Festival Review: Brighton Psych Fest 2026
Bleech 9:3, Sex Mask, Maquina and Lemonsuckr stood out on a day spent moving between Brighton’s packed venues for the third edition of Brighton Psych Fest.
The third edition of Brighton Psych Fest brought a day of leftfield and exploratory music to venues across the city. Organised by JOY Concerts and the team behind Manchester Psych Fest, it offered plenty of reasons to spend the day moving between Brighton’s gig rooms, and a few difficult decisions about who to miss.
Planning out my day and deciding which acts to watch was hard enough; choosing my favourites afterwards proved even harder. However, I couldn’t give the top spot to anyone but Bleech 9:3. Made up of Barry ‘Baz’ Quinlan, Sam Duffy, James Quinlan and Luke O’Neill, the Irish quartet took their place in a packed Concorde 2 with a sound rooted in alt-rock, punk and ’90s grunge. Gritty guitar riffs and melodic, melancholic vocals gave their explosive performance plenty of weight, and it was easy to understand the excitement surrounding them. I went in with high expectations and still came out happily out of breath.
Volks quickly filled up as Australian trio Sex Mask prepared to take the stage. Their unusual mix of punk and electronica found a fitting home in the dark, steamy venue, where the band gave us everything they had. They were impossible to ignore, with tunes like ‘Beheadal’ and ‘No Love’ sending the audience into brief bouts of madness that I wished could have lasted much longer. Of all the rooms I found myself in that day, this one felt particularly well suited to the music filling it.
Over at Komedia, Maquina’s set made the basement feel like a late-night club. The Lisbon-based band’s noise-rock had us dancing along, even if we did get stuck at the back of the crowd. Their all-instrumental set held our attention through long guitar riffs that rose and rose, the anticipation part of the pleasure. There was plenty to get caught up in without a singer at the centre of it, and our unfortunate position did little to dampen the experience.
Closing the day were one of Brighton’s absolute best: Lemonsuckr. Guy Ferris on vocals, Oscar Post and Ollie Thomas on guitars, and Matt Saunders on drums delivered catchy, fun songs with the precision that makes their live shows such a pleasure. They knew how to hold the crowd’s attention, keeping the intensity up without losing their grip on the music. It’s no secret that these guys are amongst my favourite live acts of all time, and I never miss a chance to see them perform. Even on a day when choosing between bands had been so difficult, I knew where I wanted to finish.
Photography By: David Grykos and Ele Marchant