Photo by Bethan Miller.
All Points East Festival takes over London’s Victoria Park for two weekends each August. Since it began in 2018, it has become an interesting and important part of the UK festival circuit. Unafraid to give a boost to acts who have not previously headlined big outdoor festivals, the 50,000-capacity event has arguably the most diverse headliner bill of the major UK festivals each year.
Mitski headlines Day 3 of the festival this year and there’s a visible difference in audience from the moment the gates open. Often, All Points East can be rather quiet for the first two or three hours as is common with London day festivals. Today, there are queues before the gates even open and it’s a much younger audience than is usually here.
Bossa nova singer, Liana Flores, opened up the West Stage (the second stage) and it’s certainly the largest opening crowd I have seen on that stage. It’s clear that a lot of people are parked up waiting for TV Girl who are headlining it later on. She tells us that it’s her first-ever festival set; it’s a much larger and more respectful crowd than many artists have for their debut. It’s a sweet and dreamy performance which is certain to have won over new fans today.
Good Neighbours were the opening act in the tent, the CUPRA North Arena. Despite having only released three singles so far, the tent is more than half full when they arrive. There are elements of Bleachers in their feel-good performance. Of course, many are here for their huge viral hit “Home” which is the first of many big singalongs at today’s event. Interestingly, they don’t end on that and the crowd are happy to stick around for more.
New to the festival this year is the AMEX Unsigned Stage which celebrates emerging talent. Here, we caught Riya Gadher, whose cinematic alt-pop recalls BANKS. She called out for more female producers and included a cover of Melanie Martinez‘s “Pacify Her”, which may have been a mis-step given recent allegations against the pop singer. Later on, rock singer Molly Payton was another example of why areas like this are important at festivals. The songs and performance already strong enough for one of the bigger stages and it would be an enormous surprise if she’s not playing one of them very soon.
Vermont indie band, Sir Chloe, had a very large crowd in the CUPRA North Arena. It’s the longest it’s ever taken this writer to exit that tent at the end of a set. An excellent and compelling set which proves to be one of the highlights of the festival so far. Like many acts on the bill, their success has been boosted by a TikTok viral hit “Michelle” which is sung by almost every person in the tent. They are no one-hit wonder though, every track gets a similar reception and this band are on their way to even bigger things.
Over on the main stage, Lucius, are a curious booking for today. The All Points East days are generally well-curated around the main headline act. As such, a lot of the Sunday bookings are alt-females popular on Tik Tok much like the headliner. However, this American indie band, who have collaborated with Brandi Carlile and The War on Drugs, probably appeal to an older, adult contemporary audience. The impeccable harmonies and beautiful Americana sound on display today are perfect for a sunny afternoon in a field so hopefully they picked up some new fans here.
Ethel Cain is a perfect booking for today. It’s hard to imagine her dark and intense material being so well received in the evening at an outdoor festival but her compelling performance silenced all of the typical chatter in the crowd within seconds of her arrival. All Points East often draws criticism for its sound but this set was perfectly mixed and the vocals were loud and clear across the field. “Family Tree” had to be re-started due to some members of the crowd needing water. This has become quite common at Ethel’s shows and is probably a side effect of younger fans camping out all day for front-row spots without sufficient hydration. The need to interrupt songs like “Thoroughfare”, however valid the reason, does have the unfortunate effect of breaking the intensity for the audience. It is, however, an exceptional performance from Cain who could very well headline here on the next record.
Suki Waterhouse has the biggest crowd on the CUPRA stage today. She tells us that she played Wembley Stadium last night supporting Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour. That crowd may have been even bigger but is unlikely to have matched the devotion of today’s audience. Switching between soulful songs like “Moves” and indie pop bangers like “OMG” with ease, it’s a powerhouse pop performance. An uninspired Oasis cover was a rare lowlight but was well-received by other members of the crowd.
Photo by Isha Shah.
Arlo Parks had a somewhat unfortunate billing; clashing with the end of Beabadoobee and most of TV Girl who both draw very large crowds. Because of this, the tent is less than half full when she emerges for the spoken word opener “Bruiseless”. A few songs in, Arlo introduces “Caroline” by telling us that it is a test for how loud the crowd is. The chorus erupts from further back in the tent and it’s clear that Beabadoobee has finished and much of the audience has rushed over to catch the rest of Parks’ polished performance. There is a sharpness which only comes from regular touring and Arlo her band have seemingly perfected this festival set. “Eugene” and “Black Dog” pack the same emotional punch as when you first heard them, “Hurt” is rockier than on record, “Too Good” is more funky and the final two songs “Devotion” and “Softly” are far more lively than you would expect.
Mitski closes off the day with a truly mesmerising set. It’s the sort of performance art we saw when Christine and the Queens headlined here a few years ago. After a rare moment of crowd interaction, the singer tell us she is “going back into character”. Some of the songs like “Geyser” are re-worked adding to the immersive and cohesive nature of the set. Her voice silky and sophisticated, the live band complimenting rather than overshadowing her, Mitski’s show is theatrical and bewitching. These 90 minutes explain to anyone previously unsure just how an alt-singer like Mitski has transcended the commercial constraints of her genre to headline shows like this.
