How NZ musicians turned The Great Escape into momentum

In a packed Brighton venue on a Thursday afternoon in May, a crowd of British music industry people heard music sung in te gagana Sāmoa –- for many of them, for the first time. An elderly woman sought out LEAO frontman David Feauai-Afaese Vaeafe afterwards to tell him that she was so grateful this music existed for her grandchildren. "That's something I couldn't ever anticipate," he says. "Evoking those feelings and memories for people."

This year eleven New Zealand artists played leading roles at the world's leading destination for new music discovery. Held annually in Brighton, UK, The Great Escape is a four-day festival that showcases over 450 emerging artists to over 4,000 music professionals and fans across more than 30 venues. New Zealand was named Lead Country Partner for the festival's 20th anniversary. The artists were supported by the New Zealand Music Commission, Live Nation Aotearoa, Ministry of Culture and Heritage Cultural Diplomacy Fund and British Council NZ and the Pacific to attend, and received merchandising support from AS Colour. 

What makes The Great Escape the most important new music festival on the international calendar is the ecosystem around the music. Alongside performances, it runs a major industry conference. For four days, the people who shape international music careers are all in the same space. For the New Zealand delegation, that meant hosting a panel discussion Far Out: Building a global music career from the end of the Earth; meetings with audience development teams, conversations with UK booking agents and independent distributors, making connections at industry gatherings and the beginnings of new relationships that can only happen in this unique environment.

I talked to Luca George, Hemi Hemingway, and LEAO’s David Feauai-Afaese Vaeafe about how they made the most of being there. Here’s what they had to say.

Luca George, now London-based and signed to a major label, funds his music career through a parallel life in horticulture – making and selling kokedama at markets, propagating monsteras to sell online, and working at a florist. His lesson holds his hard-working entrepreneurial approach. "If you're given an opportunity like The Great Escape, you need to work for everything it possibly provides. You've just been invited from the other side of the world to the UK to connect with people who can literally change your entire trajectory."

LEAO’s David Feauai-Afaese Vaeafe embraced this attitude too. LEAO moved fast, turning around a songs and music video within two weeks to make the most of The Great Escape opportunity. The single landed two days before the festival. "We played The Great Escape, built this new audience, and then had a video of our new single to share that played on BBC 6 and KCRW [a NPR radio in Los Angeles and online]."

The cultural exchange at The Great Escape ran in both directions. LEAO’s David Feauai-Afaese Vaeafe  shares, "I probably spent maybe half my engagement with the crowd speaking in Sāmoan – they don't understand what I'm saying, but to establish the protocol around how we feel and perform our music felt important and the crowds appreciated it. They're not just coming to listen to music – they're getting a cultural experience."

British Council New Zealand and the Pacific helped connect LEAO to perform at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London before The Great Escape. Many Sāmoan members of the audience had been living in the UK for years, and there was a connection for everybody, "For everyone else in the room who wasn't Samoan to bear witness to us celebrating each other – that was a meaningful experience for everyone." 

The conversations happening beyond the stage – in conference rooms, at label drinks, on Brighton's streets between venues – are where The Great Escape does its deepest work.

For LEAO, the impact started before they even landed. The delegation gave them a reason to accelerate everything. "Maybe our album wouldn't already be underway if it wasn't for The Great Escape," David says. Knowing they were going, they reached out to contacts and a UK promoter helped organise London shows around the festival and they ended up securing opening dates across Scandinavia. “All of that wouldn't have happened if we weren't going to The Great Escape." At the festival itself they connected with Secretly Distribution, whom they'd long wanted to work with, met independent UK labels, and began new relationships.

For Hemi Hemingway, the effect was immediate. "I've heard back from people who I can confidently say wouldn't respond to many people without hearing mention of The Great Escape." 

For Luca, meetings with Universal's audience development team and the BBC followed the festival, and led to further meetings. "Some really big meetings happened after The Great Escape. You can meet one person and then the domino effect happens. Every person you meet could change your life."

For Luca George, The Great Escape was consolidation as much as discovery. "It was a great opportunity to connect with London industry players, because everyone comes to The Great Escape. If you’re given an opportunity like The Great Escape, you’re there to work. This is a life-changing opportunity. You’ve got people to meet that could change your entire trajectory.”

Hemi Hemingway says, “I definitely received a few extra bookings in the UK following The Great Escape. It has also opened up and extended a fair few conversations for me, as well as simply just putting myself on the map, so to speak. I’m excited for how that might continue when I plan my next trip to the UK for more shows and tours.”

For LEAO, The Great Escape taught them about scale, possibility, and the value of showing up. David comes home with more fire, more belief, and a conviction that the UK connects with their music and culture, "I think the world needs more Pacific music."

Standing in Brighton with NZ Music Commission's Alan Holt and British Council's Natasha Beckman, talking about what they love about music in Aotearoa, about what they want to see flourish, felt like its own kind of turning point. "It's moments like that, talking with Alan and Natasha, where you feel like, 'Wow, maybe this is possible. Maybe pushing New Zealand art and music isn't just a far-fetched dream, but something that's supported.'"