Wonderland
THE BEST ACTS AT THE GREAT ESCAPE 2026
PISS, Ceebo, 1000 Rabbits and Truthpaste: get to know four of the best acts heading to Brighton this week for The Great Escape.
If you are interested in or inside the UK music industry, you are most likely heading down to the south coast this week for The Great Escape, buoyed by the hopes of an adventure-filled week of hardcore networking, venue hopping, fish and chips, and musical discovery. Hundreds of bands, rappers, singers and DJs from across Britain, Europe and further afield will be heading to sunny (ish) Brighton to play one or multiple shows in the city’s famed watering holes in front of crowds full of journalists, pluggers, bookers, and punters. Etc.
This is the crème de la crème of new wave boundary-pushing artistry, traversing genre, geography, age, and style. All in one place, over the course of four pint-fuelled days (13th-16th May). It’s what music nerd dreams are made of.
With so much to offer, it feels almost impossible to see even half of the artists that you’d like to. Venue queues slinking towards the beach, you’ve got to be cutthroat in your decision-making. Who is your priority? We’ve trawled through the scores of excellent rising stars and whittled down our pick of the bunch.
From the emotional intensity of Vancouver’s PISS to the introspective braggadocio of UK rap’s next best hope Ceebo; from the endearing idiosyncrasy of mystical quintet 1000 Rabbits to the off-kilter subtly of Manchester’s Truthpaste. These are Wonderland’s best acts at The Great Escape this year. Get to know them below…
Who Are They: Canadian norm-pushers lyrically tackling difficult topics and musically making loud, unapologetic post-rock.
They Are Playing: Thursday, 11:15pm @ Green Door Store
Key Track(s):
Read the interview…
How did you first come together as a band?
I met Ty at a party and then he recruited Garreth and Gavin through the Vancouver scene.
You are undoubtedly one of the most exciting live bands we’ve come across lately. To you, what are the key ingredients to a live show?
Energy, intimacy, a good sound tech, and soooooo much practice. And ear plugs, of course.
You tackle difficult themes in a unique and compelling manner. How do you walk the intersection of art and angst so accurately and affectingly?
I don’t think too consciously about this, honestly. I just committed myself to being sincere and creating to the very best of my abilities. I only make artistic or stylistic choices when I think they’re going to contribute to an accurate portrait of the subject matter, instead of distracting from it. If I can pull all that off, a believable balance of these things comes naturally!!
You’re in the UK on tour at the moment. What’s been your favourite thing about being here? What’s been the worst?
Favourites are the people, hands down!! I love the dry humour and Scottish accents. Worst would be CCTV ticketing our asses for every minor traffic infraction.
You’ve just signed to Sub Pop without any official music released yet, and there is already so much hype around you. What’s the plan for the year? Can we expect some recorded music soon?
Yes!! Expect music!!
Finally, what can we expect from your show at The Great Escape?
Very loud music.
Who Are They: UK rap’s next great hope, augmenting bold, boisterous attitude with compelling social commentary.
They Are Playing: Friday, 12:00am @ Komedia Basement
Key Track:
Read the interview…
Describe growing up in Lambeth in three words.
Exciting, humbling, spiritual.
Who are your top three UK rappers of all time?
Wretch 32, Dave, Skinnyman.
Your mixtape from last year, “blair babies”, felt like a really significant body of work socially and culturally. Did you sense so while making it?
I felt as though it was something that I had to make, which was a sensation I couldn’t really explain outside of the feeling in and of itself. I obviously hoped it would connect with my fanbase, but I didn’t think it would be hailed in the way it was, so it was an incredibly welcome surprise.
It feels like socially conscious rap has diminished in popularity in recent years. Why do you think that is? Do you feel that UK rap in general sometimes lacks thematic depth?
I think it’s a lot of things, but mainly I think the current mode of music consumption in streaming and the current iteration of social media being algorithm-based rewards music that prioritises instant stimulation rather than the more considered approach and form lyrical rap in general requires, let alone socially conscious rap specifically. And as far as rap lacking thematic depth, I think rap in the mainstream globally lacks that because it’s not the quickest way to get paid. You actually have to care and toil over your craft, which most don’t, so I wouldn’t even say that it’s UK-specific, just a symptom of what happens when you make an art form a billion-pound industry, and success is defined by your ability to market a product as opposed to the execution of expression.
You’ve just dropped your new single, “Parable Of A Skinnyman”, why is that tune the genesis of your next musical era?
There is no song that clearer lays out the change in musical scope and my ambition for this year as well the rest of my career.
Finally, what can we expect from your shows at The Great Escape?
A great time and a performance better than my last; all that a fan of mine could ask of me.
Who Are They: Emerging quintet with tricky technicality and offbeat charm.
They Are Playing: Thursday, 9:15pm @ Komedia Basement
Key Track:
How did you form as a band?
Most of us met as teenagers in Suffolk, and we adopted Paolo when we came to London. family ever since. it was immediately clear upon playing our first gig together that it was meant to be
Why 1000 Rabbits? Why not 100? Or 10? Or even 1?!
The real question is, why not? 1 rabbit is cute, 1000 Rabbits is invincible…
Define your new debut EP as a colour, a mood and a culinary dish.
Colour: Shiny-pearly…if that’s a colour.
Mood: The feeling you get when you look someone in the eye for too long (in a good way).
A culinary dish: a six-course meal. Varied and filling, with some sweetness at the end.
As the EP asks: Are we friends yet?
Forever and ever.
One project down; what else is on the 1000 Rabbits bucket list?
World domination and eternal happiness. More music, more friends, more fun and sharing in the beautiful human experience together.
Finally, what can we expect from your shows at The Great Escape?
Joy, terror and synthesiser. Some new songs perhaps. Definitely no frowny faces.
Who Are They: Manchester five-piece blending electronic pop and alt folk that feels both obscure and sincere.
They Are Playing: Friday, 8:15pm @ One Church // Saturday, 12:30pm @ Horatios
Key Track:
Read the interview…
What is the core of your sonic essence as a band? What makes Truthpaste, Truthpaste?
Nice sounds, nice rhythms, nice notes, nice people, nice biscuits.
You formed in Manchester. Is that the best city in Britain for music right now? Maybe of all time?
Some would say that’s a leading question, but yes, certainly right now. We were reared in the shadows of greatness.
You are a band of five people and one trusty computer drum. But how do you know the drum can be trusted?
Because it knows that if it doesn’t behave, we’ll switch it off forever.
What don’t you know, either, as your new debut EP is entitled?
To be fair, we kind of know everything now that we think about it.
What is the EP about, really?
Tiny fish in a big-ass bowl.
Finally – what can we expect from your shows at The Great Escape?
For this special occasion we’ve hired a human drummer to protest AI, so expect human error and real feelings
Words – Ben Tibbits