The Opening Day Of All Points East

Getting ready for the opening day of this year’s All Points East felt like the beginning of the end of Summer. Keeping our fingers crossed for reasonably warm weather, the night ahead felt more than promising. As we exited Mile End station, it was quite easy to follow the street signs all the way to Victoria Park without a navigation app, thanks to all the decked-out, excited attendees.

The festival’s well-organised smooth entrance was misleading, as by rush hour the site was already packed with people running to catch the next performer, Tems. After what the Met Office described as London’s hottest Summer yet, it is the local parks that paid the toughest price. Victoria Park felt like a desert with well-dressed, possessed zombies, with only one mission: to make it on time to see everyone, every artist, at different stages, even when they were overlapping. It was chaos.

Chaos that always vanished when an artist stepped on the stage. With Tems on the East Stage, as the sky was turning pink-orange, the crowd collectively soaked up the last minutes of sunshine while screaming lyrics with the one toxic relationship in mind. As her first UK show of the year, Tems was determined to give it everything she’s got. The set’s favorites were ‘Burning,’ ‘What You Need,’ ‘Big Daddy,’ and the biggest gift to all: Tems’ collab with Dave on ‘Raindance,’ which got even relatively new fans singing every verse and every lyric.

What followed was unprecedented. In the whirlpool of dust, with Tems barely finishing her set, the crowd rushed to the North Arena stage for Ayra Starr. As a regular All Points East goer, and generally a London festival regular, it didn’t feel right. People were either running towards the stage or running to find a spot for a breather. Our escape route was the White Claw stand, which felt like a haven in a potential stampede.

After a momentary break, we gathered the courage to attempt to enter the North Arena stage to watch Ayra Starr. Peeking fans surrounded the always-tricky tent; getting in seemed impossible from far. After a few minutes of squeezing through the crowd on the sidelines, we made it in, and lo and behold, there was plenty of space and breathing room in the back. Only a few days after the release of her latest album Stargirl, Starr’s set was full of live debuts such as ‘Heaven Baby,’ ‘Midnight In New York,’ and ‘Pressure.’ For ‘Amazing,’ kwn showed up, and everyone went ballistic; the air suddenly got steamy with their sultry performance.

Making our way out so we have enough time to find a spot for the final set of the evening, Ayra Starr played ‘Ms. Paper,’ and let me tell you, that was an unbeatable vibe switch-up, in the best way possible. Aside from the dust, which was beyond the organizers’ control, the overlapping schedules could have been better managed. With Ayra Starr, though, the conclusion was that she deserved a bigger stage, where more fans could make it in.

For the last stretch, everyone was locked in for Jorja Smith. All of us placed our predictions: who is she going to bring out? Optimistically, we were hoping for all her collaborators. She opened with ‘Blue Lights,’ and right after, ‘Teenage Fantasy’ came on, and everyone was instantly transported back to 2018. Smith’s hit-packed set was proof of how many chapters she’s shared with the world, with the newest installment, What Are The Odds, released the same day as her All Points East headlining debut.

And the list of guests? Jorja Smith made sure to spoil us. Everyone was there: Katy B, Nia Archives, Odeal, Loyle Carner, AJ Tracey, and the beautiful Blue Lights Choir. It was a non-stop party with a momentary signature Jorja Smith slowdown in the form of ‘Don’t Watch Me Cry,’ ‘The One,’ ‘Loose Ends,’ and ‘Goodbyes.’ The only puzzle piece missing was Burna Boy’s appearance for the last track of the evening, ‘Be Honest,’ which closed the whole first day of All Points East on a very high note.

All Points East is an exceptional entity at curating the most ridiculous lineups with artists you’re probably waiting the whole year to see. But because we all want to see all the artists, the schedules must avoid overlap whenever possible. Sets were missed and cut way too short. Music was immaculate, and we will be coming very soon.