The first day of All Points East included a lengthy lineup including Self Esteem, Pusha T, Idles, Turnstile and top billing act Gorillaz. The influential virtual band took the festival by storm with their impressive visual effects and undeniable stage presence. Alongside a series of beloved hits, the band’s setlist also included new material. Within their set, the Gorillaz debuted “New Gold”, their new collaboration with Tame Impala and Bootie Brown. Albarn, Gorillaz’s co-creater, spoke to the excited crowd about the new track, “It’s kind of a mad song, to be honest with you,”

Within the band’s now infamous set, they were joined by an array of special guests including Hip-hop pioneers De La Soul, Shaun Ryder, Popcaan, Rowetta and The Clash member Paul Simonon. When Albarn welcomed Simonon on stage he introduced the musician as his “Very Old Friend”, Albarn then stated that this was the first time since 2010 that the two artists had shared s stage. Simonon then performed “Plastic Beach” with the Gorillaz, the band closed their busy and eventful set with two of their biggest hits “Feel Good Inc.” and “Clint Eastwood”.

Before the Gorillaz commenced their headlining slot, Bristol rockers Idles took to The West stage. Upon addressing the roaring crowd frontman Joe Talbot said, “We were waiting a long time to come back, and we are f***ing grateful that you are here to look after and carry us in your beautiful arms, Thank you, All Points East.” During their set, the band played a varied mix of tracks including the 2018 single “Never Fight A Man With A Perm”.

TONIGHT: We headline the Ray-Ban West stage at 7.45 pm at @allpointseastuk

@tomhaaam pic.twitter.com/HuBfD7BaDB

— I D L E S (@idlesband) August 19, 2022

Once the band and crowd were in full swing Talbot again spoke to the audience and urged,  “Open that pit right up. Open it. Open it…now spin,”. The set’s penultimate song was “Danny Nedelko”, since its 2018 release the song has been adopted as an anthem for the migrant issues in Europe. Before the band launched into the track, Talbot shared a message of hope, “This is a song about the best thing that happened to our country: the immigrants that built and made this a better f***ing place.”

The legendary @PUSHA_T was a highlight today in Victoria Park

Don’t miss him at @O2AcademyBrix, Monday 19 Dec 2022. Tickets on sale Monday 22 August at 10am: https://t.co/y67uRGT44o pic.twitter.com/iN8oMsouye

— All Points East (@allpointseastuk) August 19, 2022

Elsewhere within the festival, American rapper Pusha T took to The East Stage to perform an incredibly well-received set. While performing, the 45-year-old artist spoke to the cheering crowd, “How many of y’all got the It’s Almost Dry album? There’s a few of us here. Rap album of the muthaf***in’ year. Easy. Easy,” The rapper then began to perform his 2022 single “Diet Coke”, Pusha T’s set also included “Hear Me Clearly” and “If You Know You Know”. Before launching into “Neck & Wrist”, the rapper extended an invitation to those in attendance, “December 19th. Brixton. Y’all meet me there.”

Today marks the completion of the festival’s second day, billed to perform at APE presents Field Day included a DJ set from Jessy Lanza, Daniel Avery, Carl Craig B2B Moodyman. Scheduled to headline today’s event were dance pioneers The Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk 3D. The festival will return on Thursday 25th August 2022 with headlining act Tame Impala, Friday 26th August 2022 with headliners Fleet Foxes, Mogwai and The National, and Saturday 27th August 2022 with James Blake, Charli XCX, H.E.R. and Discoloure as the headliners. The festival’s final day is set to take place on Sunday 28th August 2022 and features Michael Kiwanuka, The Smile and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as the top billing acts.

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The charity gig held on 10th August 2021 supported and thanked the nation’s NHS workers who have worked hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the middle of the concert, ticket-holders were treated to live redemptions of the three new collaborative songs. The ‘Clint Eastwood’ performers teamed up with rapper and singer Jelani Blackman on track ‘Meanwhile’, Alicia Harley on the song ‘De Ja Vu’ and finally the British hitmakers joined forces with multi-talented British artist AJ Tracy on brand new track ‘Jimmy Jimmy’

The group took to their Instagram to post photos of the event and their collaborative performances.

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A post shared by Gorillaz (@gorillaz)

The triumphant event boasted an impressive setlist of 32 songs, the band also shared the stage with various other special guests. Some of music’s most respected and popular artists joined the band to entertain and thank the audience of NHS staff and their families. The Cure’s frontman and pop culture figure Robert Smith joined the group to perform a version of ‘Strange Timez’, a track which Smith featured on from the group’s seventh studio album ‘Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez’, the single was released on 9th September 2020.

