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Mutations Festival

Mutations Festival

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Mutations Festival has a reputation for being the launchpad for next year’s big names. But with 90 acts playing nine venues over two days, where do you start? Loulou Novick peers into her crystal ball and takes her pick 

Catch them now because next year, they may be headlining the O2! Some names you’ll already know, others might ring a bell, and a few are about to become your new obsession.

With past performers like CMAT and The Last Dinner Party, Mutations has earned its reputation as the festival for discovering what’s next. It’s not just about hearing great music, it’s about finding the artists who are about to break through.

Across two days and nine venues – Chalk, Patterns, Revenge, Hope & Ruin, Green Door Store, Dust, Prince Albert, Folklore Rooms and Alphabet – Mutations delivers a thrilling collision of styles, sounds and scenes. This is where tomorrow’s headliners earn their first encore.


Lambrini Girls 

There’s been a surge in female punk acts across the UK. Bands led by women and non-binary people are not just filling support slots, they’re demanding the stage, bringing political urgency, raw energy, and playfulness together. Brighton’s very own Lambrini Girls are leading that wave, and are set to take the Saturday headline slot at Mutations Festival 2025, a crowning moment in their skyrocketing year following their debut album ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’. This is more than just a gig, but a statement. Punk is evolving, expanding, and rewriting the rules. If you’ve seen them live, you know what you’re in for, it’s a mix of chaos, catharsis and pure punk joy. 

Dry Cleaning

Dry Cleaning are a band you can’t help but get excited about. Formed in 2017 in south London, they’ve been quietly reinventing post-punk ever since. Fresh from recording their third album with Cate Le Bon, their jagged, groove-driven sound is unmistakably sharp – think Wire or The Fall – but made entirely their own by Florence Shaw’s deadpan, spoken-word vocals. Once an illustrator and university lecturer, Shaw brings a wry, magnetic presence that turns every song into a story you can’t stop listening to.

Congratulations 

If you see one band this year, make it Congratulations. My personal favourite after seeing them at The Great Escape this year. Their sound is bold, inventive and built for performing. With effortless, joy-filled crowd work and unstoppable energy, Congratulations turn every show into a surge of pure adrenaline and fun. Check out their single “Get 2 Me” for a taste of what’s coming.

Vraell 

And now, something completely different. Vraell is a classically trained guitarist who creates enchanting “guitar meditations” – delicate, immersive soundscapes that drift and shimmer. Picture a more ethereal, introspective take on the Durutti Column.

Pan Amsterdam

You’ve got to love New York based Pan Amsterdam, who says, “It’s a dope curation that I’m psyched to be a part of and look forward to hitting.” Their sound is cool, funky, with just a touch of hip-hop and fresh, irresistible grooves. Add in some unexpected horns and jazzy twists, and you’ve got a set that’s impossible not to move to.

Jools

Leicester’s own Jools are here to shake things up. With their raucous, guitar-fuelled punk energy, they’re exactly the kind of band that makes you glad live music exists. “We’re super excited to be playing Mutations Festival alongside so many incredible artists. We’re huge fans of the festival and can’t wait to finally play!”

My Precious Bunny

A new project from Brighton’s Lily Wolter (of Penelope Isles), beautiful songs of youth, love, and heartbreak, stitched together with tasty synths, distorted acoustic guitar, and four-part harmonies. 

Ladylike

From the picture you’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve got another noisy punk band, but Brighton’s Ladylike are not that thing. Delicate and possibly a bit folkie, possibly a bit shoegaze. “We’re very excited to be playing this year’s Mutations Festival. It’s such a great celebration of new music in our hometown, so we feel honoured to play!” 

Mutations Festival

November 7 & 8, various venues 

Check out https://mutationsfestival.com/ for venues and details 

Hope and Ruin

Music Review: Gloma at the Hope & Ruin by Alex Hill

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It was one of those instances where you feel you’re being undeservedly spoiled. The Hope and Ruin had a gig on – nothing unusual, granted – the fact that four bands were on the bill and it was completely free however made it seem like an astoundingly good deal. I cleared my schedule of whatever plans I might’ve had on a Sunday night to embark on this four hour long musical extravaganza (bring your camping chair!). The fact I hadn’t heard of any of the bands playing made the whole thing even more intriguing. 

