Credit: The Maccabees

The Maccabees confirm reunion and All Points East headline set

Mon 28 October 2024 10:00, UK

Indie icons The Maccabees have confirmed details of their reunion at All Points East in London next August.

The headline performance at All Points East is set to take place for August 24th at Victoria Park, marking The Maccabees’ first concert in eight years. Their comeback coincides with the tenth anniversary of their final album, Marks To Prove It, which became their first to top the charts.

In 2017, The Maccabees bowed out at the top of their game with three sold-out shows at London’s Alexandra Palace, but now they are finally back. For their comeback show, the five-piece will be collaborating with the festival to “deliver an essential bill of artists that they love, both old and new” which will be announced closer to the event.

While the reunion has seemingly sprung out of nowhere over the last week, the band have now explained that it has been a long road which began in February, 2020, at guitarist Hugo White’s wedding when The Maccabees reunited to perform ‘Pelican’.

Explaining why he agreed to be involved, singer Orlando Weeks shared: “I didn’t go because it was The Maccabees playing together again, but because it was a beautiful gesture to be invited and to contribute to the spirit of the day. What I wanted, band aside was to find a way to be in each other’s lives in some way.”

While the reunion wasn’t immediately discussed, The Maccabees were back in each other’s lives, which allowed their 2025 headline set at All Points East to become possible.

Furthermore, it’s also an event close to Felix White’s heart, who said: “In the intervening years, we’ve been to All Points East a lot, separately. It’s become a bit of a landmark festival for us, always checking who’s on the line-up. I’d go and have a great time throughout the day, but there was always this pinch of regret watching headliners that we could’ve done it ourselves one day too.”

The guitarist added: “I thought that moment had passed, and it was something I was prepared to come to terms with that I was always going to miss. I think we’re all kind of shocked and excited that we get to do it together again.”

Hugo White said of the upcoming show: “This is an opportunity to realise that whatever we had in that moment was pretty special and get to enjoy it again. It’s a chance to appreciate everything, and especially how it impacts other people and created a community.”

While speaking exclusively with Far Out in 2022, Weeks said of the band’s last concerts, “I think the way that we drew a line under everything — our final shows felt very final. I feel it would be strange to undermine that experience, so I think it would be very unlikely.”

Weeks also touched upon the mental strain of saying goodbye to the band, adding, “It wasn’t heavy in a dark way, but, just heavy. It was a lot to process, and I think we did ourselves extremely proud, as did the people who were fans of what we did. After the shows, I got straight on an aeroplane to France with my partner and stayed there for a little while, just to take myself out of the norm. It was a lot to try and understand and to have gone through with those people.”

Pre-sale for The Maccabees at All Points East begins at 10am on October 30th ahead of general sale at 10am on October 31st.