Images by Youth Music NextGen Photographer, Leyla Abulhawa.

Arriving on Thursday, our first stop was Welsh-Ghanian Youth Music NextGen Fund artist, Adjua. The set - her first of three across the festival - took place as part of the Horizons Recordings x Showcase Cymru takeover at Charles Street Tap, setting an early tone for the weekend’s emerging talent.

Backed by a full band, including dual guitars and drums, Adjua brought a confident, expansive feel to her alternative R&B sound. Her songwriting - distinctive and emotionally grounded - cut through the room, elevated by the richness of her live arrangements. It was a performance that felt both polished and full of promise, marking a lively and assured start to the festival.
 

That evening, we hot-footed it over to watch Youth Music NextGen Fund artist Brodie Barclay's show at Fabrica. The Scottish songwriter proved an engaging presence, offsetting his melancholic, nostalgia-soaked lyrics with a dry, self-aware humour between songs - a marked evolution from his earlier days lending vocals to club-ready dance tracks.

Barclay’s sound now leans firmly into an indie-folk dreamscape, built on soft-focus melodies and quietly addictive hooks. Drawing heavily from his recent EP Reverse Cowboy, the set felt both intimate and assured, offering glimpses of an artist settling comfortably into his own voice. He also teased material set to appear on the EP’s forthcoming deluxe edition, hinting at the next phase of a project that continues to gather emotional and sonic depth.

It was time to take to the stage ourselves on Friday morning, hosting a panel at The Great Escape Conference. 

Titled 'Nurturing Regional Music Scenes', the panel was hosted by our very own NextGen Community Producer, Talia Andrea, and featured four music industry pros from across publicity, management, booking, and events: Elle Palmer (Sonic PR), Lily Cowdry (Agent), Natalie Hutton (Big Life Management) and Jed Wright (NextGen artist & promoter).

The panellists gave their advice on pathways into music industry careers, the importance of supporting grassroots venues and projects, and how young creatives can make the most out of their local music scenes.

"There's so much money being made in the music industry, but it's not being put back into the grassroots," Jed stated. "It needs to be redistributed back into the roots and be more circular."

"Getting into the scene, whatever the role is, whether it's a receptionist job or something you're not necessarily looking to do, is kind of the most important first step, because it is going to put you in touch with the right people, to get you where you decide you do want to go," Elle advised.

"The industry seems massive, but it is small, and a lot of people know a lot of people," Natalie shared. "If you are nice, if you are good to work with, if you are respectful - it does follow through to what you do in the rest of your career."

After the panel, we made our way down to Brighton's famous pebble beach, where The Great Escape had set up several stages, some open-air, some in tents. 

Luckily, the weather held off for Youth Music NextGen Fund artist and Youth Music Awards 2024 Music Video Award winner, Meduulla. The Zimbabwean-born Manchester rapper and DJ, brought sharp charisma and technical finesse to the stage, weaving a modern flow through jazz-laced hip-hop production with ease. Her delivery balanced precision with personality, each bar landing with wit and self-assurance.

Performing from an effortlessly cool open silver Airstream caravan, Meduulla turned the space into both stage and statement piece. The crowd responded in kind, moving in sync to selections from her recent album Tabula Rasa, as her set unfolded with a laid-back confidence that never dulled its edge.

On Friday night, we caught a performance from Youth Music NextGen Fund artist, Maddie Ashman, at Komedia Basement.

Positioned firmly in the realm of avant-pop, Maddie's work resists easy categorisation. Her performance leaned into a fascination with microtonality, reshaping classical sensibilities through the lens of alt-pop - bending pitch and structure in ways that felt both disorienting and deeply intentional.

What sets Ashman apart is her fluidity as a performer. Across the set, she moved seamlessly between vocals, cello, electric guitar and synth, each instrument adding a new layer to her densely textured sound. It’s this multidisciplinary approach that gives her music its distinctive edge - at once cerebral and immediate - holding the room’s attention as the packed-out crowd followed her through every shift in tone and scale.

On the final day of the festival, we rounded off a spectacular three days in Brighton by catching two evening sets - Youth Music NextGen Fund artists Tsatsamis and Boudicca.

Tsatsamis arrived at Revenge to a sold-out room and the kind of anticipation usually reserved for cult favourites on the cusp of wider acclaim. Drawing heavily from his latest mixtape Tsychophant, the London-based artist-producer delivered a set that leaned into his signature blend of confessional lyricism and irresistibly hooky dance-pop.

There’s a distinct emotional duality at play in Tsatsamis’ work - one that feels even sharper in a live setting. On Tsychophant, he threads together the theatrical sweep of ’80s pop melodrama with fractured ambient textures and pulse-driven club electronics, capturing both the rush of the dancefloor at its most euphoric and the fragile honesty that creeps in as the night dissolves into morning.

It’s a balance he’s refined through steady touring and a growing reputation as a compelling live act. Previous highlights include sold-out headline shows in London and Manchester, alongside festival appearances at Glastonbury, Mighty Hoopla and Dot To Dot - each performance further cementing his status as one of the UK underground’s most emotionally resonant new voices.

Closing out the run was Boudicca, who took to Brighton’s Waterbear venue with a fierce sense of intent. Armed with unapologetic lyricism and a reputation for genre-defying versatility, she commanded the room from the outset.

Self-styled as “Boudi the Baddi,” she thrives in controlled chaos - channeling that energy into a sound that cuts across cinematic dark R&B, trapsoul and post-punk textures. It’s a heady, shape-shifting mix, and one she delivers with total conviction, pulling the spotlight squarely onto her and never letting it go.

And that's a wrap for The Great Escape 2026! 

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