If there was one thing that stood out at All Points East, it was just how much Black British and African music took centre stage. With Jorja Smith and Tems co-headlining Victoria Park, plus a line-up featuring Ayra Starr, Nia Archives, Odeal, kwn and Katy B, there was genuinely something happening everywhere you turned.

One of my highlights earlier in the day was Bellah, who brought her signature R&B sound and reminded us just how much talent is coming out of the UK R&B scene.

Tems effortlessly killed Crazy Tings and had the crowd singing from the very beginning. Essence naturally went off, but the real surprise was when Dave came out for Raindance; it was definitely a moment the crowd wasn’t expecting.

Then it was over to Jorja Smith to close the night, and she brought out EVERYONE: Odeal, Kyla, Nia Archives, AJ Tracey and Loyle Carner all made appearances, but one of my favourite moments was seeing Katy B come out for Katy On a Mission. You could see it was a full full circle moment for Jorja.

Earlier in the day, Ayra Starr had the North Arena packed, running through Rush, Sability and Commas alongside new Starrgirl material, with kwn making a surprise appearance for Amazing.

Nia Archives was another standout, bringing her jungle sound to a huge West Stage crowd.

What made the day special wasn’t just the headliners; it was seeing all these genres from Afrobeats to jungle to UK rap all sharing the same festival. By the time we left Victoria Park, it felt less like separate scenes and more like one big celebration of where Black music is right now.

We cant wait to do it all again next year

By Topsy