Indie
The Kooks to play 20th anniversary show on Brighton Beach as part of The Great Escape
The Kooks are set to play a special milestone show for The Great Escape.
The Great Escape has announced that British indie favourites The Kooks will headline a special 20th Anniversary Spotlight Show at TGE Beach on May 13, in partnership with NME.
Formed in Brighton in the mid‑2000s, The Kooks were one of the breakthrough acts at the very first Great Escape in 2006 — the same year they released their now multi‑platinum debut Inside In/Inside Out, which also marks its 20th anniversary this year.
Featuring era‑defining hits including Naïve, She Moves in Her Own Way and Seaside, the album helped cement the band as leaders of the UK’s indie resurgence. Their most recent record, Never/Know, landed a UK Top 5 in 2025, followed by a major arena tour that included a career‑defining night at The O2.
Returning to the city where their story began, the anniversary Spotlight Show will celebrate two decades of both The Great Escape and the band’s landmark debut.
Irish/Cornish five‑piece Girl In The Year Above will support.
Standalone tickets go on general sale March 13, with artist and TGE presales on March 10.
Frontman Luke Pritchard said: “Brighton always feels like coming home in a way no other city does. The Great Escape is special because it’s fundamentally about music happening in rooms where you can feel people breathing. There’s something really powerful about when the distance between the band and the crowd just disappears. It always takes us back to the beginning and why we started this in the first place. I hope people leave feeling like they caught something rare, we can’t wait to see you there!”
NME Managing Editor (Music) Karen Gwee added: “We’re thrilled to partner with The Great Escape to celebrate two decades of music discovery – and to bring The Kooks back to the festival for a special show in a full-circle moment. Here’s to 20 years of new music and many more ahead.”
Alongside the headline announcement, The Great Escape has unveiled over 100 new acts for its 2026 line‑up, spanning pop, rock, rap, R'n'B, folk, soul, indie, electronic and more. New additions include Adult DVD, Dea Matrona, Bella Barbe, Tony Bontana, Angine de Poitrine, dogworld, HEADSEND, Marsy, benchwarmer, Dead Dads Club, Wesley Joseph, Tom A. Smith, Chanpan, Julia Cumming, The Orielles, Pigeon, Why Horses?, Heidi Curtis, Lauren Auder and Matthew Ifield.
Individual day tickets and two‑day passes (Friday and Saturday) are now available. The Great Escape runs May 13 to 26, across 35+ venues in Brighton, showcasing more than 450 emerging artists.
