The Great Escape, a boisterous Brighton music festival for rising bands, renowned as a place to uncover rising acts before they hit the ‘big time’, it’s a music industry institution, a kind of British version of SxSW, or Eurosonic. Road to the Great Escape, a 12-artist mini festival in Dublin that also appears in Glasgow, is essentially a mini preview.

It’s fair to say the whole thing is really quite low key, especially given being picked for such a show is a fair indicator of potential. With a crowd of perhaps 50 in Whelan’s (hosting three acts) on a Monday night, a rush down to one of the other venues on the quays – The Workman’s Club and The Grand Social – feels a little manic when the stage times are not all that clear. We stick, instead, to one space, and are treated to an exploration of soulful vibes from three local acts all of whom have plenty of potential.

Lee Brady (****) is up first. Having recently dabbled in working with Tommy Baxter (who previously penned tracks with Dua Lipa and Little Mix), he has a clever turn of phrase, a distinct, heartfelt style and plenty of stage patter. In the spirit of the festival, he brings out a couple of ‘never before performed’ tracks, including ‘In My Dreams’, a clever twisting melody that would fit right in as a single.

There’s a sweetness to the Derry man, not least in ‘Someone, Someday’, an ode to his parents’ beautiful-sounding love, and ‘Love You The Same’, a sappy but charming number addressed to his mum during an extended period across the Atlantic. ‘Cold Black Tar’, in which he pours his heart out on the story of a friend’s death in a car crash, shows a darker profound side, and covers of Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’ and Zach Bryan’s ‘Something In Orange’ make up the set and also signal his broader style. Brady has depth, a sense that he enjoys being on stage, and gives off a general feel that he’s going to make an impact in time.

Tallaght man Bradley Marshall (***) gets the next mini-slot, and has a poppier, polished vibe, a slickness that at times feels almost like a ‘90s boy band going through a downbeat moment’ thing. His ‘big entrance’ is spoiled somewhat by sound issues with his accompanying keyboard, but in amongst it all he has a chunk of lyrical weight. ‘You’ll Be Fine’ draws on friend-group experience of attempted suicide, and his big number ‘Perfect For Me’, is a song about deep love that’s become a marriage staple.

‘Perfect For Me’ is saved for last, with a decent cover of Kodaline’s ‘All I Want’ and an ‘uppy’ moment – his words – in the (still actually quite downbeat) track ‘Skin N Bones’ making up the beat in a shiny pop sandwich. It feels, all in, like Marshall would make the most sense on a big, brightly lit stage with a large band behind him, though that’s perhaps some way off still.

Allie Sherlock (4.5*s) is the biggest name of the night and its headliner, a regular on the Irish busking scene for a decade who is, somehow, despite the American talk TV appearances and a One Republic tour support slot, just 20 years old. She’s currently in the phase of her career, perhaps, where the main aim is to establish her own music as being on a par with the massive covers that have made her name.

There’s a reason, by the way, that Sherlock’s done so well out of busking and cover songs. Her voice is absolutely sensational, a brilliantly adaptable vocal that can seemingly switch easily between soaring pop explosiveness (like in tonight’s cover of Benson Boone’s ‘Beautiful Things’) and an almost Americanised R&B energy (as in a stunning cover of Alicia Key’s vocally challenging ‘Fallin’’).

None of Sherlock’s own songs have quite had the same impact as her covers just yet (and to be fair, she’s gone as far as anyone is likely to on covers which is a tribute to that voice). To her credit she sticks to just the two reproductions, instead offering tracks like the witty ‘Ex-Friend’ (about a friend who moved in on the man she liked), and easily the strongest original of the night, her 2024 hit ‘How Love Works’.

The energy of the single feels like Sherlock’s most promising direction at the moment, accentuating that vocal with simple but heartfelt pop, clever bounce-around lyrics and storytelling. We’re not massive Taylor Swift fans, but this particular track wouldn’t feel out of place on the American’s setlist, and it’s hard to think of a more promising impression in terms of future development than that. More of the same, please, Allie.

All in, lots of promise; it’s a shame we don’t see more support for events like this. Tonight’s short-set format may have taken place on a Monday night, which is never ideal, but it was curated for quality, and could also have revealed a future Irish superstar in an ‘I was there’ moment. In fact, it almost feels more likely than not.