10 unmissable acts at… All Points East Festival 2021
10 unmissable acts at…
All Points East
Festival 2021
All Points East (APE) Festival returns to London’s Victoria Park for its first ever autumn run (following coronavirus's cancellation of the 2020 editions late spring series of dates) and it brings with it an incredible selection of artists and headliners over the August bank holiday. Thankfully, there have been additional tickets placed on sale but they’re selling fast so make sure you secure yours and check out the ten brilliant acts we think that you just can’t miss…
However, before we get stuck in, we just wanted to give praise to an event that has rightfully highlighted a large selection of sensational female talent, across the entire weekend, not to mention featuring two female headliners. We’ve long been advocates for equal lineups and celebrating the fantastic female talent the industry produces, so we want to say a big thank you to the lineup bookers over at APE! Right let's see who specifically you just have to see…
London Grammar
(Friday 27th August)
London Grammar have grown across their three records to become masters of their craft. Whether it be their striking instrumentation, beautiful orchestration or the incomparable, spine-tingling vocals of lead singer Hannah Reid. There feels no better time to see the group headline a festival following the release of their fantastic third record ‘California Soil’ that takes their brand of mellow, orchestrated alternative Pop to another level featuring the intoxicating ‘Lose Your Head’, the Massive Attack inspired title track or the bewitching ‘Baby It’s You’. Whilst you may find them incredible on record, there’s no apt description for the pure brilliance of their live set, it’s a headline set that will simply astound you.
Lapsley
(Friday 27th August)
The last time we witnessed Liverpudlian synth singer-songwriter she was blowing us away at Coachella back in 2016 showcasing her outstanding debut record, she has gone on to be one of the most emotive and incredible artists of the past decade. poetic soul who writes moving and poignant lyrics about everything from love + sexuality to climate change. Despite releasing a handful of EPs and two sublime albums it feels like we’ve only scraped the surface of Lapsley’s incredible artistry, as she starts to unveil her third project, she’s an artist you simply can’t miss.
Arlo Parks
(Saturday 28th &
Monday 30th August)
In a similar vein of artistry to Lapsley, you have the sensational Arlo Parks whose debut fast became and remains an album of the year contender. A combination of incredible personal poetic tales (‘Black Dog’) mixed with Park's stunning ability to observe the minutia and turn it into captivating tracks (‘Caroline’). When reviewing her remarkable debut album ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ I described it as “a beautiful combination of performance, poetry, and emotion that stops you in your tracks. With her tracks full of wisdom and intricate literature references it’s sometimes easy to forget that Arlo Parks is still only 20 with a whole career ahead of her.” Thankfully, you have two opportunities to catch this BRIT Breakthrough award winning artist across the weekend, make sure you take them.
Foals
(Monday 30th August)
Foals have spent the best part of the last two decades rising through the indie-rock ranks to become not just an incredible live act but undisputable headliners of any stage. Whilst we have watched the group on multiple occasions and have not fell short of showering the group with various praises and platitudes, something about this upcoming All Points show screams unmissable on a completely new level. Foals and frontman Yannis Phillipakis brings out a instinctive and primitive joy deep inside your bones when they perform… and that was pre-pandemic. I honestly can’t think of another act that I need to see to regain that passion for live music that has been locked away the past 18 months.
Kano
(Saturday 28th August)
The last show we reviewed pre-pandemic was a glorious celebration of live, culture and music. Something we described as ‘A career-defining performance from a Grime legend that cements his place as genre royalty’, and what more suitable stage for royalty could there be than a hometown headline celebration at APE. Whether he brings a brass or string ensemble, or a selection of friends, just Kano and his insightful and introspective lyrics will surely be enough. If you needed anymore convincing then there’s no denying his show-stealing performance at this years Glastonbury live stream which captured the hearts of the hundreds of thousands watching on.
Lianne La Havas
(Monday 30th August)
One of the finest records of 2020 was Lianne La Havas emotive and sublime self-titled third record which perfectly showcased this soul superstar at her finest. Featuring an ingenious version of Radiohead’s ‘Weird Fishes’ alongside the liquid gold of ‘Bittersweet’ and emotionally devastating ‘Can’t Fight’, it’s one of the most majestic and glorious records of the past few years. Not to mention there have been only a handful of chances to witness La Havas live since its release, meaning a significant slot at All Points East should be firmly scheduled in attendees' programmes.
Romy
(Saturday 28th August)
Whilst bandmate Jamie XX headlines, Romy will be debuting tracks from her forthcoming solo record. Described as a ‘love letter to formative years of queer clubbing and 00s Euro-dance’. We’ve only heard the smallest of snippets, a single track of what to expect in the form of ‘Lifetime’ but that simply joyful and sublime throwback to clubs most beautiful era is enough for us to highly recommend what we feel will be a captivating and euphoric set
Maisie Peters
(Monday 30th August)
Signed to Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man record label, acclaimed singer-songwriter Maisie Peters is on the verge of dominating the charts with her brand of relatable, infectious self written pop tracks. At All Points East she will be debuting her long awaited first album ‘You Signed Up For This’ which has been preceded by the excellent and catchy ‘Psycho'. A charming stage presence and addictive pop tracks will make this one of the joyous highlights of the weekend.
Jade Bird
(Monday 30th August)
What better time than to see Americana / Folk influenced singer-songwriter than following her brilliant sophomore record ‘Different Kinds of Light’ acclaimed for her Janis Joplin style vocals and natural live ability. It’ll be intriguing how she blends her mix of full on rock tracks, mellow folk and beautiful ballads into what's sure to be a sensational set.
Holly Humberstone
(Monday 30th August)
Here at The Perfect Tempo we’ve long been admirers of 21 year old Lincolnshire singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone whose brand of dark yet undeniably catchy Pop tunes have been some of the finest releases this year, approaching the release of her second EP, featuring contributions from Matt Healy and the fantastic lead single ‘Walls Are Way Too Thin’. This is your chance to see a future headliner at the start of her journey, it’s your chance to say “you were there”.
If you want to watch these excellent selection of artists this August Bank Holiday then make sure to pick up the last few remaining tickets from the All Points East ticket site here.