ASPIRING singers, songwriters and rock gods are turning up the volume as The Great Escape comes to town for a tenth time in a row.

The new music showcase, TGE, kicked off last night across Brighton and sees new bands making waves and hoping to launch into the big time.

This year’s event sees performances from a new rapper called Skepta, Scottish indie band Django Django and Canadian musician Tobias Jesso Jr.

Also a mecca for music industry insiders and professionals, other highlights for yesterday included a South African noon showcase at the Spiegeltent in Old Steine, varied talks on the theme of “how to sell out gracefully” and a host of surprise gigs.

One secret gig with a difference sees Paul Weller, formerly of The Jam, play a secret gig on Saturday – with the venue yet to be announced as The Argus went to press.

The Argus, as ever, has a team of reviewers treading the streets every night to pick up on what’s going on.

Dominic Smith, a former features writer at this newspaper, is among them.

He said: “Not knowing most of the music makes it a real journey of discovery. You might see something terrible but you might also see your new favourite band – who are superstars a year later – in an intimate, left-field venue where they may never play again.

“The variety of the music is matched by the variety of the venues. And city festivals by the sea are great because if it rains you're covered but if it's sunny you can hit the beach in between shows.

“But of course the best thing is you get to sleep in your own bed – unless you get lucky.”

Joining him to bring you the best of what’s going on is Tom Bassam, a journalist in Swindon also previously of The Argus.

He said: “I’m looking forward to Skepta – he’s the main show at the Dome and at the forefront of a grime resurgence.

“They are never going to be on the radio A-lists but they do sell out shows.”

He said that, alongside Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe, TGE adds another dimension to the city.

He said: “It seems like a different part of it. It adds to Brighton’s repertoire as a patch with a big music scene.

“It just seems like stuff’s really happening here.”

Kat Morris, TGE festival director, told The Argus: “Brighton is the perfect city for TGE principally thanks to its vibr- ant new music scene and multitude of venues.

“TGE gives so many bands the platform to breakthrough and create an impact not only with the entire music industry, which descends on Brighton every year, but also to new music fans who champion the very best sounds of tomorrow.”

factfile

The Great Escape is in its tenth anniversary year.

TGE is Europe’s biggest new music festival.

There are more than 400 bands playing across three days.

It takes over more than 35 venues throughout Brighton.

The acts playing come from more than 30 different countries.

20,000 new music fans and delegates are expected this year and is already sold out.

Since its inception in 2006, it has seen the likes of Adele, Paoli Nutini, Mumford And Sons, Marina And The Diamonds, Villagers and Ed Sheeran make their mark on music. Locally, Rizzle Kicks and Royal Blood have also gone on to better things.