THE GREAT ESCAPE (TGE) is back this year, taking place from May 13th to 16th 2026, across more than 30 venues in Brighton. As always, the festival will showcase a cutting-edge lineup of both emerging and established artists from around the world, including exciting Austrian acts Mira Taylor, Lukas Oscar, NENDA, Oskar Haag and LuxJury. Additionally, there will be an Austrian Heartbeats reception and showcase on May 14th.
AUSTRIAN ARTISTS AT TGE 2026:
MIRA TAYLOR
The Hope and Ruin, 1:15pm Thursday, May 14 (Austrian Heartbeats Showcase)
Fabrica, 9:30pm Friday, May 15
Mira Taylor has been immersed in music for as long as she can remember. She began writing songs at the age of five—still smaller than her guitar—swapping imaginary melodies for formal music lessons. After moving to Vienna and experiencing the isolation of being “the new kid,” she discovered songwriting as a source of comfort and empowerment. Music became a space where she could belong—and where others soon followed.
Blending melancholy, Billie Eilish–like vocals with Joni Mitchell’s raw introspection and the wistfulness of contemporary indie pop, Mira crafts atmospheric songs that resonate on an emotional level. Her latest single, Dizzy, has attracted a diverse and devoted fan community known as the “Miracles,” a space defined by openness and inclusivity.
LUKAS OSKAR
The Hope and Ruin, 2:15pm Thursday, May 14 (Austrian Heartbeats Showcase)
Revenge, 7:00pm Thursday, May 14
A rising voice from the Viennese scene, Lukas Oscar is a singer-songwriter and music producer, who seamlessly blends emotional lyrics with heartfelt instrumentals. His latest album The Fun Never Ends!, released in October 2024, tackles themes of self-criticism, obsession, existential questions and the pressures of competition. His mission is to foster acceptance and recognition of difficult emotions as he believes that due to the often self-destructive and chaotic nature of our inner worlds everyone needs an outlet of some kind.
NENDA
The Hope and Ruin, 3:15pm Thursday, May 14 (Austrian Heartbeats Showcase)
Patterns Upstairs, 6:15pm Friday, May 15
NENDA is an artist from the Tyrolean Alps. As an actress, she is known from series such as The Rising (Sky) & Belgravia: The Next Chapter (MGM+, Amazon). As a musician, NENDA has won various awards for her self-produced music videos. Her debut single ‘Mixed Feelings’ topped the FM4 annual charts 2021. NENDA´s debut album KRRRA will be released in autumn 2025, on which she continues to discuss topics such as identity and socio-political issues. The album provides insight into her life – as a Tyrolean and a Londoner, a wallflower and a boss bitch. Packed with honest emotions, humorous characters and lasting impressions. She recently won the FM4 Award for the Amadeus Awards 2026!
OSKAR HAAG
Queens Hotel, 8:30pm Thursday, May 14
Oskar Haag released his debut at the age of 17. Won Austrias most important Music-award, The Amadeus, as youngest winner ever. Had one sold out tour through Ger/Austria/Switzerland, opened a couple of shows for outstanding British artist Birdy and also played some international Showcase-Festivals such as Eurosonic/Holland, WAVES Vienna/Austria or The Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg/Germany. The 20 year old musician is about to finish his second album LOST CAUSE on his own label “Lullaby Records” that will be released at the end of September 2026.
LUXJURY
The Hope and Ruin, 12:15pm Thursday, May 14 (Austrian Heartbeats Showcase)
Quarters, 7:30pm Saturday, May 14
Fronted by lead singer Nicole Fermie, she is a self-professed latecomer to the queer party but made great cliff notes along the way. The cliff notes were put to music which translated into alternative, extremely positive, autobiographical pop guitar music. Like if Prince went down more of a singer songwriter route than outright sex machine.
Naming George Michael, Angel Olsen and the Vampyros Lesbos soundtrack as their main inspirations, LuxJury draws from their combined influences, fusing elements of pop, rock and soul baring lyricism to create their own distinctively captivating sound. Recorded and mixed at Hermitage Works (Goat Girl, Fat White Family, Big Joanie, Plantoid) and produced by Nathan Ridley (Plantoid, Big Joanie), ‘Hot Mess’ explores the complexities of toxic love and addiction, but with an undeniably sexy undertone. LuxJury lure in their listeners by telling stories with expression and relatability, but with an angsty yet playfully roguish honesty at its core.
