Written by: Kai Eldridge, Music Discovery Editor, OnesToWatch | Last updated: July 8, 2026
Key Takeaways
- All Points East 2026 features a deep undercard of rising artists across two August weekends at Victoria Park, London, with breakout potential driven by recent releases and live momentum.
- Natanya, Rose Gray, and Oklou stand out for their 2025 projects, critical acclaim, and strong overlap with headliner audiences on August 21 and 22.
- UK rap and hip-hop artists such as fakemink and EsDeeKid arrive with high-profile co-signs and streaming traction that point toward imminent mainstream crossover.
- Genre-spanning acts including Geese, adore, and AKRIILA underline the festival’s range, each poised for growth through 2025 projects and major live exposure.
- Stay ahead of the next wave of music breakthroughs by exploring OnesToWatch’s coverage and annual artist selections at OnesToWatch.
How All Points East Breakout Artists Stand Out
Breakout artists at All Points East combine measurable streaming momentum, recent critical press, and proven live-performance energy. At a festival where headliners draw tens of thousands, undercard slots expose rising acts to audiences they have not yet reached. To identify which undercard artists are positioned for breakthrough, look for three converging signals: a new or recent debut release that shows artistic maturity, a high-profile co-sign that validates industry credibility, and a growing monthly listener count that confirms real momentum.
With these criteria in mind, the following sections highlight the most likely breakout candidates on each festival day.
August 21: Jorja Smith & Tems Undercard Standouts
- Natanya — A 23-year-old North London singer-producer, Natanya blends R&B, alt-pop, and dance-pop with neo-soul influences, releasing EPs Feline’s Return and Act II. Her trajectory mirrors Olivia Dean’s 2025 arc. With Jorja Smith and Tems anchoring the day’s R&B energy, Natanya’s slot places her in front of listeners primed to become long-term fans.
- Alicia Creti — Creti showcases raw vocal power and emotional depth comparable to Jazmine Sullivan, with her upcoming EP Mindfields and single “No One’s Business” building anticipation. Her voice carries the kind of live weight that festival stages reward and that often sparks word-of-mouth.
- SALIMATA — SALIMATA impressed with her songwriting and versatility on the project The Happening and single “Moonlight,” showcasing style, substance, and bars. Her range across R&B and rap fits a day led by two of the UK and West Africa’s most celebrated voices.
- Rose Gray — Rose Gray released her album Louder, Please in 2025, followed by deluxe edition A Little Louder, Please featuring JADE and Shygirl, and opened for Kesha. That live experience and the critical momentum behind her record make her one of the most credible breakout candidates on this day.
August 22: Lorde’s Experimental and Alt-Pop Support
- Oklou — Oklou released the album choke enough in 2025, with collaborations including FKA twigs, Danny L Harle, and PinkPantheress. Her experimental pop sensibility aligns with Lorde’s audience, listeners who reward emotional precision and sonic risk-taking.
- Audrey Hobert — Audrey Hobert released her tightly sequenced album Who’s The Clown? in 2025. The record’s cohesion signals an artist with a clear identity, a trait that often translates into strong festival buzz.
- Ninajirachi — Ninajirachi’s album I Love My Computer continues to gain listeners ahead of her 2026 Coachella and Primavera Sound festival slots. Those bookings confirm that All Points East is part of a broader international run for an artist whose electronic production sits at the intersection of hyperpop and club music.
Several artists on this day also appear in OnesToWatch’s 2026 class, reinforcing their breakout trajectory.
August 23: Outbreak Fest’s Rock and Global Energy
- Geese — Geese released their avant-garde third album Getting Killed in 2025. Three albums into their catalog with a growing critical reputation, Geese bring dense, guitar-driven intensity that Outbreak Fest’s rock-leaning audience actively seeks.
- adore — adore’s breakout single “did i tell u that i miss u” racked up streams in the hundreds of millions. That streaming ceiling, reached before a major festival appearance, suggests a large-scale live debut could accelerate her rise.
- Sofia Isella — Sofia Isella opened for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. That exposure placed her in front of stadium-sized audiences before most festival bookers had taken notice. Outbreak Fest serves as a natural next step in building her own headline credibility.
- AKRIILA — AKRIILA’s studio album epistolares and its 2025 deluxe epistolares+ pushed the neoperreo movement beyond Latin America. Her presence at a UK festival signals the genre’s continued international expansion and her own ambitions beyond regional markets.
August 28–29: Tyler, The Creator’s Rap-Focused Weekend
- fakemink — fakemink was brought out by Drake at Wireless festival and appeared on EsDeeKid’s track “LV Sandals” in 2025. He leads the UK’s internet bedroom rap scene toward international breakthrough, with co-signs from Drake, Playboi Carti, A$AP Rocky, and Timothée Chalamet, and his upcoming LP Terrified (2026) may solidify his status. A Tyler, The Creator crowd matches his distorted, hook-driven production.
