Live Review: SON Estrella Galicia – Plantoid x Panic Shack - Prince Albert, Brighton 23/03/2024
SON Estrella Galicia have expanded their ever-flavourful night of music, beer, gastronomy, and positive impact to the seaside in their latest instalment – featuring Panic Shack and Plantoid.
On Saturday, SON Estrella Galicia teamed up with Brighton’s iconic Prince Albert for a new collaboration, bringing their steady-growing microfestival to the blustery coast. In their fourth UK-based instalment – with family-owned beer brand Estrella Galicia at the heart of the event – SON Estrella Galicia would go on to present powerhouses Plantoid and Power Shack and DJs Kike Louie, Lee Petryszyn and Henry WP amidst the promotion of beer culture, good food and environmental consciousness.
The Prince Albert was abuzz from early evening. Prior to entering the venue, attendees would be greeted with incredible aromas from Carlito’s Burrito’s, an award-winning Mexican Street food company as well as Brighton’s very first Mexican-owned restaurant. A Carlito Burrito’s food truck was positioned just beside the doors to offer burritos and quesadillas paired with Estrella Galicia beer. It was not difficult to be enticed immediately.
A beer tasting kicked off the night’s activities. Demonstrating their passion and craft for both music and beer, SON Estrella Galicia’s unique “what does our beer sound like?” experience goes on to highlight that two aren’t so dissimilar. Attendees are given a breakdown on the ingredients which make up Estrella Galicia, drawing parallels between these components and the elements of a song. This is all accompanied by different types of beer which are used to show the distinct differences in taste across one beverage. It is an interesting and immersive experience which immediately showcases what the night is all about.
It is important to note that beyond music, food and beer, The Prince Albert also served as a space to exhibit SON Estrella Galicia’s commitment to positive impact. Just a day before the event, SON Estrella Galicia joined up with awareness-action platform WE Sustainability and Brighton’s own environmental campaign Leave No Trace for a beach clean-up, with the collected waste being used to create a
The performances began with experimental band Plantoid opening. However, experimental does not seem to truly encapsulate the enigmatic presence that the Brighton group displayed. In a psychedelic-prog-rock-jazz fusion, Plantoid unsheathed a sound that was enduringly atmospheric, guided by unexpected twists and turns which demanded close attention from attendees for its full hypnotic effect to take hold. With intricately jazzy runs led by drums and bass, brought to fruition by snappy melodies, adorning percussive features and elevated by sporadic though enticing vocals, the group appeared to make a mission out of locking attendees in for the night. Evidently this was successful, as the audience followed Plantoid’s lead from start to finish and a stir was present in anticipation for headliners Panic Shack.
Once Panic Shack took the stage, they could not be contained – not that anyone would have wanted them to be. The femme punk Welsh quartet were endearingly fiery, brash, boisterous, and unapologetically so. Frontwoman Sarah Harvey’s spoken vocal delivery was cutting and unforgiving as the group appeared to make misogyny the butt of the joke, asserting a no-nonsense attitude which sent the audience into a jubilant thrash within moments. The energy was raucous, sweaty, and all-encompassing. Embracing the punk ethos, Panic Shack seemed to celebrate girlhood while calling upon its absurdity in opener ‘Tit School’, comment on an impossible standard of living with pinnacle chorus “Feed me, I’m skint and I’m hungry!” in ‘Meal Deal’ all while begging for emotional expression in ‘Mannequin Man’. With Harvey thrusting herself into the crowd, the band taking celebratory shots to a sold-out show and even incorporating a dance routine, their set created a tone that was carefree, fun, and upbeat.
SON Estrella Galicia have done it again with yet another exhilarating night, spotlighting some of the UK’s most interesting emerging artists in their increasingly iconic cultural exchanges. Now that they have expanded beyond London, it is hoped that the SON Estrella Galicia microfestivals will continue to grow, taking on new cities and new acts while bearing the same longstanding goal in mind: sharing music, sharing beer, and spreading positive impact.
Words by Kayla Sandiford
Photography provided by Super Cat PR
