LIME GARDEN + HOTWAX + LONNIE GUNN + MAGDA (1999) – Green Door Store, BRIGHTON 19 April 2026
Words: Peter Greenfield, Photos: Sara-Louise Bowrey
Brighton’s Green Door Store threw its first ever outdoor party like it had been waiting all winter for the excuse. The Trafalgar Arches turned into a sun‑drenched mini‑festival: cold drinks sweating in plastic cups, pizza slices disappearing faster than they could be served, and a courtyard packed with people drifting between shade, heat and whatever noise came next. It had that particular Brighton looseness being half street party, half gig, fully communal, with four rising local acts feeding off the sunshine and the crowd’s Sunday‑afternoon delirium.
Magda 1999
Magda 1999 opened the day with a slow‑burn shimmer that felt like the festival stretching its limbs. Their blend of electronic glow and alt‑rock edges drifted out across the courtyard, Max Lambert’s deadpan vocals cutting through the heat. As the set developed with punchier rhythms, spacy synths and a post‑punk pulse, the crowd shifted closer, pulled in by a finale that rose from a simmer to something far more charged.
Lonnie Gunn
Then Lonnie Gunn arrived and the whole mood snapped into full colour. Her “lesbian fembot bubblegrunge” persona fitted the sunshine perfectly: bright, cheeky, slightly chaotic. The set swung between bubble‑gum melody and distortion‑heavy release. ‘Lucky Girl’ hit with instant charm, while ‘Kiss You’ and ‘Dog In A Hot Car’ showed her knack for flipping from softness to full‑band punch. Vocoder twists, false endings, sudden dynamic drops all fed into a captivating set that felt playful, unpredictable and completely alive in the open air.
HotWax
HotWax didn’t so much take the stage as detonate it. The Hastings trio launched into a breathless run of grunge, garage‑punk and snarling pop, barely leaving space for applause. Bassist Lola Sam darted across the stage like she was trying to outrun the sun, locking into Tallulah Sim Savage’s guitar lines while Alfie Sayers kept the tempo in overdrive. Unreleased tracks flashed new colours, older singles ‘Drop’ and ‘Treasure’ sent the courtyard into its wildest dancing yet, and ‘Rip It Out’ closed things with a final, glorious burst of chaos.
Lime Garden
By the time Lime Garden stepped up, dusk was settling and the courtyard felt like it had melted into one big, easy‑moving crowd. Their wiry, off‑kilter indie pop with sly humour, sharp hooks and dance‑leaning grooves landed perfectly in the cooling air. ‘Body’ sparked an early sing‑along, ‘23’ loosened the last of the daylight into a bounce. Chloe Howard moved between spoken narrative cool on ‘Always Talking About You” and more expansive vocals later in the set. They paused to bring it down for ‘Do You Know What I’m Thinking About’ before kicking the party back into gear with ‘Lifestyle’. Those changes only highlighted Leila Deeley’s shape‑shifting guitar work. Members of Lonnie Gunn’s band kicked off some good‑natured moshing, adding to the sense of shared, sun‑softened joy. Highlights rolled one after another, ‘Downtown Lover’, ‘Love Song’, the ever‑shifting ‘Clockwork’, before a sparkling cover of New Order’s ‘Age of Consent’ closed the Garden Party with a huge smile and a final, collective sway.
