Bjork
As All Points East becomes the latest festival to announce day splits, Getintothis’ Craig MacDonald takes a look at an increasing trend on the circuit.
All Points East has announced the first set of names for its inaugural festival, taking place across ten days in London’s Victoria Park starting from 25 May.
This year will see LCD Soundsystem, The xx, Bjork, The National and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds all headline All Points East, with what is arguably one of the finest lineups this summer’s festival circuit will see – or any summer for that matter.
To top it off, a stellar supporting bill will see the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Lorde, Sampha, Father John Misty, The War On Drugs, Patti Smith and St Vincent all feature on a supporting bill that features acts perfectly capable of headlining festivals in their own right, with plenty of them doing so.
What makes this announcement all the more intriguing to the avid festival fan, is that All Points East becomes the latest in a growing number of festivals to change from the old, tested model and put its shows across several days, rather than in the one weekend.
The UK festival circuit has long held a tradition of seeing our favorite festivals taking place across weekends, year in year out, with punters knowing full when certain events are going to be taking place, from Reading and Leeds, to Download via Festival No.6. Their place in the calendar ingrained into your musical memory.
Over the last couple of years, slowly but surely, the tide has started to turn.
In 2005, British Summer Time Festival were the first to experiment with new model, as they started bringing acts to Hyde Park across two weekends in the summer, before Scotland’s TRNSMT followed suit this year, as they announced plans to expand across two weekends for 2018.
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Those fortunate enough to have gone overseas for their festival fix will know that the day split festival has long been a tried and tested success around the globe. The fact that All Points East is run by the same organisers as Coachella may well have something to do with the format it has chosen.
There will be plenty of people for and against both styles, with those who see the day breaks as ideal to explore the surroundings or more tailored to their means, while others finding the new structure taking away from what we see as a true festival experience. One thing is for sure, the festival landscape is changing.
All Points East takes place from 25 may to 3 June in Victoria Park. Confirmed day splits are as follows:
May 25 – LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Glass Animals, Richie Hawtin, Dixon, George Fitzgerald
May 26 – The xx, Lorde, Sampha, Popcaan, Lykke Li, Rex Orange County
May 27 – Bjork, Beck, Father John Misty, Flying Lotus, Mashrou Leila, Sylvan Esso, Alexis Taylor, Agoria
June 2 – The National, The War On Drugs, Future Islands, Warpaint, The Districts
June 3 – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Patti Smith and Her Band, St Vincent, Courtney Barnett
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