Sensational Stormzy

Another year, another amazing line up at All Points East.

Located in Victoria Park, London, this festival has become a must-go for all music lovers. Nestled in the bustling East London location, All Points East always attracts the biggest artists – and this year was no different. We had the pleasure of seeing Stormzy.

Having lived in London for 12 years, Victoria Park has become synonymous with great bars, food and people. It’s also the go-to venue for the biggest and best festivals. We certainly made the most of it, grabbing some food and drink before we headed in to take in the vibrant atmosphere around the area. Having never seen Stormzy live before, we were hyped!

This year’s line-up for the Stormzy day was curated by the man himself, so we knew we’d be in for a treat. There was a plethora of talent across the XX stages, and a whole range of food, lively bars and activities to get involved with.

We got in there early afternoon. The sun was out, and there was no sign of the forecasted rain (yet…). We got ourselves some drinks and took a little walk around the festival, taking in the sights and sounds, and having ourselves a sit down in the many open grassy areas.

The West Stage kicked off our proceedings with Lucky Daye. The American singer-songwriter delivered a chilled, soulful set to the under the London sunshine, with hits ‘Over’ and ‘Candy Drip’ our personal favourites.

Soon after we went to the Cupra North Arena, where Ms Banks enticed us with her rendition of ‘You’ve got to show me love’, and the tunes kept on coming. It’s always such a good atmosphere in the tent stages, and you definitely lose all concept of time before you head back out into the daylight!

On our way to Knucks, we checked out the ever-lively Radio 6 stage with its unmistakeable, spider-like arches and HUGE sounds system. This certainly brought more of a party vibe, compared to an otherwise chilled line-up for the most part.
Warming us up nicely before the headline set, Sampha blessed the stage with his unique and wonderfully hypnotic beats. It was someone I’d been looking forward to seeing for a while, so I thoroughly enjoyed this! A pleasure to see ‘Blood on Me’ live.

It was then time for the main event, Stormzy! The set was split in two halves, with the slower songs such as Cigarettes & Cush and Crown coming in the first hour or so, then after a short interlude Stormzy exploded onto the stage supported by fireworks and strobe lighting, playing ‘Big For Your Boots’ to an ever receptive crowd. He followed that with all of his high octane anthems such as ‘Shut Up’, ‘Vossi Bop’ and my favourite ‘Own It’. This all made more atmospheric by the torrential rain, ironically starting when ‘Rainfall’ came on.

Despite being drenched by the end, we absolutely loved it. A great day out as always, at a festival that never disappoints - always bringing the best artists to London each summer. It’ll definitely be one of the first festivals in the diary for 2024.