Announcing a day’s worth of gigs comparable in density and quality to the festival itself, this year’s set of First Fifty shows throws up some agonising clashes.

The Great Escape is back with a fresh set of acts announced to join its impressive alumni as they begin to uncover the lineup for next year’s event. The festival is the UK’s most important showcase of new music, blending cutting edge alternative acts with superstars in-the-making, all over a few days in Brighton in May.

As has become customary, this announcement of the First Fifty (on a bill that will stretch to include five hundred acts) comes with the announcement of a series of London shows on 15^th November this year. This night forms a microcosm for the festival itself, throwing up agonising clashes across stacked showcases. Last year, The Last Dinner Party, Grove and Jessica Winter all starred, setting the tone for their busy respective festival seasons the following year.

This year, there are already a plethora of names to get excited about seeing at these preview gigs, let alone the festival itself. Buzz indie rock group Picture Parlour headline The Victoria, set to follow up a headline-grabbing appearance at last year’s festival. Already a major feature of other festival lineups this winter with only one song out, they are shadowing the exponential growth of the likes of The Last Dinner Party, albeit with a more straight-edged rock sound.

Hard of Hearing favourites The New Eves also feature prominently among the First Fifty, headlining a showcase at what will be an unfamiliar name on the London venue circuit to most, Palm 2 in Clapton. The band have been an outstanding feature on the live scene, combining the punk poetry of Television and The Raincoats with pagan and folk influences.

Elsewhere, body-building house-pop star Babymorocco fronts a night at the Shacklewell Arms, promising a night of sweaty debauchery. Oscar Browne offers a more sedate option at Hackney’s folklore, supported by jangling laundry expert Sarah Crean and dream guitar duo No Windows. With all of these events happening over one day, we can either make a tricky decision ourselves, or else wait and see which venues sell out first.