The Great Escape Announces London Preview Shows: Bathing Suits Lead the Charge Ahead of 2027 Brighton Lineup

More than half a year before Brighton officially kicks off, The Great Escape is bringing the stage to London first. The UK's flagship emerging music festival has announced its "First Fifty" series, taking place across seven venues in the Hackney area on November 12, serving as a warm-up for the official 2027 event in Brighton. Twenty acts have been confirmed so far, spanning indie rock, punk, pop and electronic genres, led by none other than Bathing Suits, this year's winner of The Great Escape's Steve Strange Award.

The Great Escape 2027 is confirmed to return to Brighton from May 12 to 15. For comparison, this year's 20th edition ran from May 13 to 16, drawing over 20,000 attendees, with more than 450 emerging and buzzworthy artists performing across 35-plus walkable venues, alongside the industry-focused TGE Conference. The official 2027 lineup has yet to be announced, with organizers stating that details will be revealed at a later date.

The setup of "First Fifty" itself is worth noting: each of the seven venues is curated by a different media outlet or brand. Ticketmaster New Music takes over Oslo with Belfast indie-fusion act Esmeralda Road, London five-piece Xanadu, psych-rock band Pack of Animals, and Irish singer-songwriter Jordan Joy. DIY Neu Nights lines up Moth Club with electronic trio Compost Compost Compost, Melbourne three-piece Dumbhead, and alt-rock band Die Twice. So Young brings Irish indie rising star State of Grace, indie rock band Spanish Horses, and Scottish folk dream-pop act Angelface to Shacklewell Arms.

Dork curates Sebright Arms with electronic noise band Bathing Suits, NME 100-listed chest., and London singer-songwriter Shrink. Clash brings alt-rock trio Half Star, Welsh singer Tesni, and Cardiff five-piece Casual Smart to Folklore. BBC Introducing lines up Paper Dress Vintage with Walthamstow rapper simon a., rapper J Casa, and Nigerian singer-songwriter Chiderah. Ones to Watch presents Nashville singer-songwriter Aubory Bugg, alt-pop artist Gianna, and Scottish singer-songwriter Abbie Gordon at The Victoria. Single-show tickets start from £7.50 and are on sale now.

Including Bathing Suits on this lineup is no coincidence. The Leeds band was voted the winner of the Steve Strange Award — named in memory of the late music manager and voted for by industry attendees following their performance at this year's The Great Escape — earning £5,000 to support their next steps. Previous winners include Zetra, AGGRASOPPAR and Audio Books. NME also named them one of the standout sets of 2026, describing their electro-punk sound as "holding nothing back," and singling out the elastic bassline on "Empathy" and the sense of release in "I Can Be A Freak." Since winning the award, Bathing Suits have teamed up with Mandy, Indiana vocalist Valentine Caulfield on a new version of "I Can Be A Freak."