METRONOMY / KISSY SELL OUT/ FUTURE OF THE LEFT / THE BIG PINK / PASSION PIT / MICACHU AND THE SHAPES / IT HUGS BACK / ESSER / VV BROWN / BEN KWELLER / JOHNNY FOREIGNER / DANANAKROYD / LET’S WRESTLE / THE CHAPMAN FAMILY YOUR TWENTIES / GOLDEN SILVERS / BELL X1 / KASMS / SOFTPACK
AN EXPERIMENT ON A BIRD IN THE AIR PUMP / VIVIAN GIRLS / MIDDLE CLASS RUT PULLED APART BY HORSES / A GRAVE WITH NO NAME / TIN CAN TELEPHONE
YVES KLEIN BLUE / JOHN STEEL BLUES BAND / THE JOY FORMIDABLE
TO THE BONES / CASSIE AND THE CASSETTES / FANZINE

MAY 14TH, 15TH, 16TH 2009 – BRIGHTON
http://www.escapegreat.com

4th YEAR OF EUROPE’S PREMIERE NEW MUSIC EVENT
3 DAYS / 34 VENUES / 300 OF THE WORLD’S BEST NEW BANDS

The Great Escape, Brighton’s extolled annual music festival is set to announce the first artists that will form part of yet another commanding line up of truly essential acts, stretching from the well known and loved to the most exciting up-and-coming bands around.

Opening the UK’s 2009 festival season on May 14th, 15th, 16th, The Great Escape is thrilled to be playing host to the wonky techno-pop of Metronomy, Kissy Sell Out’s Rock n Rave bliss, Esser’s irrepressible melodies, the filthy pleasures of Future of the Left's super-raw rocking, erstwhile Alec Empire guitarist Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell's deliciously droning melodies as The Big Pink, the widely fancied Passion Pit's psychedelic electro-pop, and the experimental manoeuvres of Micachu and the Shapes. The perfect melodies of V.V. Brown, the epic Pulled Apart By Horses and Ben Kweller’s pleasingly quirky pop are set to join the party too. Also incredibly hot for 2009, The Chapman Family, Johnny Foreigner, Dananakroyd, Yves Klein Blue, John Steel Blues Band and the Joy Formidable will all be making Great Escape appearances.

Plus there will be the jangling vibes of Kent's It Hugs Back, the synthesised scatter pop of The Golden Silvers, A Grave With No Name's fuzz-pop stylings, the vocal harmony powered Your Twenties, To The Bones' sublime riffing, the return of Cassie and the Cassettes, the captivating Tin Can Telephone and the inimitable Fanzine. Kasms and An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump will be supplying the post-gothic rock, then there will be Bell X1’s supersonic sounds, Vivian Girls’ kick-ass workouts, Middle Class Rut’s ear crunching dynamism, Let’s Wrestle’s frayed chaos, With many more acts to be announced this is just the first salvo in The Great Escape’s impressive arsenal.

Firmly established as Europe’s premiere new music event and spread across 34 venues, featuring 300 of the best new local and international artists, The Great Escape brings everything the likes of SXSW can offer and places them in the heart of Brighton, the UK’s most effervescent seaside town. A cast iron barometer of forthcoming cultural trends, the past three years have seen acts that started out the year on stage at The Great Escape heading up the NME Cool list and breaking out of their underground notoriety into fully fledged mainstream success. A hotbed of talent the event has helped to break acts as diverse as The Klaxons, The Kooks, Gossip, Adele, The Ting Tings, Jack Penate, Gallows, Kate Nash, Sam Sparro, Vampire Weekend and Crystal Castles.

Martin Elbourne, Creative Director and Co-Founder;
“This is the fourth edition of the great escape. It is now the most important showcase event in the world and its great that is takes place in the UK and in one of its coolest cities. Apart from the UK we are now getting all the best new acts from round the world playing at the event. Our track record of discovering new great bands is awesome”.

Jon Mcildowie, Director and Co-Founder;
“We're delighted to be presenting some of the best new music from all over the world at this year's Great Escape. Each year we've been fortunate to have early shows with artists such as Ting Tings, Klaxons
and Gossip. We expect this year to be even better”.

Jonny Kirkham, Marketing Manager of Great Escape sponsors Red Stripe;
“Red stripe is proud to support the Great Escape which places new artists at the very core of the festival - the winner of the annual red stripe music award will be making their debut here. Red stripe is fortunate to be in a position where we can help great music get heard.”

With bands from across the globe performing, each year the festival also focuses on a particular country’s freshest musical output, with this year’s spotlight falling on New Zealand, which will see NZ On Air and the NZ Music Commission placing bands in the eye of the Great Escape’s cultural storm..

Earlybird tickets, which will give you access to every single gig (subject to venue capacity) at this year’s event, are now available at http://www.escapegreat.com priced just £39.50. Hotel and Travel bookings can also be made through the site.