- EsDeeKid — EsDeeKid, a masked UK hip-hop artist, has emerged as a formidable force with his first Hot 100 entry “4 RAWS” and 20-minute EP Rebel. A Hot 100 entry before a major festival slot often signals a near-term breakout.
- SAILORR — SAILORR released the project From Florida’s Finest and its deluxe DELU/XXX in 2025, and toured with Doja Cat. That tour placed her in arenas before her own fanbase had fully formed, a rare accelerant for an early-career artist.
- Jastin Martin — Jastin Martin, a 25-year-old Houston Def Jam signee, combines sultry vocals with hands-on production and is making waves on Billboard’s R&B Airplay Chart, aligned with Timbaland. Her label support and production instincts position her for a significant 2026 run.
Several of these artists already feature in OnesToWatch’s 2026 list, underscoring how closely the platform tracks this festival tier.
Genre Quick-Match Guide
- Alt-R&B / Neo-Soul: Natanya, Alicia Creti, SALIMATA, Jastin Martin
- Experimental / Hyperpop / Electronic: Oklou, Ninajirachi, fakemink
- Indie Pop / Singer-Songwriter: Audrey Hobert, Sofia Isella, adore
- Alt-Rock / Avant-Garde: Geese, Rose Gray
- UK Hip-Hop / Rap: fakemink, EsDeeKid
- Latin / Neoperreo: AKRIILA
- R&B / Pop-Rap: SAILORR
How to Preview These Artists Before the Festival
The most efficient pre-festival research workflow pairs streaming platforms with editorial sources. Search each artist on Spotify or Apple Music and sort by most-streamed tracks to find their strongest material. For artists with full-length projects, such as adore, Geese, SAILORR, Audrey Hobert, and Ninajirachi, listen to the complete record rather than singles alone. Festival sets often draw from deeper cuts that do not always appear in top-track lists.
For added context, OnesToWatch publishes in-depth artist features that cover creative process, live performance history, and career trajectory, detail that streaming data alone cannot surface. The platform’s 2026 Top 30 Artists To Watch list includes several names from this lineup and works as a direct starting point for deeper listening.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does All Points East 2026 take place?
All Points East 2026 runs across two weekends at Victoria Park, London. The first weekend covers August 21–23, with co-headliners Jorja Smith and Tems on August 21, Lorde on August 22, and Outbreak Fest on August 23. The second weekend runs August 28–30, with Tyler, The Creator headlining on August 28 and 29.
How do you identify a breakout artist at a festival before they become mainstream?
Breakout artists usually show a combination of recent album or EP release, measurable streaming growth, a high-profile co-sign or tour support slot, and a first or early major festival booking. Artists like fakemink, who received co-signs from Drake and Playboi Carti before releasing a debut LP, or SAILORR, who toured with Doja Cat ahead of her own headline run, display multiple signals at once. Platforms like OnesToWatch track these signals editorially and provide context that algorithmic playlists do not.
Which All Points East 2026 artists are most likely to headline within the next two to three years?
Based on current trajectory, fakemink, adore, and EsDeeKid carry the strongest combination of streaming momentum, live experience, and industry co-signs. adore’s single reaching hundreds of millions of streams before a major festival debut stands out as a powerful indicator. EsDeeKid’s Hot 100 entry with a debut EP suggests significant room for growth as a full-length project arrives.
What is OnesToWatch and why does it matter for festival discovery?
OnesToWatch is an editorial platform focused on emerging and independent artists before mainstream breakthrough. Its annual coverage highlights roughly 300 artists per year through features, with around 30 forming the yearly class. Past artists featured early by OnesToWatch include Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, SZA, and Olivia Rodrigo. For festival-goers and industry professionals, the platform functions as a pre-breakout signal source with a documented track record.
Is it worth arriving early for undercard sets at All Points East?
For discovery-focused attendees, early arrival offers the clearest path to finding new favorites. Undercard slots at major festivals consistently expose rising acts to audiences they have not yet reached through streaming or touring alone. Artists like Sofia Isella, who built live experience opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and Ninajirachi, who is mid-run on a 2026 international festival circuit, are likely to deliver polished sets despite their undercard positioning.
Conclusion: Tracking Discovery Patterns at All Points East 2026
The 2026 All Points East lineup reflects a broader festival pattern: headliners draw the crowd, while the undercard develops the next cycle of headliners. Across both weekends, emerging acts share common traits, including 2025 projects, high-profile live experience before their own fanbases fully formed, and genre lanes that align with headliner audiences rather than compete with them.
For fans and professionals who want to follow these artists beyond the festival, OnesToWatch provides the editorial infrastructure to track their development from undercard slots to headline status.