Dork is heading back to Brighton for
The Great Escape this May - and as it's our big 100th-issue celebration, we're bringing along three days of live chaos, bangers, and potential seagull incidents. Consider this the first leg of a roadshow style warm-up lap for a summer of Dork 100 madness.
First up, we’re teaming up with our pals at Chess Club Records to take over Charles Street Tap on Thursday for a showcase that runs the full alt-pop spectrum. Expect big things from Isle of Wight icons-in-waiting
Coach Party, rising star
SOFY, and fresh-faced genre-hopper
Zander.
Friday night? That’s all us. A full Dork takeover of Charles Street Tap from 7pm ‘til silly o’clock. There’s a stacked line-up featuring the chaotic bratty brilliance of
The Pill, the gloriously unhinged
The Family Battenberg, the always-excellent
Talk Show, and a bunch more from the sharp-edged weird to the just-plain-wonderful:
Lawn Chair,
TVOD,
Shortstraw and
Good Health Good Wealth.
Then on Saturday, we’re closing things out in style with a beach party at The Deep End @ TGE Beach. It’s a full evening of Dork-approved joy featuring electro-anarchist
Lynks, poptastic-slash-boptastic duo
piri & tommy, the genre-melting brilliance of
Kabeaushe, woozy wonders
Zola Blood, and the brassy power-pop magic of
She’s Got Brass. Expect sand, silliness, and probably a few members of the Dork team falling in the sea.
Of course, it doesn’t stop there. This is just 'the beginning'.
This summer, Dork turns 100 – and to celebrate, we’re throwing a month-long festival of shows, stages and general mischief under the Dork 100 banner. We’re kicking off on 10th July with piri & tommy at Colours Hoxton, then letting Courting loose at the Sebright Arms the next day for a run-through of their debut album 'Guitar Music' (plus ‘the hits’). After a short breather, we head to the iconic 100 Club for five nights of former cover stars, including Black Honey, Divorce, a VERY secret (and VERY famous) special guest, Sports Team playing 'Winter' Nets in full, and the ever-excellent Antony Szmierek. There’s also a pub quiz (obviously), a headline show from Lime Garden, and a full-scale festival takeover at Truck.
And finally, the curtain comes down on Saturday 2nd August with Dork’s Day Out – our all-day blowout at Signature Brew Blackhorse Road. Expect buzzy names, big energy, and possibly the biggest hangover of the year. More about that 'later'.
It’s a celebration of all things Dork, from the cover stars to the next big things and everything in between. So whether you’re catching a set by the sea or belting out answers at our pub quiz, we’d love you to be part of it. Come for the bands. Stay for the nonsense. Watch out for the seagulls.
