All Points East - Jorja Smith + Tems open 2026 edition with triumphant sets

Yesterday, All Points East experienced triumphant sets from two global powerhouses as co-headliners: Jorja Smith and Tems.

Curated by Jorja Smith and her label FAMM in collaboration with All Points East, the line-up also featured kwn, Nia Archives, Ayra Starr, and Odeal, with Tems performing as the penultimate act before BRIT Award-winning British icon Jorja Smith closed the night.

The West Midlands superstar and Grammy nominee dazzled the 45,000 strong crowd with a set full of R&B bangers and special guests. Odeal, who had performed earlier on at the festival, joined for ‘Coming Home’ while Kyla’s appearance on ‘I Lied, You Lied’ sent the crowd wild. West Stage headliner Nia Archives joined for several tracks, including ‘Crush’, which also saw London rap sensation AJ Tracey make a rapturous entrance.

After a clip of Jorja singing Katy B as a schoolgirl, it was time for Katy to grace Jorja’s stage for her hit ‘Katy On a Mission’, before ‘Loose Ends’ drew a huge reception, with Mercury and Brit nominee Loyle Carner joining onstage.

In the build up to the headline set, two-time Grammy Award-winning British Nigerian star Tems appeared at the top of the stage through a cloud of smoke as she kicked into ‘Crazy Tings’, the crowd singing every word. Hits including ‘What You Need’ and ‘Essence’ followed before Dave was summoned to the stage for a special guest appearance for ‘Raindance’.

Producer and DJ Nia Archives took to the stage fresh from a new hit album, Emotional Junglist, which has earned her a Mercury Prize nomination. The star, who was born in Yorkshire but moved to nearby Hackney Wick to hone her trade, took a massive West Stage crowd in her stride: “Yes, yes All Points East. What we saying.”

Introducing her 2024 banger ‘Cards On The Table’, she said: “This song is about having a crush and putting all your cards on the table.”

For the introspective ‘Tender’, during which the singer’s brother was brought out onstage (“Nia Archives: “Love you, love you.”), she ended on a high, telling the East London audience, “I’m gonna take you to Brazil’, before closing with ‘Baianá’.

Two-time GRAMMY-nominated global Afro-pop superstar Ayra Starr made her hotly anticipated return to the UK stage at All Points East with her biggest and most polished show yet. Strutting onto the heaving North Arena in a bedazzled metallic bra and matching micro mini skirt, armed with a troupe of sexy male dancers; Ayra exclusively performed several new tracks from her latest album "Starrgirl" for the first time. The album's multi-million-streaming hit singles 'Hot Body', 'Who's Dat Girl', 'Tornado' and the GRAMMY-nominated smash 'Gimme Dat' got the sweaty crowd wining, while her signature anthems 'Rush', 'Sability', 'Commas' and 'Bloody Samaritan' rocked the packed-out tent with thunderous sing-alongs from the audience. Critically-lauded R&B artist kwn made a surprise appearance for a sensual duet on 'Amazing', which features on Ayra's latest album, marking the pair's first live performance together.

Odeal, speaking about his Wizkid collaboration ‘Nights In the Sun’, said: “This one’s special, because can you imagine listening to someone your whole life and you turn 25 and you get to work with him?”

One of the newcomers on the bill, heading for a major breakthrough, were British pop stars XO, who had a special track for the audience: “Okay, so this next song is called Hotline. It is our first single of the year. What do we say about this song? Oh, I know what to say. Yeah, go on. So it’s actually just peaked as our most streamed single on Spotify.Basically, this song is about, if you guys ever dealt with any, let's say, annoying, stupid men in your life.Yeah? We wrote this song about them.”

During her own set earlier in the afternoon, Katy B told a huge audience at the West Stage: “It’s amazing to see so many beautiful powerful women on the line up. Thanks Jorja Smith, Tems and thanks All Points East.”

Jorja Smith and Tems were the opening headliners for All Points East 2026, with some heavy hitters still to come: Lorde on Saturday 22 August, Deftones at Outbreak Fest on Sunday 23 August and Tyler, The Creator’s two-day headline slot at Victoria Park on Friday 28 August and Saturday 29 August, and Twenty One Pilots on Sunday 30 August. Lido Festival takes place on Bank Holiday Monday (31 August) with headliner Maribou State.

Group Tickets & payment plans available. For ticket info, visit www.allpointseastfestival.com

16 only. Anyone aged 16-17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian (18 or over).