All Points East: Outbreak

A long car journey, a flat tyre, all the red lights and some seriously overpriced parking, but by what feels like a miracle, we make it to All Points East!

This year’s Sunday service is brought to us by Outbreak Festival.
Beginning in Sheffield in 2011 as a small independent festival rooted firmly in hardcore and underground music, Outbreak has gradually grown into one of the most important alternative festivals in the UK.
Going through Sheffield, Leeds and eventually Manchester, its identity has always been built around more than simply putting bands on a stage. Hardcore, punk and counterculture sit at its centre, alongside art, photography, skateboarding, independent markets, zines and, most importantly, the community surrounding the music.

Now, in its 15th year, Outbreak returns to London for only the second time, and the scale of the lineup shows just how far it has come.
The community, art and independence that are so synonymous with Outbreak are definitely a little lacking here, replaced by some of the biggest commercial names in the drinks industry setting up their own small stages, with entertainment mainly coming from DJ sets and plenty of free merch being handed out.
It has become a staple of the All Points East setup, but this year it somehow feels more prominent than ever.

The bands today, though, are still very much taking centre stage.
It’s been a while since I’ve experienced live music at a festival and seen this many band T shirts around me.
Deftones and IDLES are definitely winning the popularity contest, but everywhere you look there is someone proudly representing a band that either playing today or that they simply love.

As I power walk my way through the crowd, I manage to achieve my first mission of the day and catch one of the top bands on the bill, and one of my personal favourites too.
Interpol get my Outbreak going with the end of Evil, and from there it is a pretty smooth and smoking hot set.
There is something particularly exciting about seeing Interpol right now. More than two decades on from becoming one of the defining bands of the early 2000s post punk revival, they are standing on the edge of another new chapter, with their ninth studio album, This Mirror Weighs a Ton , arriving just days after this performance.
Today’s set gives us a taste of both eras.

There is a mix of crowd favourites, from Rest My Chemistry to Slow Hands and PDA, alongside new tracks alongside new tracks See Out Loud and Wings on Fire.
And the new material fits surprisingly naturally alongside the classics. It definitely proves that Interpol still have something interesting to bring to the table, with that dark, atmospheric and unmistakably moody sound still firmly at their core.
They may be one of the more restrained bands on today’s lineup, but that works in their favour. There is something effortlessly cool about Interpol. They don’t need chaos or theatrics to command a crowd. The music does the work for them.

Coming up next on the East Stage are Amyl and the Sniffers.
The Melbourne band have somehow slipped through my net, but they have definitely not slipped through everyone else’s. The crowd is getting bigger, the field is filling up and there is a definite feeling that people know exactly what is about to happen.
If there is one band that knows how to work a crowd and feels completely made for a festival, it is this one.
As soon as they kick off, the energy completely shifts. There is more movement, more noise, more vibration.
The sun is bouncing off the stage and somehow seems to match the aura of the band.
At the centre of absolutely everything is Amy Taylor, whose stage presence has you completely wrapped up and fixated on her.
Without a doubt, she is one of the best front-women I have seen in a long time.
The band deliver a raw, almost old school punk rock show that still feels completely relevant.
The crowd are singing along to nearly every song on the set, proving just how far Amyl and the Sniffers have come. Since the release of their latest album, Cartoon Darkness, their popularity has continued to grow, and looking around this field today, you can see it happening in real time.
Some of the tracks that really got me dancing and shaking around were Do It Do It, Security from their second album and Doing in Me Head from the latest.
In true punk style, Taylor also makes sure the set stands for something. She calls out the haters and oppressors, welcomes members of the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants and anyone who has had an abortion, before voicing her support for a free Palestine.
Introducing Me and the Girls, she tells the crowd:
“They like to put the girls down but fuck that.”
It feels like the perfect song for me to make my exit from the East Stage, because IDLES are calling over at the West Stage.

The T shirts were the first sign, but the popularity of the Bristol band becomes pretty obvious when a sea of people have exactly the same idea and start making their way across the site.
And with them comes another big theme of this year’s All Points East:
The dust.
With today’s music, it almost adds an apocalyptic, revolt like effect to the whole thing, one that you appreciate for approximately a few seconds before realising that stuff is getting absolutely everywhere.

