It’s rare that Sault, the secretive collective led by Little Simz’s former collaborator InFlo, perform live. So when All Points East announced they would headline the first day of this year’s festival (August 15), the hype was instant. Despite teasing a world tour in 2023, their only live shows so far saw them take over London’s Drumsheds that year for a sold-out spectacle. Here, then, was an opportunity not to be missed.
The whole day’s line-up is stacked with performances from great acts like Kirk Franklin, Sasha Keable, Nao, Ms Dynamite and more. Unfortunately, though, all of these artists are crammed into a chaotic three-hour window, forcing excruciating clashes across the park. Only Main Stage East remains open after 6pm, giving festival-goers no other option than to watch the headlining trilogy of Sault, Cleo Sol and Chronixx, the latter two members of the enigmatic group and performing their own sets as well as with the collective.
Nothing prepares us for Sault’s five-hour marathon, which turns out to be both confusing and convoluted. Dancers and choir members are covered in burnt ochre cloaks, looking like wanderers from this mythical on-stage world of sand, dunes, and rocks streaked with gold veins. Money has clearly gone into this production – there’s a live orchestra with piano, strings, harp, guitars and more, and a dusty pyramid plonked in the middle of the crowd that’s mostly ignored. People whisper about how grand, and arguably unnecessary, it all is – one nearby punter mutters, “Doesn’t InFlo still owe Little Simz £1million?”
Whatever the message of this theatrical performance is supposed to be gets mostly lost. The protagonists, resembling InFlo and Sol, are on a quest to find something – but what that is is never explicitly explained. Maybe it’s freedom as the leading actress sings the chorus of ‘Free’ while there are some mentions about healing and finding oneself, but it’s all hard to follow.
The crowd perks up when Sol and Chronixx make early cameos, dressed in beige suits and reflective sunglasses, midway through the first act. Together with the wanderers, they perform a medley of Sault’s songs spanning all 12 albums. There’s a mix of hidden gems like the hypnotic ‘S.O.T.H.’ and stirring ‘Pray For Me’, and familiar favourites like ‘I Just Want to Dance’ and ‘Why Why Why Why Why’ that reel the real Sault fans in. For the rest of the crowd, though, the set turns into a curious meet-cute rather than the spectacular performance art Sault likely intended.
It takes two hours for someone to deliver a good time, and that’s Chronixx. With his soul-cleansing positivity and conscious reggae, the mood lifts instantly: people skank to ‘Smile’ and sway to ‘Likes,’ and things finally feel like a festival again. When he leaves the stage, Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) makes a weirdly wonderful surprise appearance. He raps over tweeting birds and crackling robot sounds, and performs a frazzled revamp of ‘Umi Says’ – his song about freedom – while twirling wildly in an oversized checked drape, embodying the song’s message to a comical extent.
After four hours of continuous theatrics, Cleo Sol finally steps forward for a full set. The tension melts as her voice drifts across Victoria Park: hips sway, couples tangle, and the air softens. She looks radiant in sparkling silver cocktail attire, gliding with the calm confidence of someone who knows we’ve needed this release. ‘Rose In The Dark’ hits an ironic note as she sings “Hold on a little longer / It’ll be alright” – exactly what the crowd has been doing while enduring this marathon. By the time she closes with ‘Know That You Are Loved’, standing atop the illuminated pyramid while the crowd sings every word back, it feels like the moment Sault has been building toward all night.
Shortly after, she tries to play ‘Why Don’t You’ as her encore, but the lights snap on as curfew hits, cutting the high short. You understand Sol’s intent – to showcase the full Sault universe in this non-traditional style – but the night still ends as it began, in confusion. For the collective’s latest rare live performance, less mystique and more music would’ve done the trick – then maybe their All Points East set would have lived up to the highs of the Drumsheds.
Sault played:
‘Glory’
‘Free’
‘Let Me Go’
‘Over’
‘I Just Wanna Dance’
‘Warrior’
‘Faith’
‘Up All Night’
‘Son Shine’
‘Masterpiece’
‘Why Why Why Why Why’
‘Stop Dem’
‘Black Is’
‘Pray For Me’
‘S.O.T.H.’
‘T.H.’
‘W.A.I.’
‘Wildfires’
‘This Generation’
Chronixx played:
‘Big Bad Sound’
‘Here Comes Trouble’
‘Exile’
‘Survivor’
‘Market’
‘Captureland’
‘They Don’t Know’
‘Don’t Be Afraid’
‘Family First’
‘Spanish Town Rockin”
‘Skankin Sweet’
‘Majesty’
‘Sweet Argument’
‘Way You Make Me Feel’
‘Resilient’
‘Eternal Light’
‘Tenement Yard’
‘Saviour’
‘Love Is On A Mountain’
‘Smile Jamaica’
Cleo Sol played:
‘Love Yourself’
‘Rose In The Dark’
‘When I’m In Your Arms’
‘There Will Be No Crying’
‘Things Will Get Better’
‘Reason’
‘Don’t Let Me Fall + Outro’
‘Promises’
‘Sunshine’
‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head’
‘Blue’ (Unreleased)
‘Know That You Are Loved’
‘Why Don’t You’