From what I could work out, the headliners were Gloma, and the occasion was the release of their brand-new EP. Uncharacteristically, I decided to do some prior research and came across the music video for Gloma’s new song “Gossamer”. I liked what I heard, and the fact that they were all donning ski masks for the inverted colour video shoot out in the woods created a first impression of a much more intimidating looking version of Kneecap, perhaps. Or a homemade take on Slipknot. I digress. 

The first band was an alternative metal trio named Sunlifter; they were heavy and emotive in equal measure. Contradicting their intense and well-polished sound with heartwarming sentiments (“This next song is about love, so hug the person next to you”… everyone did). Three-piece bands are always fun to watch because they have usually achieved some kind of mastery of their instruments – and these guys are no different. 

Teasing into the next band when their singer was brought on stage for Sunlifter’s last song – the second band in the list were a crazy, screamo-metal band. Quite unexpected really; at this point was also where the whole show got very mosh-pit oriented. Not good when you’ve got half of a £6 pint left in your hand. Mashed were extremely heavy; the singer had seemingly unending energy as he bounded round the stage screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time, how do they do it? I was just thinking how they sounded very nu-metal and Korn-esque when they announced their final song and burst into a faithful cover of ‘Blind’ (with a bit more screaming).  

Seethes’ brand of churning, thumping heavy metal was a hit on stage. Once again, very intense – screams of ‘no mercy’ echoing the room before a breakdown of pounding drums and slow, heavily distorted guitar and bass. Despite my thirst, I was too apprehensive to buy another drink at this point; any unfortunately swung limb from the mosh pit could have led to disaster. 

The big headliners; Gloma delivered on the anticipation with their unique mix of shoegaze and heavy metal. Artfully switching between slow, atmospheric and jangly to heavy and fast paced with a bass heavy, whirring guitar sound.  I was pleased to see they wore the ski masks on stage, and their new single is great. They’re relatively small at the moment, but I reckon these guys are going places. 

All in all, it was a very good night. Maybe It wouldn’t be my first choice to see a stack of high energy, vicious heavy metal bands like this lot – as evidenced by my missing the memo on the dress code – but I did enjoy myself. And it was free. Did I mention that? There’s often plenty of free gigs showing off the Brighton up-and-comers which are always worth going to. Life’s a journey of discovery after all. 

Brighton, Green Door Store, Hope and Ruin, The Great Escape

The Great Escape by Alex Hill

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Down every street in the city, venues are alive with the sound of live music and hordes of people queue outside standing around talking and smoking. It was, of course, The Great Escape. Over 450 different acts taking the stage in all the best pubs and clubs over four days.

If the weather plays nicely, there’s nothing like a Great Escape weekend. You set out with an idea of going here to see that, but then you meet someone who says you really should go there to see something else and then… Well, who knows  what happens then.

A typical Great Escape night tends to include a lot of drifting around venues in search of a band you’ve never heard but you’ve heard of. And as you’re halfway there, maybe going to the Hope & Ruin, there’s an alert on the phone app. The venue’s full. There’s a queue. Maybe you’d like to go to The Green Door Store instead.

It truly is a cross-city festival, and you may just find yourself doing that; especially during the particularly busy times if you’re intent on finding new and exciting gigs like I was. If you don’t mind the strain on your legs, and if chancing upon interesting new sounds is something that grabs your fancy, then the festival is definitely for you. You’re bound to discover many great bands you were previously unaware of.

