Wishing you were at The Great Escape? Here's what you missed...

With the sun having set on The Great Escape, and all of your favourite artists have finally shaken the last grains of sand out of their guitar cases, it's about time we share some of our spotlighted sets that we saw from the weekend. This festival is an pearl of the summer programme, and we highly recommend you take this seaside getaway next year to discover some new favourite artists, while catching some of your pre-existing playlists live.

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SOFY performing at The Great Escape. Photographed by @chrph_oto via Instagram.

If you want an artist that shows you how to ride the wave of popularity and success, look no further than SOFY. With four projects under her belt, and having just sold out London's iconic venue Scala on her 'Another Day in Paradise' Tour, SOFY is showing that the sky is the limit, whether on her own tour or a packed out Charles Street Tap. She's an artist with true professionalism and an infectious on-stage presence, a guaranteed highlight of any festival lineup -- and this set was no different. Another act that features on many festival bills this summer that you must see at least once is Courting. This band absolutely made a splash to The Great Escape's scene that rippled through the crowd. Their on-stage chemistry was magnetic, and their talent spilled effortlessly into every moment of the set.

The structure of The Great Escape means that you can truly see where the sea air may take you, and stumble across a piece of treasure. Spanning over 30 venues across Brighton, the energy of the city is electric. Wherever you walk, music spills from independent venues, with each artist luring you in like a siren's call. Artists, like the whimsical girlpuppy. have scheduled multiple sets across the weekend, meaning they can reach as many new and long-term fans changes to change them in full tide -- a blessing, given the festival's jam-packed schedule. In particular, her in-store performance at Family Store Records and Gallery was spellbinding and spotlighted her ability to captivate listeners whether in a small, intimate venue or on a full-scale festival stage.

While checking out sun-spots and unique venues in Brighton was a highlight of the weekend, we must say that a personal favourite had to be 'TGE Beach' area. Stages like 'Soundwaves' and 'The Deep End' stages replicated the more classic festival feel, except with the beach's pebbles under your feet and the horizon line in the near-distance. And, if you couldn't tell by the amount of seaside puns we've hidden in this article, we were a fan of the stages' wordplay. The relaxed aura in this area was like no other, and sitting on the beach with a cider made a (dare we say it) welcome break from the muddy grass that you would typically find yourself on between sets. Here, we were hooked by new artists like Elliot James Reay, who took us down a nostalgic trip of his '50s infused discography. Having played his hits like 'I Think They Call This Love', this set was absolutely perfect for the seaside setting, and we are sure he left the stage with a wave of many more superfans, like us.

Nxdia performing at The Great Escape. Photographed by @daisylolastudia via @nxdiamusic on Instagram.

Another artist that unleashed a storm on-stage in this beach setting was Nxdia, whose name was highlighted, underline and in capital letters on our to-watch list at this festival. This alt-pop singer-songwriter is absolutely making their own waves in the music industry right now, and trust us when we say, people are watching. The energy that they brought on set was infectious, meaning that everyone in that crowd couldn't help but dance along to tracks like 'Feel Anything' and 'She Likes A Boy' -- ourselves included. Having shared the news of their debut mixtape, 'I Promise No One's Watching', on stage, we're certain this won't be the last time we catch Nxdia live anytime soon.

As the sun begins to dip below Brighton's horizon on the Thursday night of the festival, and we have yapped to many industry folk, it was a breath of fresh sea air to see Luvcat and CATTY performing consecutive sets at Chalk. Both of these artists were highly anticipated on the festival's lineup, and the packed out venue was a testament to this. Bravo to the curators of this venue's lineup as the energies of these singers complimented each other beautifully and felt like a warm toned sunset at the end of the night. With sparkling vocals, and impressive storytelling and lyricism, both of these sets left audience members gobsmacked and yearning to see more of the popstars.

CATTY performing at The Great Escape. Photographed by @chrph_oto via Instagram.

Additional sets that overflowed, like high tide, with audience members include Chloe Qisha and Keo, in their respective venues. These artists are truly unique gems in the current music scene, and to see this be acknowledged by the waves of fans to catch their set was honestly so inspiring. Festivals like The Great Escape are a great opportunity to catch artists before the set sail to the mainstream music scene, and that's exactly what we -- and other festival goers -- managed to grasp at this festival. To see Chloe Qisha in the basement of Patterns felt really well-suited and immersive, making sure we are having the real OG Qisha fan experience.

The Friday of the festival showcased two Blonde Vibrations favourites, Kayla Grace and Daisy Veacock. Playing in Revenge, Kayla Grace beautifully played tracks from her recent project, 'cats can surf' (which you can read our review of, here!), giving the EP an even further deep dive live. It's really promising to see this, sweet-as-a-stick-of-rock, artist get her flowers this festival season, and we can't wait to see what's on the horizon for her. Shortly after, Daisy Veacock brought her classic, irresistibly dynamic live performance to Jubilee Square. When we say the crowd adored this set, trust us, we mean it! Everyone truly came alive in this mid-afternoon set, and join in with all audience-participatory moments. Daisy has this intoxicatingly likeable energy, both on stage and off, and a teaser of a new song has been swirling around our heads since this set...

As first-timers to The Great Escape, it became clear very soon why this festival is such a standout on the summer circuit. With its treasure trove of emerging talent, coastal charm, and an electric yet intimate atmosphere, this festival is a special moment in a bottle, that we can't want to return to next year. It's safe to say we're already daydreaming of next year's return to the shore.

Blonde Vibrations attended The Great Escape under press accreditation. All views expressed are entirely our own. Huge thanks to The Great Escape team for having us, we had a whale of a time!