Must-Watch: Fender on Stage at Great Escape

For the 13th consecutive year, the Great Escape Music Convention descended on the south coast of England, bringing together music industry professionals, musicians and fans to over 60 local venues in the city of Brighton.

The South by Southwest-like festival showcased approximately 500 artists from around the world in a diverse celebration of music.

And several of the emerging bands on hand performed with their favorite Fender instruments, including chart-topping alternative rockers Nothing But Thieves and emerging singer/songwriter Declan McKenna.

Watch a few video highlights from Great Escape below.

Nothing But Thieves

Nothing But Thieves burst onto the U.K. scene with their hit self-titled debut album in 2015, and the quintet followed that up with a standout 2017 follow-up entitled Broken Machine. At Great EScape, guitarist Dom Craik used his Fender Telecaster while bassist Philip Blake played his Precision Bass on hard-hitting new tracks like "Ban the Music," "Number 13" and "Amsterdam."

Stereo Honey

London four-piece Stereo Honey brought their soaring sounds to Great Escape to perform a few of their buzz-worthy singles, such as "What Makes a Man," which featured frontman Pete Restrick front-and-center carrying his Paramount PM-2 Parlor with an eye-catching slotted headstock.

The Howl and the Hum

Following up on the success of their 2017 debut EP, Godmanchester Chinese Bridge, York’s four-piece The Howl and the Hum garnered cheers for new single “Portrait I." The dark pop number begins softly enough but builds to hypnotic heights as frontman Sam Griffiths played a Telecaster and guitarist Conor Hirons supported on a Jazzmaster.

Sam Fender

Newcomer Sam Fender picked up a Stratocaster for the gritty single, "Greasy Spoon," which combines his confident and soulful vocal delivery with catchy indie melodies.

Declan McKenna

Declan McKenna has been making the festival rounds on the heels of his strong 2017 debut LP, What Do You Think About the Car?, which featured the single "Make Me Your Queen." For his Great Escape performance of "Queen" McKenna tabbed a new Cosmic Turquoise Malibu from Fender's California Series of acoustics.