August 24, 2026
The first ever Outbreak x All Points East was an absolute belter, with some of our favourite artists performing back to back across the site throughout the day. But if there’s one main opinion we’ve been left with post-festival, it’s this: girls fucking rule.
Deftones knocked it out of the park as per with their festival-closing set, but it was the women who stole the show for us that sunny Sunday. From Mannequin Pussy and Ecca Vandal to Amyl and the Sniffers, some of the day’s most memorable sets came from female-fronted acts who absolutely owned their stages.
We kicked things off relatively early doors with our first set of the day, Mannequin Pussy. Lead singer Missy marched around the stage with a grin, launching into war-cry wails as the band tore through a set of scuzzy, rowdy bangers. The band treated the audience to two new songs, which went down a storm, before launching into fan-favourites Romantic and Loud Bark.
We hotfooted it over to the Rising Stage next to catch TGF friend Dan P Carter’s new band, Reclus.e. The new musical project, fronted by Soren Bryce of Tummyache, is an alt/grunge lover’s dream. With an alluring mid-90s guitar twang and hypnotic licks, we’re sure fans of Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins would dig the band. Bryce’s distinctive vocals are, at times, reminiscent of The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan: raw, ethereal and cut with haunting inflections.
By mid-afternoon, New York legends Interpol brought their atmospheric post-punk classics to the East Stage, while Ecca Vandal tore up the X Stage. If you haven’t seen her live yet, we can’t recommend it enough - a genre-defying force of nature, Ecca doesn’t miss a beat onstage. Whether it’s her powerhouse vocals or her unique physicality while performing, she’s a true one-of-a-kind diamond in the alt scene.
She had the X Stage crowd firmly in the palm of her hand, with people spilling out of the space and dancing along to her unique blend of hip-hop, punk and rock. We’re calling it now: next year she’ll be on the main stage without a doubt.
Everyone relived their goth and emo glory days during AFI’s long-awaited set, as they blasted through OG classics like Girl’s Not Grey and Miss Murder from across their 30-year discography.
By early evening, we were more than ready for the set we’d been itching to see all day - Aussie punk legends Amyl and the Sniffers, one of the most fun and high-energy acts to see right now. They’re incredible musically as a quartet and they’re made even better by their fearless and charismatic frontwoman Amy Taylor.
The women in the crowd got a huge shout-out as Taylor called on them to kick off crowd favourite Me and the Girls. Mid-set, Taylor delivered a speech criticising right-wing movements and calling for a free Palestine, which was met with huge applause from the crowd.
It was exactly the kind of set that summed up why the women of Outbreak x All Points left such an impression on us: delivering some of the best bangers of the day while showing up loud, fearless and unapologetic.
Penultimate act of the night, IDLES, took to the West Stage as the sun began to set, blasting through modern classics such as Danny Nedelko and Mother. They suitably warmed up the crowd, whipping up a dust pit before the main event: Sacramento’s finest, the one and only Deftones.
Entering to the humorous, awkward saxophone song recently popularised on TikTok, Deftones assumed their positions in front of mesmerising visuals. It was a style and substance situation for the headline production, as dark, artsy and atmospheric visuals poured across the LED screens - think crashing waves, the white snake from Private Music, and a moody setting sun.
The iconic alt-metal band ripped through the hits, kicking off with Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) and pivoting into bangers such as Mascara and Sextape, before culminating in the holy duality of Change (In the House of Flies) and My Own Summer (Shove It).
Deftones were the perfect way to close out a wildly good day of music, but we gotta give credit where credit is due: the female-fronted bands of the day killed it. They proved that the current state (and future) of alternative music is in very good hands.
For a sneak peek of what we got up to backstage at the festival, head to our Instagram.