You’re not always guaranteed to find that gig you were hoping to see. Late one night, feeling dejected due to not having the required wristband for a gig near the seafront – something the festival app neglected to tell us – myself and a few friends ended up at the Fiddlers Elbow for a curiously busy gig. We found ourselves in the company of an obnoxiously loud garage rock gig which was awfully mixed by the sound engineer and with frankly poor song writing from the band (who were, I believe, from Canada). The band just weren’t that great, but weren’t helped by long and droning instrumental parts drowning out the vocalist and… It was all too loud. We escaped, checked our timetables only to discover to our own chagrin that there weren’t any more gigs on – onto the next day.

Organisation is key to having a great Escape. A friend had an Excel sheet – really, an Excel sheet. All times and places and descriptions. I didn’t have an Excel sheet. I had a friend who said we had to go to Jubilee Square to see hot local band Slag. We got there to find that hot local band Slag were playing Jubilee Square. Or rather, had played Jubilee Square. Yesterday. Instead, we saw Azamiah, a smooth, laid-back jazz funk band. Good, but not as nature intended. Next year, Excel.

The Hope and Ruin was religiously hosting gigs, in both the upstairs and downstairs bar and I saw a lot of good bands here I’d never heard of before. No complaint from me. That’s the other thing about The Great Escape. You get to see loads of bands and very possibly you were told who they were and very probably you really remembered who they were and… who were they?

The bands at the Hope where all punk and hardcore; screaming the house down and getting the audience fired up. With each band delivering half an hour sets, I think I saw four or five different bands here – Pleasure Inc.from Norwich played funky headbangers with a Rage Against the Machine type feel; Jools were an intense, dual vocalist modern hardcore band; Really Big Really Clever were a midwestern emo sounding four piece who made the crowd go wild. The Molotov’s were also playing, but they were stuck upstairs.

In Green Door, where the uneven cobbled flooring tends to make your night a bit more like you’ve had a drink when you’ve drank enough to make you unsteady, various great bands played as part of both the Alternative Escape and the main festival. With so many gigs on in such a short time frame, it’s quite hard to plan where to go; especially with so many overlapping time slots – navigating the festival effectively requires incredible foresight I seemed to lack as a first timer. Next year, Excel.

My feet were complaining, my head also a little, but had a fantastic time and saw loads of great bands I otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to see. It’s probably been said before, but if the weather plays nicely, there’s nothing like a Great Escape weekend.  

Brighton Festival, Brighton Life, Brighton music scene, Great Escape

Four days, 450 artists, 35 venues…

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Alex Hill takes his pick of The Great Escape

“Yeah, I saw  them a few years ago at The Great Escape”. Everyone likes to be ahead of the game, everyone likes to catch the New Big Thing before they become the new big thing. And there’s no better place to do that than at The  Great Escape. But so many bands, so many venues, so many names, so many… places to go and have a drink. What do you do? Where do you go? Who do you see? 

Man/Woman/Chainsaw 

A fascinating band with an intriguing and unrevealing name. They’ve been described as ‘one of the most exciting and unpredictable young acts in the town’, and with their mix of atmospheric indie style, joint vocals, melodic guitar and bass and haunting violin playing, you can understand why. It’s not their first time in Brighton either – they put on a brilliant show at Green Door Store a few months ago and I’ve been awaiting their return ever since.

Rizzle Kicks

OK, not new, but they’re Brighton legends – yes they are – and we love them. This local hip hop duo grabbed national attention with their fresh sounding, early 2010’s hits ‘Down With The Trumpets’ and ‘Mama Do The Hump’ encapsulating a groovy and upbeat spin on hip hop which incorporates elements of reggae, funk and jazz – they’ve even sampled classic punk tracks for their tunes. These guys definitely have the knack needed to get a crowd moving with their unique and catchy feel-good sound that’s immediately recognisable. It’s great to have them back. 

Heavy Lungs 

One of the heaviest bands playing this year’s festival, as their name might have led you to believe, and their hardcore punk sound immediately grabbed my attention. With riff driven songs, relentless drumming and Johnny Rotten-esque vocals – they pay homage to classic punk while making it their own; I’d liken their sound to an intriguing mix of Black Flag and The Damned brought to the modern era – which can be heard in their most popular ‘(A Bit of a) Birthday’.

