UK: The Great Escape has announced a new partnership with BBC Music. Now in its 12th year, the festival will take place from May 18 – 20 in Brighton. In addition to its already long-standing relationship with BBC Introducing, TGE 2017 will join forces with BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6 Music to further champion and promote upcoming artists across BBC channels.
As part of the new partnership, BBC Music will take over the Paganini Ballroom for a three-night musical showcase. BBC Radio 6 Music will showcase its Recommends strand on the Thursday night, BBC Music Introducing will host the Friday night and BBC Radio 3’s Late junction will take over on Saturday night. Artists announced so far include Marika Hackman, Goat Girl, and Ibibio Sound Machine.
BBC Music will also be bringing down some of its top DJs to broadcast live from the TGE Festival Hub in Jubilee Square, with Radio 1’s Mistajam, and 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq.
The Great Escape has also invited BBC Music to get involved in its 2017 Convention, which comprises two days of discussions and debates exploring pertinent issues in the industry, such as music media, exporting music worldwide, royalties, and the impact of drugs within the music business.
Furthermore, BBC Music will take over the Old Courtroom for its ‘BBC Music in Conversation’ series, in which Mary-Anne Hobbs will speak to Kojey Radical, Tom Robinson will share insights with John Grant, and Huw Stephens will speak with a special guest performing at the festival. These ‘In Conversations’ will be open to all delegates and festival-goers.
The BBC Music News team will be out on the streets of Brighton and across the TGE venues, interviewing artists and reporting on the convention.
Kevin Moore, The Great Escape’s Event Manager, said: “The announcement of this extended BBC Music partnership is great news for TGE; together we share a commitment to discover and nurture new music and we can’t wait to share our ideas and see this collaboration grow. As we approach our 12th year it’s important that we work with broadcast partners who share our vision and BBC Music do just that, which makes them a perfect partner for the festival.”
James Stirling, BBC Music Editor, said: “BBC Music is dedicated to discovering and nurturing new British artists and The Great Escape is one of the best festivals to do this on the UK music scene. I’m very happy to be bringing TGE to life for our audiences across Radio 1, Radio 3, 6 Music, BBC Music Introducing and our digital platforms.”
