All Points East 2020, Victoria Park

The team behind California’s legendary music festival Coachella are returning to London for the third year running this summer, bringing us another iteration of 10-day festival All Points East. Spanning two weekends and running from 22 to 31 May, All Points East is hosting an impressive range of big-name acts, with The Kooks, The Wombats and Tame Impala among those headlining.

No camping here – All Points East is strictly a day festival, which means you can be selective and buy a standalone ticket to the day with the line-up that appeals to you most. And don’t worry, once inside the park you’ll find all the vibes of a weekend festival (pints of cider and plenty of glitter), but with less greasy hair.

Scooping up the first headlining slot, on Friday 22 May, are indie rockers Bombay Bicycle Club. The Mercury Prize-nominated and Ivor Novello-winning band recently returned following a four year hiatus with new track ‘Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)’. Since their eagerly-anticipated return to the music scene, the group have been on a UK-wide tour, celebrating 10 years since their seminal album I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose.

BRIT-nominee Loyle Carner is also playing on the Friday. One of the hottest hip hop artists performing right now, the south London MC found fame with his 2014 EP A Little Late, following this up in 2017 with his Mercury Prize-nominated debut album Yesterday’s Gone. Fans of the genre won’t want to miss this chance to see Carner live.

Also performing are Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist Lianne La Havas; Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello-nominated indie-rockers Everything Everything; Mercury Prize-nominee Nadine Shah; singer-songwriter and producer Nick Hakim; progressive pop trio The Orielles; indie rockers Gengahr; singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya; and singer-songwriter and guitarist Liz Lawrence.

Tame Impala's Kevin Parker

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has teased one of the most anticipated returns in music for 2020, releasing three songs of the band’s new album Slow Rush ahead of its full release on Valentine’s Day. Tame Impala has secured the Saturday headlining slot on the first weekend of the festival, marking the band’s only UK show in 2020 and the first chance fans will have to hear the new album, which channels 70s Supertramp synth melodies via Tame Impala’s familiar psych pop, live.

Joining Tame Impala on Saturday 23 are Grammy-nominated electronic artist Caribou and four-piece psychedelic band Glass Animals. Revellers can also listen out for folk-rock ballads from American band Whitney, indie-rock from Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, floating vocals and techno-electronica from Kelly Lee Owens, and electronica stalwarts Holy F playing tracks from their new album Deleter.

The following day, Sunday 24 May, sees Bristolian ‘trip hop’ pioneers Massive Attack perform their one and only scheduled concert for 2020. The gig marks the group’s first UK date since their sold-out Brixton Academy show in 2018.


Kraftwerk

Kicking off the second weekend of the festival on 29 May is multimedia project Kraftwerk. The group, which was brought to life in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in Düsseldorf, Germany, are celebrating 50 years since their debut album, entitled Kraftwerk. Combining futuristic music with technical innovations (including establishing the famed electronic Kling Klang Studio), Kraftwerk has had a huge influence over the music of the digital age, pioneering the use of pristine melodies, synthetic voices, computer sounds and robotic rhythms. Expect a combination of digital surround sound and breathtaking 3-D animations and robotics.

Johnny Marr

Supporting Kraftwerk on the Friday are garage-rock star Iggy Pop; the hugely influential Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths); and Mercury Prize-nominated singer Anna Calvi. Also playing on the night are electronic group The Orb, whose sonic sounds were influenced by the music of Kraftwerk; American electronic group Chromatics; alternative rocker Kim Gordon and synth-pop, post-punk innovator John Maus.

For many, Saturday 30 May promises to be the highlight of this year’s festival, with indie darlings The Kooks and The Wombats both headlining. Gifting the nation a slew of memorable hits including ‘Naive’, ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’ and ‘Ooh La’, The Kooks are today a quadruple-platinum, BRIT-nominated band with five albums to their name.

The Wombats, meanwhile, were one of the most revered indie-rock bands of the noughties, bringing us earworms including ‘Moving To New York’ and ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’. The band’s All Points East gig promises fans a chance to hear new material as well as well-worn anthems. Joining Saturday’s headline acts are indie heartthrob Jake Bugg, Australian indie rockers and ARIA Award-winners Gang of Youths, and YouTube success story Gabrielle Aplin.

In between the two jam-packed weekends of music, Victoria Park plays host to four days of community-minded activities and entertainment. If last year was anything to go by, expect eco-friendly creative workshops, free yoga sessions, an abundance of yummy street food, open-air movie nights and drag shows.