Anyway, we soon forget about that as we find our spot for what I think is one of the best, most relevant and most important bands of the last decade.
Almost exactly one year on from seeing IDLES on home turf in the centre of Bristol, the excitement and anticipation feel exactly the same. If anything, I love seeing that feeling shared with even more people today.
And they deliver on all fronts.
The setlist, the energy, the sound and their ability to completely captivate a crowd. There is something so distinctive about IDLES live. You know exactly who you are watching within seconds.
Their music continues to carry messages of resistance, injustice and solidarity. They shout out some of the great bands that have played throughout the day and, of course, lead the crowd in what they call the new national anthem:
“Free, free Palestine.”
IDLES are a band that will never not take a stance, and they will never not deliver.
A year on, they have lost absolutely none of their impact for me. I might be slightly biased, but they were my favourite of the day.
And with TANGK now more than two years old, I can’t help but wonder what is coming next. I’m sure Joe and the boys are cooking something in the background, and I cannot wait to hear what that might be.

And just like that, it is time for the most anticipated band of the day.
Deftones.
Surviving almost four decades in this industry is no small feat, but Deftones are not simply surviving.
Somehow, they seem to be more influential than ever.
There are definitely plenty of longstanding hardcore fans here today, but what really strikes me is just how many younger fans there are too. It feels like a whole new generation has discovered this band.
Their resurgence has coincided with the arrival of their tenth studio album, Private Music, in August 2025.
So tonight they are not here simply to deliver nostalgia. There is plenty of newer music woven into the set too, and judging by the reaction around us, those songs have already found their way into the favourites.
I’m here with a friend who is a longstanding Deftones fan. This is his fifth time seeing them in the space of a year, and he describes tonight’s set perfectly."This is the sexy Deftones.”
And actually, that makes complete sense.
Rather than building the entire set around their most abrasive, screaming and hardcore material, tonight leans further into the atmospheric, sensual and melodic side of Deftones. There is still heaviness, but it is balanced by space, texture and some of those hypnotic moments that have always separated this band from straightforward metal.
It also feels like a set that suits where Deftones are now.
Nearly four decades into their career, there is no reason for Chino Moreno to approach every song or every performance exactly as he did decades ago. Instead, the set seems cleverly constructed around the different shades of his voice today. The aggression is still there when it needs to be, but so are the softer vocals, the melodies and that almost dreamlike quality that has become such a huge part of the Deftones sound.
If anything, it makes them more approachable without stripping away their identity.

The band are present and Chino likes to check in and say hi, but initially he seems a little more reserved, allowing the music to do most of the work in capturing the crowd.
Then something changes.
By the second half of the show, it feels like they have really come into their element. There is a shift in energy, pace and just the overall feel of the performance. The band loosen up, some of the old school material really comes to life and Chino becomes increasingly chatty.
Towards the end, he almost seems taken aback by the scale of the crowd in front of him and completely caught up in the moment.
“What a fucking wonderful day. So much good music, so many beautiful faces. And it’s a Sunday, go figure!
You guys are awesome. Thank you so much!”
And they certainly know how to please a crowd, because what a final run of songs they give us.
Korea
Change (In the House of Flies)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
milk of the madonna, one of their latest singles.

Then comes a triple hit of an encore.
Cherry Waves
Lotion
And just as we think it might all be over, Deftones unleash 7 Words.
The crowd goes wild one final time.
There is no holding back from either the band or the audience, making it the perfect ending to what has been an incredible day for live music.

And strangely, I leave feeling hopeful.
Hopeful for these genres. Hopeful for alternative music. Hopeful for bands.
In a way, I’m glad All Points East dedicated an entire day to this music and these artists. Yes, placing Outbreak inside a major commercial festival inevitably means losing some of the independence and community feeling associated with its roots, but it also gives these bands a much bigger platform.
It puts them in front of more people.
Hopefully, it creates more fans, more listeners and more people who discover a band today and decide to dig a little deeper tomorrow.
Because if today proves anything, it is that punk, rock, metal, hardcore and alternative music are far from disappearing.
But we have a responsibility as fans too.

Get the tickets.
Go to the gigs.
Buy the T shirts.
Support the bands.

The future of this music is in our hands.