Reviewed: All Points East 27th August 2022

All Points East hosted a line-up stacked enough for electronic dance fans to have a field day on Saturday 27 August. With Disclosure headlining and artists such as Fred Again.. Charli XCX, Overmono and Franky Wah playing across the festival, we were in for a treat.

As the sun shone down over Victoria Park in East London, we strolled into the festival along with the 50,000 other music fans with no major hold-ups, the first big tick from us. It’s definitely the most organised festival I’ve been to this summer; stewards actually knew where stages and specific areas were as opposed to other festivals I’ve been to, where I’ve asked where a stage was and been met with a blank response.

Exploring the festival grounds upon arrival, we then wandered over to the North Stage to catch Shy FX. Shy FX is just a staple booking for a summer festival, with his tunes encapsulating good vibes and energy. My only criticism is his set should have been on the Main Stage, as it felt wrong watching from inside a dark stuffy tent.

Mura Masa bagged himself a spot on the Main Stage and it was the perfect slot for the late afternoon sunshine. His newer track ‘bbycakes’ was a firm favourite with the crowd, but his classic tracks like ‘One Night’ and ‘Firefly’ still provided the nostalgia that had them bouncing. Appearing on the stage with vocalists Fliss and Bonzai whilst he played his instruments, the unparalleled momentum that these two brought to the set really complimented Mura Masa’s tracks. Weaving in a handful of new tracks from his upcoming album release too, I can’t wait to hear what he has in store for the future.

Following his boiler room set only a month ago which has now racked up over four million plays, Fred Again.. was up next on the North Stage. Having seen him before on a much smaller stage at Parklife, I knew things would be different this time; Fred Again.. is all everyone is talking about at the moment. From hearing his name mentioned on the overground to the festival more than a handful of times to hearing people play his tunes through their phone speakers whilst drinking on the way up to the festival, it’s clear that he’s become the talk of the town.

Luckily, we arrived early to bag ourselves a spot, but from the videos on social media, the tent was bursting at the seams. Fred has quickly become the voice of a generation, with his tunes echoing how everyone seems to feel. His music radiates warmth and togetherness, and you feel like you know everyone around you as a friend at his sets. “What I’m about to say, is a sentence I cannot believe I’m about to say… oh my days” he laughed in disbelief towards the end of the set before The Streets’ Mike Skinner made a guest appearance. Performing The Streets’ ‘how’s it come to this’ and ‘Take Me As I Am’, Skinner and Fred Again then performed an exclusive mash-up of The Streets’ ‘Weak Become Heroes’ and Fred’s ‘Baxter’; it was a moment I’ll remember for a long time.

Finally, it was time for the brotherly duo of Guy and Howard Lawrence, better known as Disclosure, to take to the stage. As the airy vocals of ‘White Noise’ echoed across the park, Disclosure jumped headfirst into their setlist of classics and newer tracks. Highlights included ‘When a fire starts to burn’ and ‘Nocturnal’, as the crowd produced a sea of phone torches. However, the real highlight of the night was Sam Smith making a guest appearance and playing ‘Latch’ with Disclosure live for the first time in five years. Ending their set with ‘Tondo’, they captured the party atmosphere perfectly and made All Points East a festival to remember.