The second day of Victoria Park’s All Points East festival brought one of the best celebrations of pop music ever to hit up the London festival scene. With Lorde headlining an outstanding lineup at Victoria Park, the second day of the festival was a colourful celebration of pop in all its forms, bringing together everything from indie and electronic experimentation to the kind of mega pop anthems designed to be screamed at the top of ones lungs across a chilly London park.
And there was plenty of names for the taking: Sienna Spiro, 2hollis, Oklou, Audrey Hobert, Rose Gray, Ninajirachi, Erin LeCount, Erika de Casier, Nell Mescal and Esha Tewari were among an utterly packed line-up spread across the park, giving festivalgoers ample opportunity to stumble across something new or to celebrate their faves between some of the day’s megawatt names.
Yet the big stars also didn’t disappoint: Zara Larsson arrived on the East Stage determined to bring the summer sun to a city where the heatwaves are finally waning. Larsson has always been a performer who knows exactly what her audience wants and, more importantly, adores giving it to them. From “Midnight Sun” to “Can’t Tame Her”, and “I Would Like” she put a smile on even the most casual of fans with her magnetic charisma and fun choreography that immediately reminded everyone just how many massive hit songs the Swedish singer has brought to these shores.
She wasn’t alone, either. In an iconic moment for any pop fan, she brought out PinkPantheress for the first ever live rendition of “Stateside” featuring the two together, while MNEK emerged for “Never Forget You”, transforming an already frenzied crowd into one whose energy hit fever pitch. As expected, one lucky fan even found themselves onstage for the “Lush Life” dance break. By the time “Symphony” soared across Victoria Park, Larsson had the audence firmly in the palm of her hand, ready to hand over to the next star who was more than ready to take over.
Enter: PinkPantheress. Fresh off her unforgettable moment on the East Stage, the British starlet proved exactly why her gorgeous low-key pop has become such a phenomenon. Racing through a set packed with the short, sharp tracks that have become her signature, she opened with a version of “Stateside” before shifting into “Noises” and other popular tracks like “Just for me”, “The aisle” and “Passion”, whilst a live debut cover of Yves’ “Soap” kept the crowd on their toes.
Her stratospheric growth is undeniable, with music that initially found its audience through headphones, bedroom speakers and phone screens suddenly being sung (or screamed) back by thousands. If the packed crowd spilling far out of the tent was anything to go by, it won’t be long before she’s headlining these mainstages in her own right.
Over on the West Stage, Djo brought his own brand of eccentric indie pop to proceedings. Stranger Things’ Joe Keery’s musical alter ego has long since left its ‘actor’s fun side project’ status behind, and watching the actor and musician move through tracks including “Basic Being Basic”, “Roddy”, “Figure You Out” and “Delete Ya”, made it easy to see why. Djo’s music is layered, confident in its ability to exist in its occassional eccentricities and earnest lyricism.
If there was any doubt that Djo is a compelling artist worth catching in his own right, his breathless setlist would have proved even the strongest of doubters wrong. Most predictably, it was the track “End of Beginning” that generated one of the loudest responses, and he closed his set with a field of thousands singing along to every word.
Mere minutes passed as darkness settled over Victoria Park and Lorde finally took to the stage. Returning to All Points East eight years after appearing at the festival’s inaugural edition, the New Zealand singer-songwriter arrived with another musical era under her belt and an audience (including Millie Bobby Brown, Jake Bongiovi and Louis Partridge, all present) that has grown up alongside her.
It made for a set that could look backwards with as much renewed passion and vigour as to be found in her newest work, moving between the varying states of heartbreak and honest introspection that has underscored Lorde’s entire career. Kicking off with “Royals” the crowd was treated to the song that started it all, whilst newer tracks “What Was That”, “Broken Glass” and “Shapeshifter” nestled alongside “Perfect Places”, “Buzzcut Season” and “The Louvre”.
Few artists can pivot quite so naturally between making tens of thousands of people dance before making them question their most painful breakups and bygone friendships, but songs like “Liability” duly provided the latter before “Supercut” and “Team” brought the energy back to fever pitch.
As the night slowly wound to an end, “Green Light” provided the kind of festival euphoria that some artists can only dream of creating, before Lorde ended with an extended version of “Ribs”. For an artist that captures growing pains so tenderly and intimately, her restrained and precise stages keep even the largest, sprawling crowds enraptured all the way until the end.
From Zara Larsson’s pop pizzazz, PinkPantheress’ bedroom bops, Djo’s crooning charm and Lorde’s euphoric experimentations, Victoria Park once again offered a day where discovering your next favourite artist could sit comfortably alongside the songs you’ve heard every day on the radio for years.
Lorde might have ended the night singing “But that will never be enough…” yet for the crowds who hit up the second day of All Points East, that celebration of pop was more than enough, and then some.
All Points East runs at London’s Victoria Park until 30 August 2026. Tickets can be found here.