All Points East spotlight Women with Raye, Tyla, FKA Twigs & more!

Bank holiday weekend is synonymous with two things: Notting Hill Carnival, and the end of Summer, and All Points East truly rounded off the sunshine as Raye’s show stopper brought the house down!

All Points East is a music festival that takes over Victoria Park, in London’s East End. This year was expansive, with the festival block spanning across two weeks and SIX bespoke line-ups. Genres from Jungle to Indie Folk, Gospel to Amapiano, APE looked to cater to as many people as possible. 

As much as my spirit wanted to go to every single line-up, my body could only handle one. The 23rd saw Women brought front and centre, with the likes of Nao, Jyoty, Cat Burns and Eliza Rose to name a few. We can’t avoid the biggest elephant in the room, just days before they were supposed to join Raye and Tyla as headline acts, it was announced that Grammy Award Winner Doechii wouldn’t be performing. A shame for many (me!) who looked forward to the meteoric Florida Rapper, bringing their immersive art piece of an album to London. 

We’ll get to Doechii’s replacement but we first have to start with the beginning.

Photography by. Bree O'Hagan

Heading into the festival, All Points East issued a dust warning, a first in my festival-going experience and admittedly a warning I saw far too late as I didn’t bring any suitable protection. With so much going on in the world it is easy to push environmentalism to the side for the necessary joy and relief of music, but, there was literally no escaping the copious levels of dust that engulfed the festival grounds as you entered, moved between stages, and danced in crowds. For a country that’s stereotyped for its rain it was a surreal moment. I live for music but we can’t have festivals in fields if the fields are barren. It did add a grungy texture to my boots though... 

One thing APE is known for is the impressive range of experiences outside of the music itself. Sponsored food stands, drinks stands, virtual/augmented reality booths, fair rides! The festival grounds permeated with a theme park's worth of extracurriculars. Purists may have ducked that side of things, but for those who took to Hackney rather than Ibiza, but still wanted that bottle service vibe, there were plenty of booths to choose from (to be fair, the Casamigos cabana booth did appeal to my inner party girl). 

The main event! All Points East boasted several stages, main ones on both the east and west sides, a festival tent for warehouse vibes in a park, the X stage by Capital and Foundation FM DJ'ing for the girls, the gays and the theys, plus, an up-and-coming acts stage. 

The X Stage has been my home ground for a number of years now, so starting there, I have to shout out Lady Shaka. A DJ/Producer I’ve followed from sweatbox-club to sunshining-day-fest, and one thing I always appreciate is their vibrant ability to bring people together. Dance-focused electronic beats, fusion edits, familiar sounds, and surprising remixes; while genre exploring through baile, jersey funk, jungle, break beats and more. Lady Shaka always represents for underrepresented people, and the community of fans they’ve grown are one of the warmest in the rave scene. My highlight, shaking ass next to someone holding up a Māori flag! 

On to the first mainstage act, and the rush people were in to get to Tyla really confirmed her headliner aura. Truly feeling like everyone’s South African cousin, we looked on with pride and joy for ‘an adopted one of our own’. One thing I’ve been particularly impressed with is Tyla’s forthcomingness in embodying a pop star personality. From early on Tyla studied the art of performance and being a performer, and that’s exactly what she brought to her All Points East set. Coming out in a sparkly carnival-ready outfit, she had the energy of an Amapiano Britney Spears as 'Push 2 Start' blared out and the crowd went crazy.

Photography by. Bethan Miller

It was uphill from there as the choir of an audience filled the atmosphere; singing with every song, screaming at every dance break, and absorbing and reverberating the joy Tyla exuded from stage. I was actually most impressed with her set list, a vital part of performance craft that no amount of backup dancers can hide. A masterful mix taking us on a journey through viral hits, older bangers, really transporting us to the world of Tyla. You always have to end on a bang and she didn’t disappoint. Bringing out Wiz Kid to perform 'DYNAMITE' was a true superstar moment, then blending 'BLISS' into the 'WATER' was a stroke of genius. Tyla’s set was one for the books. She’s achieved so much at such a young age, hopefully it just means we have plenty more of these moments to come. 

So, how do you replace Doechii? An artist who’s known for intricate nouveau performances, integrating music, dancers, and cultural thought pieces all into a complete package? You get another who does just the same! 

Coming off the back of their heady, dance-infused album 'Eusexua', APE brought FKA Twigs in to replace TDE’s own Doechii. Now, even though I alluded to it, this is far from a like-for-like replacement. Though, FKA is no stranger to bringing larger-than-life artistry to music performance, and that’s exactly what she brought. 

Scattered across the industrialised main stage, FKA’s dancers brought balletic contemporary movement to her signature haunting vocals on tracks like Home With You and Cellophane; as well as techno-dungeon hard raving on tracks like Perfect Stranger. 

Photography by. Bethan Miller

Artistry and (three!) outfit changes a part, the thought that lingered in my mind as I watched Home With You permeate the air and strobing lights streak across the sun-setting-sky, FKA can f*cking sing.

As much as I love Raye as an artist, I admittedly didn’t know how much everyone else loved Raye. But walking over, joining the crowd for the final set of the evening, it was very apparent that Raye is BELOVED! One thing we Brits love is someone who is earnestly and unapologetically themselves, and Raye is exactly that. Her down-to-earth storytelling, heart-warming vocals and poetic flows that sit perfectly across her jazzy productions have cemented a place in people's hearts; so deeply that it’s hard to put into words what that crowd felt like. I guess other than a homecoming! 

This, this was truly a selfless set. With renditions of 'Mary Jane', Oscar Winning 'Tears', and 'Worth It', that truly felt like they were for us. Getting personal and personable with us in between songs, breaking down meanings, and what this moment meant for her. Laughing with us, crying with us, even stopping at points to help direct first aid attention to people in the crowd, this wasn’t a performance; it was more of an experience of presence. Sharing humanity, as her songs helped us feel seen. 

Photography by. Bethan Miller

[Content Warning Sexual Abuse] Going into 'Ice Cream Man', she shared how this song was written in forgiveness of her younger self. The shame and pain she felt after being abused by an older producer. As I stood taking it in, a woman next to me broke into a flood of tears. seeing herself in that story. Through the tears she let out a softened “I was so young”. The pain she felt I couldn’t imagine. but the support she had, from her friends watching with her, holding her, from the crew I was with coming together to hug her too. A moment of humanity, inspired by an incredible orchestration of love, by Raye. 

We come to music and festivals to enjoy ourselves, but also, to be ourselves. We find something of ourselves in the music we enjoy, and at live music we find kindred communities. Being in that crowd, as Raye brought tears to our eyes, reminded me how sacred festivals can be. 

As someone who is perpetually outside, I have a seasoned taste palate for my live music experiences. Though not everything was perfect - the schedule was a bit hyper-packed, sound system had a number of inconsistencies, a there was a tinge of brand curation taking over serendipitous experiences -  what I did appreciate was a lineup helmed by Women that absolutely blew me away. Looking to the future, that’s what I’d come back for.