Hot Tips
"Brighton Live is a fantastic opportunity for us to check out the latest up and coming Brighton bands with a view to booking The Great Escape Festival 2008. We're looking forward to the beautiful, haunting voice of Mechanical Bride at Redroaster, folk rockers Drookit Dogs and indie popsters Young Soul Rebels at Hector's House, all who played fantastic shows at The Great Escape Festival this year. We'll also be on the lookout for the next wave of Brighton's finest so we'll be checking out some hotly tipped bands including: Transformer, Gloria Cycles, Shona Foster and Derek Meins."
 
Restless List, They remind me of Hank Marvin mashed up in a James Bond theme tune, but don't let this put you off! They make their music from Brighton flea market debris and are fab! The Bobby McGees, Fans of Belle and Sebastian will love this, they've obvisouly been watching reruns of the Wicker Man and this is not a bad thing, embrace the spooky whistle down the wind of true English folk. I say Marvin are Strutting pouting and pushing the envelope out there.. they have the pose of Razorlight without the twattishness.
Tommy Moss, FK! Magazine
"The line-up to Brighton Live reads like a crystal ball gaze into our Levi's Ones To Watch in 2008. Personal highlights of bands who're bound to break through include the sea-shanty calamity-folk of Peggy Sue & The Pirates, the Pixies yelp of Drookit Dogs, the punky noiseblasts of Bang! Bang! Bang! and The Dirty Socials' blues-sleaze rock."
Niall Doherty, The Fly
"Brighton has so many good bands crying out to be heard this year that it's difficult to pick out just a couple from the Brighton Live line up but two you mustn't miss if your life depends on it are Maths Class and Smallwhitelight. Both very different to each other but both are bloody brilliant!"
Dan Melia, Gigwise
"We at Artrocker think you'd be idiots to miss out on these great local bands: Shrag, because they have a dance routine and a counting dog; My Device, because they are the most energy-filled misfits you're ever likely to see; The Guillotines, because they're The Horrors' favourite band; Peepholes, because they're punkily naive; and Maths Class, because they're eccentrically post-punk. Brighton certainly does have more than its fair share of great bands."
Richard Davis
"Hamilton Yarns - tales of birds, trees and everyday magic... organ, cornet, accordion, strings, hand percussion and storytelling.
Ack Ack Ack - radically strung out, highly patterned spjazz. Share a drummer and similar discontent for convention with Brighton's noise overlords Charlottefield.
Peepholes - "Remember, drum sticks are still sticks," claim this clattering, lo-fi, 'Chinese violin thingy'-loving, post-Riot Grrrl boy-girl duo. Noise is mutilated, sensibilities are flayed.
La Momo - Worthing's answer to the delicate, frayed English pop of Robert Wyatt - only shaken up and down, given a good stomping and bashed about gleefully.
Bobby McGees - twee, ukulele-wielding, face-painted duo sing beautiful songs about sadness and loneliness and bad footwear."
Everett True, Plan B
"Peggy Sue and the Pirates are well established now but a must see for this years Brighton Live. I'm also looking forward to seeing My Federation, who I stumbled across recently, a good fun-time band with a very charismatic front man. Here at Juice, we've given alot of backing to up and coming bands Floors and Walls and Doll and the Kicks and for good reason...they're going places and well worth checking out. Megan Goodwin is a singer-songwriter and very captivating. Great voice, great look and can make a whole room sit up and listen. I'll spend the rest of the time randomly seeing what's going on, which is always the best part of any music festival."
Guy Lloyd, Juice FM
"Peggy Sue And The Pirates's tightly harmonised stories still move and amuse me where Regina Spektor and Kate Nash have started to grate, but nothing makes me happier than badmouthed bluegrass. Until Nick Cave throws a hillbilly shindig your surest bet's got to be The Curst Sons"
Bella Todd, The Argus
"Brighton Live offers a rare chance to see so many high quality and diverse acts in a short space of time. For instance, jive, swing and raw rock'n'roll is back in vogue. And if you also like to dance and dress snappily then the 11-piece Fat45 are the ones. Or there's the best songwriter in Brighton, Dave Stenhouse and his Big Hairy Band who make warming rightfield classic indie pop with a big heart, a tonne of invention and loads of hooks. And, for something really contemporary how about high energy, rapping rock from the very young Floors and Walls? They are an exciting live band complete with the manic word speed merchant Alex Adams."
Jeff Hemmings, Latest 7
"For a bit of singy-guitar-action it doesn't really get much better than the bruised perfection of Lianne Hall, an evening of which will at once have your heart trying to burst from its ribby cage with the sheer joy of life and see you sobbing into your pint at the desperate injustice of it all.
After that there's Doll and the Kicks. A gloriously loud and shouty pop rock, Garbage meets Blondie stomp-fest kind of affair.
Finally, the Rocks team will be getting our RAWK heads on for mag favourite Republic of Heaven, LSD-infused guitar epics tinged with confused, heartbroken vocals and ear bleeding bass. Delicious."
Sarah Lewis, Rocks
"Well, it looks like being the best Brighton Live yet. Transformer's Talking Heads meets Soulwax makes them probably the greatest unsigned live act in the city, while Maths Class have the cheek and energy to follow their mates Foals into the big time. Disgoth pair We Are Snazzy should sparkle with electro pop on their only live show ever. My Little Problem and The Miserable Rich combine pop and folk to give Shoreline a run for their money - the former epic and delicate, the latter charming with their string quartet. Peggy Sue & The Pirates' alt.soul ought to make you smile, their best-friendship, quirky folk completely infectious, while sister band The Great Danger are our own Sonic Youth. Yep, best BL yet we think at SOURCE."
James Kendall, The Brighton Source
The hidden gem this year is singer-songwriter Derek Meins. Stop what youíre thinking. As far removed from the likes of James Blunt as possible, Meinsí twisted, yelping country-tinged blues is by turns savage, ridiculous and sublime. Jacobís Stories, brainchild of Stuart Lee (not that one) plays tracks from stunning debut album Fledgling. Vast, beautiful soundscapes are the order of the day, bringing to mind the electro-majesty of late-period Radiohead. Long-under-rated, A Citizen Above Suspicion have been knocking around a few years now. Originally industrial/rap metal crossover akin to Nine Inch Nails or Faith No More, the Shepherd brothers have remained true to those roots whilst incorporating Muse-style pomp-rock to striking effect. A little gentler, Mechanical Brideís strings/accordion-led electro-folk is no less affecting. Think Joanna Newsom minus the irritating quirks.
Nick Aldwinckle, What's On Pocket Guide