A Weekend to Remember with Marriott Bonvoy.
It feels poignant that All Points East Festival falls at the tail-end of summer’s peak. A “last hurrah” of sorts, the relatively young festival only made its debut on the scene in 2018, but it’s come on leaps and bounds since then. The youthful multi-day event has attracted some of the music scene’s most prevalent stars, with this year’s line-up being one of its most “tapped in” entries to date. Think newcomers like fakemink, Sexyy Red, and Ravyn Lenae lining up in tandem with powerhouses such as Jorja Smith, Tems, Clipse, Rex Orange County, as well as the one-and-only, Tyler, the Creator.
Situated in East London’s Victoria Park, the event brings in more than 40,000 guests a day, spanning over two weekends. It’s truly one of London’s best events of the summer, and that’s saying a lot considering the capital’s extensive roster. Despite the best (worst) efforts of Transport for London, PAUSE made it down to All Points East 2026 with Marriott Bonvoy for the final night of the second weekend of festivities, so if you’re looking to attend next year, take a look at what we thought of what went down.
PHOTO CREDIT: All Points East
The final day consisted of a curated, yet multifarious range of acts displaying their talents, with the open-air style of All Points East Festival giving things a distinct flow. Meandering between tents, stages, fairground rides, and food stalls, the grounds keep guests entertained in more ways than one, with space aplenty. Doing a lap of the park, the main ‘East Stage’ is in the direct line of sight of the ‘Rising,’ ‘E3,’ and ‘North Arena’ stages, so if you’re somebody who struggles to choose an act, there’s no longwinded 1000-yard marathon walks between performances.
From where we were standing, everybody we saw at this year’s festival made sure to underline exactly why they had got the call-up. Headlining proceedings was Tyler, the Creator, the “prince” of the angsty youth of the early 2010s turned, well, everything. The polymathic performer parted the sea of light rain and kicked up dust clouds that defined All Points East 2026. We’re still finding dust in crevices we didn’t know we had. Aside from the unavoidable side effects of the UK’s potent dry spell, the heat was well and truly brought by Mr. Tyler Okonma on-stage, being undoubtedly fuelled by his previous run-ins with the UK, more specifically its government. Having been banned from entering the country for four years in 2015 for encouraging “violence and hatred” through his music, every time he steps on stage in the UK it feels as though a point is being proved. His set at All Points East 2026 hammered that point home. Some guest appearances from frequent collaborators Rex Orange County and a Chanel bag-laden A$AP Rocky kept the energy high, and Tyler acknowledged the crowd’s enthusiasm, labelling the first performance’s crowd as “f*cking dead.” Sorry night one, but night two was, in-fact, not “f*cking dead.”
Winding the clock back to earlier in the afternoon, the UK’s “underground” scene wasn’t so underground, with rising stars Jim Legxacy and LEDBYHER pulling in considerable crowds. Jim’s breakout album, Black British Music (2026), kept crowds crooning through a short but sweet set, capturing the hearts (and ears) of teenagers across Victoria Park. LEDBYHER followed suit, with her semi-angelic ultra-British vocal style jittering across “bedroom drill” instrumentals and knocking speakers sideways. Two of the UK’s leading lights stylistically, it was warming to see these leaders of the new wave take to their biggest career stages.
Other standouts included the R&B richness of Khamari, a welcome instalment of bluesy vocals that couldn’t stand behind vocal tricks if it tried. Faye Webster continued to bring forth a softness through a performance defined by dreamy introspective songwriting that was pedalled by raw guitar chords, monotone deliveries, and a significant backing track – also known as the thousands of those singing along. Los Angeles native Quadeca has one of the most genre-defying catalogues, and he brought every bit of that variety to his APE set. Come for the chorus of “Dark Magic,” stay for “MONDAY” and its communal crying session. It’s four days on and “shawdyyy, put that on me” is still knocking around upstairs. Culminating in the evening, the heavy dose of pillowy vocal ranges and intimate songwriting peaked with Daniel Caesar, a man who needs very little in way of introduction. Echoing the serene vocal delivery was a choir of singers that doubled down on the potency of Caesar’s lyrics, keeping us pondering and playing catch up at the end of each hit. “Have a Baby With Me” ended up being another one of his big-crowd ballads that resonated across the board, while the heritage hits “Get You” and “Always” made even the hardest punk-head coming across from Turnstile’s set shed a quick tear.
Turning us back up again, a set from DJ Mustard provided an injection of pure adrenaline, as the Kendrick collaborator reeled off hit after hit. It gave us real clarity to the fact that Mustard really is that guy. On the other hand, Baby Keem’s new album rang true to our at-home “speaker test”… that bass is no joke. Tyler, the Creator’s closing set provided a fitting end to a festival that is increasingly becoming one of the capital’s destination events. Continuing to cast the net further and further into an international pool of genre-bending talent, All Points East doesn’t bait you into anything; it’s the real deal.
Read below to get a better look at Marriott Bonvoy’s “Moments” programme.
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Bringing people together for All Points East 2026, Marriott Bonvoy teamed up with AEG Presents to bring its members even closer to some of the festival’s biggest artist through exclusive VIP access to premium hospitality, with the curated “Moments” programme producing once in a lifetime memories. For instance, Marriott Bonvoy members were able to tap into the festival’s limited-edition 1-Point Drops, whilst auction packages were paired with hotel stays for something to take home beyond the weekend’s festivities. Underlining Marriott Bonvoy’s extensive programme, the experience enables members to redeem points for elevated, high-end experiences that traverse the worlds of arts and lifestyle, culinary, entertainment and sport, with celebrity-chef dinners and backstage concert access to sporting events and movie premieres being just a handful of rewards up for grabs. Offering up a varied roster of experiences, Marriott Bonvoy ‘s “Moments” programme gives members new ways to turn points earned through travel and everyday activities into one-of-one experiences aligned with their passions.
“It is an exciting time for Marriott Bonvoy as we continue to offer more curated and exclusive opportunities for members to get up close and personal with their passions, whether they’re new to Marriott Bonvoy or a longtime member. These 1-Point-Drops make these experiences more accessible than ever, turning points earned from a single stay or even a morning coffee into VIP access to see your favourite artist.” – Andrew Watson, Chief Commercial Officer, EMEA, at Marriott International.
