Catch us on Friday evening at The Gladstone Arms for some of our favourites acts in town for the weekend.

As we reach the hour of final preparations for The Great Escape, it seems only fair to give you a bit of a primer on the artists we have booked in for our own corner of the madness! We are running an Alt Escape showcase at The Gladstone Arms on Friday night in collaboration with Slack City Radio and The Old Blue Last. Come join us (for free!) from 5pm to catch some of our favourites – old and new.

Platonica Erotica, 5pm

No matter how many times you see Platonica Erotica (and we go to see her an awful lot!), you’ve never seen it all. The prolific and versatile songwriter spans pop, post-rock and showtunes in her references and is constantly reinventing her act. For this show she promises “a special solo set of lesser-performed sounds and arrangements.”

Bingo Fury, 6pm

The breathtakingly brilliant jazz-punk mastermind brings his band show to us on Friday. With shrieking cornet, stabbing guitars and intelligent, elusive songwriting, this is one of the best bands playing all weekend.

Max Fulcrum and the Win, 7pm

Out of the ashes of Fake Turins, who have just released their farewell EP ‘Inheritance’, comes Max Fulcrum and the Win, the latest project led by enigmatic magnetic frontman Dominic Rose. Invoking psych, funk and techno, we are excited to play host to what they describe as a set of floral horror.

Kyoto Kyoto, 8pm

The motoric punk group are on a hot streak, having recently burned through a run of trans European dates, including a sold-out headline at The Lexington, and have already released a fierce pair of singles to kick off the year. They have dazzled at HoH events in the past and look set to strike again.

Hank, 9pm

The shoegazing garage stomp of Hank has been wowing fans since their relatively recent inception last summer. Recalling Pixies in the overlapping lead vocals of Lola Stephen and Pip Russon and complimented by the furious drumming of Ash Cooper (aka Ash Kenazi) and the intricate bass stylings of Maddy O’Keefe, come see what all the fuss is about!

Alien Chicks, 10pm

Closing the night are one of the most exciting of the latest crop of Windmill regulars, Alien Chicks. Having made a splash this year with lead single ‘Cowboy’ on the ‘Slow Dance ‘22’ compilation and follow-up ‘Candlestick Maker’, the group are fast gaining a canny following. The Hideous Mink signees first caught attention via thorough gigging, so expect a tight blast of a performance.

Register for free tickets here.