplen plays Coalition at 7.15pm on Friday.

JAGARA

We caught this band supporting Aussie band Methyl Ethel in London recently. JAGARA are three sisters from London. They create a dramatic, bold and electric live set which varies from stripped back Shura-inspired 80s synth electronica to euphoric Grimes-inspired dance builds and drops.

JAGARA play Bleach at 1.30pm on Thursday.

Keir

After stints in alt-rock and experimental acts in his home town of Bristol, Keir made the decision to make music under his own name in late 2015. His self-titled debut EP is flawless. Keir’s special live performance has drawn comparisons to Prince.

Keir plays One Church at 1:30pm on Saturday.

Liv Dawson

Liv is an important new UK talent with a distinct pop-soul voice. You’ll recognise her from recent Disclosure produced track Searching, as well as new collaboration Light Up with salute.

Liv Dawson plays Wagner Hall at 4:30pm on Thursday.

Raye

Raye needs no introduction, her current CV includes Charli XCX writing credits, a cameo in Stormzy’s music video and collaborations with NAS and Stefflon Don. Not to mention her critically acclaimed debut I, U, Us EP released last year. Raye also features on You Don’t Know Me, the huge summer hit from multi-instrumentalist Jax Jones.

Raye plays Wagner Hall at 11:00pm on Thursday, and Coalition at 8:15pm on Friday.

Mullally

Pop-soul singer Mullally is set to create waves in the music scene. As a songwriter and performer, Mullally packs a soulful punch, utilising a range of modern production techniques to underpin his sing-along pop vocal arrangements. Impossible not to love, go check him out.

Mullally plays The Old Market at 8:00pm on Thursday, and Pattersn (upstairs) at 3:30pm on Friday.

Rejjie Snow

Rejjie Snow has rhymed since he was just a kid in Dublin. Snow’s latest effort, rugged new trap single Flexin’ is a sinister snarl toward typecasting.

Rejjie Snow plays Wagner Hall at 10:00pm on Thursday.

Sigrid

In 2017, more than ever we need pop-stars like Sigrid. The Norwegian 20-year-old calls things as she sees them, storming Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist with every release.

Sigrid plays Coalition at 8:00pm on Thursday, and Wagner Hall at 4:30pm on Friday.

New Gen

Festival season 2017 shows how grime has come to dominate UK music, and it’s over to New Gen to showcase the up-risers at The Great Escape. New Gen provides a snapshot of London’s fast-moving urban scene, where grime meets R&B, taking cues from US trap sounds as well as London’s Caribbean forms. Artists confirmed so far include Bonkaz, Renz, Jevon & more.

New Gen takeover Patterns at 11:00pm on Friday.

The Japanese House

There is an idea that music can transport you to another world. And if this is true, then the work of The Japanese House, the mastermind of twenty-one year old artist Amber Bain, is like diving in to a deep, cavernous ocean; one that’s awash with the pain and growth of displaced relationships and the emotion that comes from moving solitarily through transcendent experiences in life.

The Japanese House plays Wagner Hall at 12:00am on Thursday.

Tom Grennan

Maturity isn’t measured by years but by character and Tom is an artist whose age has no reflection on the depth of his art and story telling. A bluesy, soulful tone balanced with an original flair, Tom is already making a massive impact on the scene.

Tom Grennan plays Brighthelm Centre at 10:30pm on Thursday.

Klangstof

Fresh from playing Coachella earlier this year, you’d be insane to miss Klangstof at The Great Escape. For Koen Van De Wardt, making music is a far greater pursuit than simply creating something to catch someone else’s ear, “the more people that respond to my music the less lonely I feel.”

Klangstof play Coalition at 9:00pm on Thursday, and Komedia at 3:30pm on Friday.

Yellow Days

17-year-old Yellow Days is the latest signee to Good Years, the London label that has introduced us to artists like Banks, Lil Silva, and Mick Jenkins. Need we say more? Yellow Days bring a slow-moving, jazz-flecked brand of indie rock, which revolves around gruff, scratchy vocals and languorous guitar playing.

Yellow Days plays Horatio’s at 8:00pm on Saturday.

Yonaka

Brighton-based Yonaka are a fully-fledged pop outfit with blissfully dark pristine hooks, chunky guitar parts and speaker-blowing noise. 2016 has already seen the release of debut single Ignorance, and this success is set to continue.

Yonaka play Patterns at 8:30pm on Thursday.