Festival Review: All Points East - Day One / London Grammar + Jorja Smith - August 2021
The bank holiday weekend got off to fantastic start for All Points East Festival, with huge performances from the likes of London Grammar, Jorja Smith and Celeste.
With a stellar line up across the weekend, huge crowds drew to Victoria Park in London for day one of four for All Points East. After a troublesome, long period of quiet for the music industry when it comes to festivals, there was a huge sense of excitement in the air while walking up to the festival site from Bethnal Green station. Once we got through the gates of the festival and after a quick wonder around the site - our first stop was Ailsa Tully - who recently signed to Dalliance Recordings, home to the likes of Gia Margaret and Wilsen. Her set was on the BMW Play Next Stage, home for the best in rising stars for the weekend. While a small stage, it felt hidden at times - so when Ailsa first hits the stage the crowd felt a bit sparse. But as the first song progressed, people were drawn to her voice and cool lo-fi indie folk sounds, so by the time her set came to a close, you couldn't find an empty spot to stand in around the stage. A rather peaceful but beautiful start to our All Points East experience.
Following that, we headed to the main stage for the first time since arriving on site to catch performances from Mathilda Homer and Kojey Radical. Two completely different ends of the spectrum when it comes to energy and music genre. With Mathilda’s silky Neo-soul tones, it laid down a chilled summer evening mood as the sun shined down on the festival. With her EP ‘If You Were On Fire’ due out the 9th September. Her powerful falsetto voice floated across the already big crowd at the festival. Soon after that Kojey Radical hit the stage, and boy did he bring the party. Two hundred percent energy from the moment he hit the stage. While a slight change in vibe, he certainly got us all in the right mood for the weekend.
Then we were ready for Celeste, who won the 2020 Rising Star award at the Brits. Back then she was just a small name in the mix, but now she is basically a household name with her tracks like ‘Stop This Flame’ appearing everywhere now. With the biggest crowd we have seen all day so far, Celeste walks on to the stage to a wall of sound from the crowd. The cheers and screams can be heard all the way back to Bethnal Green station. A mixture of mild shock and pure happiness, you can feel the emotion running through Celeste when she the audience call back to her. Her voice sounds amazing on record, but hearing it live is truly an experience in itself.
Up next is Jorja Smith, the Grammy-nominated artist had the audience in the palm of her hands with tracks like ‘Be Honest’ and ‘Come Over’ creating mass audience singalong moments within the festival. Towards the end of her set the crowd start heading towards Loyle Carner, who was closing the West Stage at All Points East. Almost matching a crowd similar to Celeste’s earlier that day, the crowd clearly wanted to keep up the energy of the festival and go out with a bang.
The sun had finally set, and it was time for festival headliners London Grammar, who have only just released they new album earlier this year back in April. An unusual headline choice, but All Points East is famous for that. Pushing itself outside of the norm and not going for the usual choices. The band put on a stunning set throughout - with a huge festival moment during ‘Strong’ with the whole festival singing the chorus back to the band. A feeling we are sure the band have missed over the past eighteen months, so emotions were running high.
The first day at All Points East was a success in our books. While a unique blend of genres might of raised some eyebrows but it seemed to work perfecly. Mixing London Grammar with the likes of Jorja Smith and Loyle Carner - it brought all ages and backgrounds together for a true festival experience. Bring on the rest of the All Points East weekend!
Words and Photography by Ant Adams