The Great Escape gets off to a buzzing start

With so much – almost too much – music on offer it may have ended up with a rash choice akin to perusing the menu in a restaurant and being so overwhelmed you plump for the plainest meat and potatoes dish….but not if you spent any time at our own Best Fit stage at Komedia.

Kicking off with latest Best Fit Recordings signee Sabella, the audience was then treated to Swede Victor Holmberg crooning his way through songs from his debut album as 1987 – including a dancefloor shaking version of “Bomb” – before Tei Shi stunned with a sensual set of songs which bode well for any kind of full-length release from the Brooklyn-bases singer and producer. Solid turns from new Matador signees Haelos, and Mt. Wolf, meant there was no chance for the crowd to wander off and catch any other bands or stages.

If you were up and about earlier in the day you may have seen Kiwi Aldous Harding ease into the afternoon with an intense set of doom-folk (and an Edith Piaf turn to annoy her management) at the gorgeous Paganini Ballroom, and if you dared leave Komedia you may have wandered to Green Door to see PINS and then Black Honey ply their 50s-tinged rock and roll to a packed-out room that barely had a square inch to move in.

Still two more days to go and sets from the likes of Alabama Shakes, The Vaccines and the Maccabees it promises to be a fine forty-eight hours in Brighton, especially now the sun is finally out.