Scotland at THE GREAT ESCAPE
13 - 16 MAY 2026
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND
We’re heading back to Brighton from 13-16 May 2026 for The Great Escape! 🏖️
Four brilliant artists from Scotland will showcase across the festival lineup, and on Thursday we will be hosting our annual Scottish reception where you can meet the delegates and showcase artists over a warming bowl of Scotch broth!
SCOTLAND’S NETWORKING RECEPTION AT the great escape
THURSDAY 14 MAY 2026 · 17.30-19.30
VENUE TBA
Connect with Scotland's music industry and showcasing artists and enjoy a selection of Scottish delicacies!
Join Wide Days and Creative Scotland on Thursday 14 May from 17.30-19.30, to connect with key figures from the industry and the Scottish artists showcasing!
Deep-fried confectionary and haggis will be served, along with soft drinks made from girders.
SHOWCASE ARTISTS
ALICE FAYE
Glasgow’s Alice Faye is an assured and genre-defying songwriter, blending 70s pop, 60s folk, and country with the theatrical influence of Édith Piaf and Jacques Brel. Her confessional style, reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright, pairs with a powerful, timeless voice to create immersive, emotional music. Her acclaimed EP Deadbeat earned BBC airplay and festival appearances. A standout on Channel 4’s The Piano, she has sold out headline shows across the UK and Europe and is the 2025 Sound of Young Scotland winner. With awards and international touring under her belt, and her debut album Vaude Villain due in 2026, Alice continues to rise as a compelling new voice.
ARCHIE
Archie (often referred to as Archie Cw or Archie CW Music) is an emerging singer-songwriter and pop artist based in Glasgow, Scotland. He has rapidly gained attention on social media and the Scottish live music scene for his energetic, pop-rock, and jazz-influenced sound.
Becky siska
Becky Sikasa is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and producer who blends neo-soul and alternative R&B into rich, introspective soundscapes. Her poetic lyrics explore love, identity, and personal transformation, earning her critical acclaim and growing national recognition.
She released her debut EP Twelve Wooden Boxes in 2022, followed by The Writings and the Pictures and the Song in 2024, both of which were shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year Award. Becky has toured with Nile Rodgers, supported Corto.Alto, Joy Crookes and Crane Wives amongst others and was recently named BBC Introducing’s Scottish Artist Of The Year 2025.
BLAIR DAVE
Good things just need the right time <3
Brodie’s a self described severely Scottish songwriter who uses humour to lull audiences into a false sense of security before hitting them where it hurts with his mournful nostalgic lyricism. The Scotsman’s career started toplining on dance tunes and has since evolved into an indie folky dreamscape of earworms. 2025 saw the release of his EP Reverse Cowboy and in 2026 Brodie seeks to release a ‘Dairy Free’ deluxe version with 3 further singles added. 2 of which are certain to make your eyes rain.
BRODIE BARCLAY
COWBOY HUNTERS
69 years have passed since the cowboys attacked. When the world needed them most, Cowboy Hunters were in the pub. This is a story of Farty Rock redemption. Tie your shoes.
FRIGHT YEARS
2025 was a breakout year for Fright Years. From a euphoric set at TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow to a BBC Introducing session at Maida Vale, the Scottish indie-rock four-piece have quickly established themselves as one of the UK’s most exciting new acts. With regular BBC Radio 1 airplay, TV placements and a run of sold-out Scottish headline
shows, the band are fast earning a reputation for turning raw emotion into widescreen, heart-swelling anthems.
Built around frontwoman Juliette Kelly’s commanding voice – powerful, dynamic, and unflinchingly honest – Fright Years craft emotive, cinematic indie rock that feels both intimate and immense.
Their debut EP, Still Life, recorded with producer Theo Verney (Lime Garden, English Teacher), earned critical acclaim for its honesty and ambition. Centred on Juliette’s reflections on loss and grief, the record transforms deeply personal experience into something universal and cathartic. Its standout track, “Stars”, has become a fan favourite – a beacon
HAMISH
British singer-songwriter HAMISH is a voice of devotion in an era of disconnectedness. With a staggering vocal that evokes the likes of Paolo Nutini, Bon Iver and Joe Cocker, addressing love’s tenderness amongst life’s spikier challenges, he holds a purity of heart and spirit in his songs that harkens the timeless love of bygone eras. It’s only fitting that his debut single, Hello Juliette, triggers an emoting sense of hope that defies the nature of the ‘swipe right’ era.
KERR MERCER
19 year old singer-songwriter from Glasgow, Kerr Mercer last year sold out two back-to-back headline UK tours (both before he had any music out).
Over the last two years, he has supported the likes of Teddy Swims, Bastille, Myles Smith and Only The Poets.
