The Great Escape 2018 Clashless Guide - Part Two: Friday

Part One, the guide to Thursday at The Great Escape 2018 is just here.

Day two, let's go, we busy out here. This is far shorter (it seems) in terms of word count to yesterday's guide, I'm not too sure why that is, but I can confirm the content is still great. (There's actually just less chat about getting from A to B, which is fine because you all know how to walk, congrats!)

Weather Report: Highs of 15 degrees Celcius, sunny intervals and breezy... no rain!

It's an early start and for that I will not apologise. Day Fly are a duo, one of whom is based in The Netherlands, the other in the UK. They are (as of right now) the act I am most excited to see at The Great Escape please do not get it twisted. Think R&B, in a similar vein to Klyne, I guess, but with a bit more edge. If anybody is familiar with CVIRO & GXNXVS, that's where I'd place Day Fly. They're on at 12:15 in Komedia's Studio Bar, don't be late. [Update 12/05/2018: I took a break from this whole TGE thing to listen to Tyler's Cherry Bomb, you could find me doing this at this point on Friday as well, will keep you updated.] Aeris Roves is on at The Walrus at 15:00. The south London based singer has only released two singles thus far (the second of which came out last Friday) but with both boasting production from Two Inch Punch, Aeris' take on pop and RnB makes him one to watch. Taking a punt on the next stop on this guide with Dermot Kennedy at 16:00 down at the Beach Club. Kennedy does pop leaning guitar singer/songwriter stuff, but he does it quite well. I'll be gassed for this if his live set up isn't just him and a guitar, but even if it is he's still got a pretty hefty vocal.

Friday evening is always chaos at TGE so I've tried to pick out artists who are definitely worth watching. The first on my list is Australian alt-synth-pop human (yeah I just made that up) Hatchie who plays her third and final TGE set at 18:00 at The Arch. Next up eighteen year old German/Canadian but currently residing in The Netherlands Bulow is a must see, playing Wagner Hall at 19:00. Her Damaged Vol. 1 EP released at the end of last year contains a trio of pop hits that if released by an artist with a higher profile could have taken the world by storm. Stella Donnelly plays her second of three TGE sets at 19:45 inside the Unitarian Church. There couldn't be a more fitting venue for the Australian singer/songwriter's heartfelt and angsty tone as she belts out the likes of 'Mechanical Bull' from her debut EP. Then for a complete change of pace it's Ebenezer downstairs in Patterns at 20:30. Ebenezer blends hip hop, R&B and trap, emulating many of his American counterparts but using his North London roots to give his tracks a UK spin. Miriam Byrant's bio on the TGE website boasts that she is "one of the biggest artists on the Swedish music scene" and I guess that means we should all probably squeeze into One Church at 21:30 to see her in action. Her latest single 'Black Car' definitely took Spotify playlists by storm and it doesn't take more than one listen to hear why the pop sphere is so excited by Bryant.

I've never seen BØRNS before and am thus fully commiting myself to his hour long set at Coalition from 22:45. I'd definitely recommend arriving early if you're also planning on seeing him, but I do also have some alternatives if you prefer your acts to be less well established. Wild Front play straight up indie pop at Latest Music Bar at 22:15 and then you can stroll down to the end of the pier for Bad Sounds at Horatios at 23:15, who I'll now miss for a second year in a row. I think I'm contractually obliged to include one Domino band in this guide so this year's pick is Sorry, 00:30 at The Haunt. (Superorganism and Tirzah both also play on Friday but the former is at The Old Market *eye-roll* and I've no doubt there will be an abundance of time to see the latter in the coming months.) There's absolutely no excuse to head home early on this particular night as Maximillian plays at The Walrus at 01:15. Yes, of course, every Nordic artist is great at pop music but in this current new wave Maximillian is one of the best.

A quick round-up of what we've planned for Friday:

12:15 - Day Fly - Komedia Studio Bar

15:00 - Aeris Roves - The Walrus

16:00 - Dermot Kennedy - Beach Club

18:00 - Hatchie - The Arch

19:00 - Bulow - Wagner Hall

19:45 - Stella Donnelly - Unitarian Church

20:30 - Ebenezer - Patterns (Downstairs)

22:15 - Wild Front - Latest Music Bar

22:45 - BORNS - Coalition

23:15 - Bad Sounds - Horatio's

00:30 - Sorry - The Haunt

01:15 - Maximillian - The Walrus

The third and final guide will be here tomorrow, please ensure that you return for it.