The UK’s Barfly organization is dedicated to exposing new musical talent and has hosted early shows by the likes of Coldplay, Blur and Oasis . There are Barfly venues around the British Isles, but there is only one Great Escape held in Brighton in May. Brighton is famed for its Victorian piers, hard rock candy, nudist beach, and Royal pavilion but most of all for its vibrant hip social scene that has drawn many a raver from the big smoke of London 50 miles away – which may be why this festival is called The Great Escape!
Despite being only its second year its already its being hailed as the UK’s nacient version of SXSW. Its format is similar – you can register as a delegate which gives you access to three days of’ Gigs Talk and Party ‘, or just opt for a one day Gig pass. During the day there are talks and interviews with artists and music biz folk such as local hero Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim, record label and website parties for networking and enjoying a lemondade, but mainly its all about the music – and here are just a few names on offer – Nouvelle Vague, Noisettes, Voxtrot, The Orange Lights and Loney, Dear.
Check the Great Escape website for latest additions to the line up and for ticket and travel info.
Brighton not your bag, then how about Minehead? All Tomorrow’s Parties events are usually curated by music luminaries - but for this May festival they allowed concert goers to vote for half of the artists on the bill –… ATP then contacted the bands and gave them 24 hours to respond before crossing them off and shouting ‘Next!’ Artists who made it onto the Fans list include Wilco, Modest Mouse, Clinic, while the rest of the line up were selected by the ATP organization - Patti Smith, Mogwai , and Sparklehorse amongst many more. As before, they will be taking over the Butlins holiday camp for the weekend so expect ice cream and swimming to go along with a great weekend of music by the beach.
Over to Israel for the 9th Felicja Blumental International Classical Festival.
Named after the virtuoso pianist, this event takes place at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art . Built in 1932 with a later addition of the Helena Rubenstein Pavilion, its famed for its collection of Isreali art and great examples of modern and contemporary works .This year the Blumental festival celebrates 250 years of music by Italian maestro Domenico Scarlatti, as well as an Israeli premiere of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4, an opening concert of Vivaldi’s Gloria complete with audience participation , and Nordic Voices presents Scandinavian work spanning 8 centuries.
Some other artists on tour around the globe:
Peter Bjorn and John
Keane
Joan Armatrading - If you want to hear some great archived interviews and performances
Check out the KCRW archives – you can hear a 1995 interview and live performance by Joan Armatrading with host Chris Douridas, and Nic Harcourt has had Keane in four times over the years – from pre release to their current work ‘Under the Iron Sea’. All of these shows can be found on KCRW.com.
We’d love to hear about festivals in your part of the world, so why not send us an email ? Global@kcrw.com.
Otherwise check back with us next week for more information on Global Gigging.
The Global Gig Guide is produced for KCRW.com by JC Swiatek and the theme music is composed by The Plush Interiors.
Calendar listing:
The Brighton Festival May 5 – 27 – The Great Escape is part of a month
Long program of events featuring music, theatre, dance, books & debate and more!
This looks particularly cool – a screening of ‘Run Lola Run’ with a live soundtrack by The Bays
High Line Festival New York May 9 – 19 ,
Curated by David Bowie,
Featuring music, performance, visual art, comedy and film.
Detroits Electronic festival May 26,27,28
Pinkpop festival, Laandgraaf, Netherlands May 26-28
Europe’s oldest pop festival! Bill includes Smashing Pumpkins, Artic Monkeys, Snow Patrol, Amy Winehouse
Ojai Music Festival, California June 8-10
Program includes - The Los Angeles Master Chorale, Nexus, Peter Eotovos, Bugallo-Williams
Fusion Festival Germany June 28 – July 1st
Line up TBD.
Iceland Airwaves music festival October 17-21– featuring Bloc Party, Gus Gus and many
Disclaimer: Although I have tried to make the Global Gig Guide as accurate as possible, KCRW accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information contained in the Global Gig Guide . We would recommend that you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities before you travel.