Debut track ‘Alcohol’ was released in October and currently sits at 3.2M combined streams across DSPs.
LUCIA & THE BEST BOYS
Lucia enters this chapter with clarity. As the frontwoman of Lucia and The Best Boys, she has built a reputation for emotionally direct, high-impact live performances, with NME and BBC Radio 1 noting her commanding presence and powerhouse voice. From the Main Stage at TRNSMT to sharing bills with Wet Leg, Garbage and The Last Dinner Party, she has consistently proven her ability to hold major rooms. The upcoming headline at Glasgow Barrowland marks another significant step.
Her forthcoming album via Communion, produced by Yves Rothman, expands the scope and confidence of the project. The current single Lonely Girl, featuring CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry, has received support and coverage from BBC Radio 6 Music, signalling the scale of what is ahead.
PAT HAMILTON
Pat Hamilton is one of Scotland’s most promising young artists, with multiple sold out headlines to his name, Pat opened the BBC Introducing Stage at TRNSMT and has amassed over 1,000,000 streams on his debut album ‘To Whom It May Concern.’
Inspired by artists such as Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, and Paulo Nutini, Pat’s unique sound borrows from numerous other genres including Rap, RnB, and Country.
With lyrical intricacy and captivating melodies, Pat has built a true connection with his fans whilst maintaining a notable presence on BBC Introducing in Scotland.
Moreover, having sold out his Glasgow headline at King Tuts four months in advance, the attention being paid to the twenty year old has intensified as he continues to make quick headway.
QUIET MAN
Quiet Man is a London-born, Glasgow-based singer-songwriter crafting a distinctive space in modern music with his stripped-back, emotionally charged sound. Raised on classical music, jazz, and Paul Simon, he developed an early songwriting voice rooted in honesty and emotional depth. Nominated for BBC Introducing’s Scottish Act of the Year 2025, he has received ongoing support from BBC Introducing in Scotland and London, with features on For Fans of Olivia Dean, New Music Friday UK, and major editorial playlists across Spotify and Apple Music. He has performed at Pitchfork, Live at Leeds, and SWN Festival, sold out his first Glasgow headline show, and supported artists including Fred Again, Medium Build, and S. Carey.
SHAY O’DOWD
Inspired by the likes of Sam Fender, Lewis Capaldi, and Paulo Nutini, Shay finds writing about other people most interesting. “I am passionate about people and communication; both of which have served me well in the world of songwriting. I value authenticity and honesty as an artist, writing songs that capture the beautiful complexities of life.”
After selling out the iconic Glasgow venue King Tut’s without releasing any music, a momentous debut headline show described as “a night to remember, perhaps one which will be boasted as an ‘I was there’ sort of moment for years to come” (Northern Exposure Mag), releasing two EP’s ‘Growing Pains’ + ‘Saying It Now’, getting BBC Track Of The Week with ‘BACK IN A HEARTBEAT’ and crowning 2025 with a sold out ‘St Luke’s’ show, Shay O’Dowd is rolling into 2026 on a high.
TANZANA
Glasgow 5 piece Tanzana formed at the start of 2023.
They create trip-hop influenced alternative rock music and have been performing consistently on the Glasgow scene, from supporting Lucia at SWG3’s Galvanisers venue, to hosting their first club night at King Tuts in the summer of 2025, Tanzana are creating a distinctive sound to compliment the vibrant Glasgow scene.
When asked what they want their music to do, they replied “… We want our music to be a catalyst, unearthing the creativity and self-expression in listeners…”
THE ROOKS
There is a specific kind of electricity that hums through Glasgow when a band is on the verge of something massive; it is the sound of a grassroots movement turning into a roar. For The Rooks, that roar has become deafening. Rapidly ascending from local favourites to Scotland’s most anticipated breakthrough act, the band has cultivated a reputation for high-octane, anthemic rock that balances the raw energy of British rock’s golden eras with a white-hot vibrancy that is entirely their own.
The industry has already taken note of this meteoric rise. Stephanie Cheape of BBC Introducing remarks that the band’s uprising feels “reminiscent of Gerry Cinnamon and The Snuts,” whilst Mark Sutherland (The Money Trench) describes their debut EP, Noise & Confusion, as a “boisterous affair” featuring “seven-minute epics with hints of Oasis and early Stereophonics.” As Sutherland succinctly puts it: “Expect these Rooks to take flight any day now.”
This momentum culminated in a definitive statement
LISTEN
GET IN TOUCH
If you’d like to meet up at The Great Escape, need further info on the showcase artists, want to connect with Scottish delegates at the convention - or just want some more info on Scotland’s music industry, drop us a line!