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Brighton Fringe 2012 ends with The Hanging Gardens of Brighton

Alabama 3, The Go! Team and Ska Cubano will be headlining the Fringe finale party, The Hanging Gardens of Brighton, a three-day decadent utopian affair of high quality live music and cabaret, taking place on the Old Steine Gardens from 25 - 27 May.

These and many other performers will be hosted in The Garden and The Temple – two beautifully decorated wooden floored marquees which will also house the Bars of Babel and stalls selling exotic fresh food. The historic Old Steine Gardens and its decorative Victoria Fountain provide the natural setting for this three day event, all contained in a temporary walled area with entrance via the iconic blue Gate of Ishtar, a stone’s throw from the Royal Pavilion, Brighton seafront and Palace Pier.

The three-day Fringe finale boasts a deliciously exotic line-up of 50 plus acts encompassing Dance, Electro-Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Hip Hop, Latin beats, Folk, Ska, Reggae, Rock, Balkan rave, Dubstep, and a stunning mix of cabaret and circus with special guests include Jamie Catto, the Dub Pistols, Son of Dave, The Destroyers, White Mink, Molotov Jukebox, Ramschackle Circus, and Carnivalesque.

Londoners Alabama 3, best known for penning the theme tune to hit TV series The Sopranos, top the bill for the opening night and will be preaching their special blend of electro pop, punk rock, country blues gospel to the Babylon faithful on Friday 25 May.

The hi-energy cranks up a notch with Saturday night headliner The Go! Team. Since crashing onto the scene with their genre defying pop-funk-rock-hip-hop debut album Thunder, Lightning, Strike in 2004, the six-piece group from Brighton continues to command attention with their relentless raw energy and bombastic beats. It is then the turn of Latin rock steady legends Ska Cubano to take centre stage on Sunday. This 12-piece outfit cook up a huge sound to whip people of all ages into skanking pilgrims.

Son of Dave (formerly of the Crash Test Dummies) guests on Friday. One of the most entertaining & opinionated performers on the planet, his raucous harmonica playing, beat-boxing, foot stomping percussion provides a timeless and totally unique sound.

On Saturday the party gets in gear with The Dub Pistols and their genre-mashing futuristic big beats. While White Mink and Molotov Jukebox, led by Natalia Tena (of Harry Potter fame), provide the dirty electro-swing GypStep to close the proceedings on Sunday.

Jamie Catto, a co-founder of super-group Faithless, will be performing a live set and presenting an art exhibition from his award-winning 1 Giant Leap project. He is joined by Worldshift Media to offer festival-goers a trip into a brave new world of Social Innovation and Conscious Evolution, while Butterfly FX will be powering the Babylon Time Machine.

Brighton’s Carnivalesque are charged with leading the Babylon congregation astray throughout this decadent utopian weekend with their funtastic antics, fancy dress, and sultry sexy DJ grooves. They will be aided by the coolest collective of cabaret acts including Ramshackle Circus, La Bordello Boheme, and Shambolic.

Babylon Festivals Director Kieran Doswell said, “What started as a small taster event has turned into a full-on mini festival smack bang in the heart of Brighton. Our “partival” is the perfect finale to the month-long Brighton Fringe. So don your finest party wear, pull on your dancing shoes and come experience the fall and rise of Babylon in Brighton”.

With a strictly limited capacity each day, and a weather forecast fit for Babylon itself, this is sure to be a fitting finale to the most remarkable, diverse and successful Brighton Fringe ever.

- by Paul Lucas-Scott

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