SUNDAY 30 AUGUST – LIVE REVIEW
The final blow out of the 2026 ALL POINTS EAST FESTIVAL came from from Grammy award winning TWENTY ONE PILOTS who did not disappoint with their powerhouse perfomance justifiying their status as the closing act on yet another fantastic year which saw performances across the day from the likes of Wunderhouse, REN, Nova Twins, Gang of Youths, PVRIS and Hot Milk.
In a stellar year of headline sets from Jorja Smith, Tems, Lorde, Tyler, The Creator, and Deftones (as part of Outbreak Festival), the Grammy Award-winning US duo topped the curated bill.
Twenty One Pilots entered the stage to be greeted by a huge roaring audience many of whom who had arrived way before their set time in order to secure their vantage viewpoint of this incredible specticle band.
From the very first track, the 2024 ‘Overcompensate’ the Ohio duo had the crowd in the palm of thier hands singing the song lyrics back to them at full volume.
Singer Tyler Joseph humbly thanked the crowd amidst the appreciative roars by saying: “We’re Twenty One Pilots. Thank you so much for coming to this show. We absolutely love coming here to play music for you.”
They further displayed their humble roots by giving shout-outs and praise to all of the other incredible acts who had performed as part of the festival. A nice display of commorady and mutual respect.
The stage was immaculately set with drummer Josh Dun being perched upon a specially constructed tower beside the main stage. A second fire lit stage was also added projecting into the crowd really adding to the ambience and energy of the whole performance.
The set was a showcase catalogue of some of the the bands greatest hits from thier albums ‘Blurryface’, ‘Clancy’, and ‘Trench’, yet also included a first time live performance of ‘Robot Voices’ with a guest appearence from another of the day’s performing artists, Emi Grace on guitar.
As well as performing their own material within the set, TWENTY ONE PILOTS also delighted the crowds with a few surpirse cover versions including The Beatles ‘Let It Be’, Radiohead’s ‘ Creep’ and Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes.
Aside from the above mentioned covers, the fan-favourite anthems just kept on coming with barely room for breathing space with ‘Chlorine’ and ‘Ride’ keeping the momentum throttling along before a rare treat of ‘Downstairs‘ being added to the set ahead of the absolutely explosive finale of arguably two of the band’s biggest hits ‘Stressed Out’ and ‘Trees’.
The atmosphere throughout was palpable with pure, unadulterated joy and abandonment. This was more than just a gig, it was a coming together of minds and ideals in space where unity prevailed under a killer, ‘lust for life’ soundtrack.
It’s going to take a long time to come down from the high of that performance!
THE SONGBIRD HQ
ALL PHOTO CREDIT – BETHANMILLERCO