Other artists who joined Gorillaz on The O2 stage included rapper Posdunos member of legendary hip-hop group De La Soul, Popcaan, Leee John, actress and singer Fatoumata Diawara, Happy Monday’s members Shaun Ryder and Rowetta, EARTHGANG, Little Simz, singer and DJ Sweetie Irie, Slowthai and Slaves who previously worked together with Gorillaz on track ‘Momentary Bliss’. The group were also joined by a member of another iconic and pioneering group within the dance and electro music genre, Peter Hook from New Order paired with the band in celebrating the healthcare key workers.

The charitable event marked the victorious return for Gorillaz, the group had not helmed a live performance since October 2018. The band have been a staple of the countries’ radio play since their first hit ‘Clint Eastwood‘ released on 5th March 2001. The single reached number four within the UK Singles charts and propelled the virtual band into popularity. The group was formed by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the musician and artist who created the individualistic group which features a mix of animated and non-animated band members.

Damon has spoken to NME regarding the group’s new music, within the interview the musician also hinted that he has been discussing reuniting iconic Brit-pop band Blur, in which he started his musical career. In the interview Albarn revealed the virtual band’s new album’s sound, the singer also teased that the group’s new material will be a throwback to Gorillaz’s debut album ‘Gorillaz’ released in 2001. “Since then I’ve been working on carnival-themed music with Gorillaz with a lot of people from west London, We’re really going back to the spirit of the first record.”

Albarn continued to discuss the new album, whilst comparing the musical process to that taken whilst recording his second solo album ‘The Nearer The Fountain, the More Pure the stream Flows’. “It’s really exciting and we’ve been really enjoying it. It’s a nice kind of counter-balance to ‘The Nearer The Fountain…’, really. I’ve definitely needed a dose of something else after I finished that record. Steel pan drums and Casio MT-40s were always going to be a good cure.”

Although the group has completed both of their London O2 performances, Gorillaz has one more UK appearance this month at the Cornwall festival, Boardmasters, on 14th August 2021.  After their last UK appearance, the group is set to hit the road on their European tour which starts on 29th August 2021 in the Netherlands. UK fans may have missed the band’s August UK dates, but fans can get excited about the new tracks’ possible release with new material being performed live.

Although the album is rife with elevating electronica, Plastic Beach is no light listening. The exploration of prevalent issues such as environmentalism and climate change gives the album delicious darkness, a mood that Albarn wishes to continue in Plastic Beach 2.

Albarn spoke about Plastic Beach and the album’s pertinence ten years after its release. In a recent interview with Radio.com, Albarn said that “sadly, more than ever the need to keep reminding people that we need to change our habits; to somehow help our climate is really necessary.” Albarn said.

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Time is running out for YOU to get your hands on one of these SIGNED Song Machine Test Pressings, just like 2D. So what are you waiting for?gorill.az/testpress (UK only désolé!) READ ALL ABOUT IT- @Guardian- @nmemagazine- @mojo4music

A post shared by Gorillaz (@gorillaz) on Oct 28, 2020 at 12:01pm PDT

Albarn explained his choice to give Plastic Beach a sequel, meditating that “maybe I need to revisit it, really.  I don’t think we can ever leave ‘Plastic Beach’. I’d like to just have an album called ‘Clean Beach’, but at the moment it’s still ‘Plastic Beach’. So Plastic Beach is a nice idea for me creatively but it’s also really depressing…but it’s necessary.”

Following the October 23rd release of Song Machine: Season One, Albarn confirmed today that Gorillaz will go on tour next year. In 2021, the virtual band will embark on their first live tour in two years.  Gorillaz will begin the Song Machine Tour in Köln on June 16th, 2021, and end the tour in London at a show on August 8th. Tickets for the Song Machine Tour are on sale now, and more information regarding this can be found here.

Gorillaz took to social media today to confirm a 2021 tour. The cartoon band shared a snap of the tour dates to Instagram, writing in the caption: “You’ve got ’til MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (GMT) to purchase Song Machine album with a #circleoffriendz pass for first access to Song Machine Tour 2021 tickets!” The post was greeted ecstatically by fans, gathering over 25,000 likes in a few short hours. 

Before beginning their upcoming tour, Gorillaz will end 2020 with a live stream debut of Song Machine: Season One. Gorillaz will play a series of live performances on December 12th and 13th, broadcasting the virtual gigs across three different time zones. 

The upcoming live stream marks the first collaboration between Gorillaz and LIVEnow. Director of LIVEnow Marc Watson relayed his excitement towards the live stream in an official statement. Watson said: “we are really proud to work alongside Gorillaz to create something truly special for fans all around the world. ‘SONG MACHINE LIVE’ will raise the bar on what to expect from live-streamed concerts.”

Song Machine: Season One is out now. The confirmed dates for Gorillaz Song Machine Tour 2021 go as follows:

16/06/2021 – Tanzbrunnen – Köln
18/06 – Parkbϋhne Wuhlheide
01/07 – Rockhal – Luxembourg
11/08 – The O2 – London