Peter Doherty 

Again, not new, but am I looking forward  to this. The daring, yet loveable frontman of The Libertines and Babyshambles is one of the headliners for this year’s festival and an obvious choice for first place on this list. He plays Brighton beach on the 14th May championing the release of his new album.

I saw Doherty play live last year in a grotty industrial estate in Wolverhampton. While perhaps an unlikely location, this intimate acoustic set with Doherty playing a mix of Libertines and Babyshambles songs along with his solo material was a fantastic gig. He has the brilliant ability to captivate an audience with just his guitar, oftentimes accompanied by Bob Dylan style harmonica playing. Doherty maintains the poetic songwriter charm that made him famous.

Queen Cult

One of the newest acts around are one to keep an eye on. With a high energy indie rock sound and heavily distorted instruments, Queen Cult have hints of garage rock greats Royal Blood and Queens of the Stone Age and are unforgivingly loud and proud. Just the thing we need to see. Their new single, ‘Figure It Out’, last month is hard not to like.

Check out https://greatescapefestival.com/

Caraline Brown, Mrs Wilson's Children, The Welly Club, Hull

Mrs Wilson’s Children: The Welly Club

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When stars such as Katy Perry, Coldplay and Enter Shikari, along with the current Government and Brighton and Hove council rally to the same cause, we have to pay attention. After successful lobbying by the Music Venue Trust, they are all supporting grassroots music venues. This is a real issue across the country as venues are regularly under threat from developers, gentrification and the cost of living. Here, the iconic Prince Albert was not so long ago battling closure.

As Brighton-based author Caraline Brown says, “Music is life. It is the blood in our veins. It’s what made us and will keep us sane”. Her book, Mrs Wilson’s Children: Adventures at the Welly Club, Hull 1979-81, tells the story of why these venues are crucial to the social, cultural, and economic life of our cities. Think what Brighton would feel like without The Hope and Ruin, The Green Door Store, Chalk and so many others.  

Stuffed with rare, fascinating pictures, tickets and posters of the gigs, Brown’s book illustrates the enduring importance of these venues through the prism of the punk/ post-punk/ 2-Tone moment (1979-81) and tells us about life away from the bigger cities such as London, Manchester and Liverpool. The Welly – which could be the Concorde or, well, pick your own favourite venue – became the centre of a community, a place where fans, bands and promoters could meet and chat and drink and ferment ideas. These places provided a space to build a scene. As Welly regular Jon Nelson says: “We had to build our own revolution, one gig at a time”.  

“I owe my whole career to those early days at the Welly”, says Brown. Managed by the formidable Mrs Wilson, like a “stern ward matron”, the Welly opened as a working men’s club in 1913, and was still hosting darts matches when Brown was promoting gigs there. A proper sweaty venue with character and sticky floors. However, it didn’t appeal to everyone. Bauhaus were supposed to support Magazine, but their singer Pete Murphy took one look at the stage, pronounced the venue a “shithole” and refused to play. His loss.  

Another highlight was the reproduced pages from Brown’s contemporaneous notebooks with the phone numbers of music industry executives such as legendary Factory Records boss, Tony Wilson, as well as the costs for the gigs. Refreshingly, there’s no sign of a mobile phone or an Excel spreadsheet. Local musician, Vince Coulman says that, while the gigs might not have made much money, the real benefit “might lay, not in cash, but in the thrill of bringing an ace band to our favourite place in the city. In short, making stuff happen.” 

The nights that Brown had organised at the Welly were still being talked about reverently when I arrived in Hull in the mid-1980s, even though Brown and the Wilsons were long gone. 

Thankfully, The Welly is still going strong playing host to the new generation of alternative groups. Music is indeed life.

l ‘Mrs Wilson’s Children: Adventures at The Welly Club, Hull 1979-1981’ by Caraline Brown costs £14.99 plus postage and is available from http://www.karibrown.uk

Johnny Hopkins