The Great Escape’s festival programmer Adam Ryan on Aldous Harding’s Party
Aldous Harding first played The Great Escape in 2015. At that point she’d only released her self-titled debut. We look to invite four artists each year from New Zealand, and I came across her music on a couple of New Zealand blogs and couldn’t stop listening to a song called Beast.
She’s a very talented songwriter and performer and I’d like to think that her performance in 2015 helped her secure a team to help get to the next level in her career. I’m excited to see her play again, and the next London show has already sold out at Omeara.
The Great Escape will be my next chance to see her play, then there’s an Islington Assembly Hall date at the end of the year. I can’t wait!
That fact that 4AD have signed Aldous doesn’t surprise me at all and I think the two are a perfect match. It’s well deserved and I love what I’ve heard so far.
The Great Escape can support the release of the new album by showcasing it to a wider audience. The first show in 2015 was at Unitarian Church to about 100 people, we’ve now partnered up with BBC Radio 6 Music and Aldous will be closing their stage at Paganini Ballroom on Thursday night.
The most important thing for us is to showcase the best new music on credible platforms and working with the right media partners and venues helps us do this.
We showcase a wide range of styles and genres and Aldous definitely fits into the alternative bracket. Her voice is so unique and the live show is unlike anything else I’ve seen. She’s an artist we need to have on our bill.
Adam Ryan
Festival Programmer, The Great Escape
