Arooj Aftab, Tinariwen and Nitin Sawhney provide powerful playing, frenzied crowd-pleasers and plenty of laughs at Polygon Live LDN

There was no need to weave and elbow a path to the front of the crowd at Polygon Live LDN, as this festival was all about finding your way to the middle. With “five times more speakers than a typical festival stage” (according to the press release) and a dual-dome design, Polygon created a central hub so that the audience could hear the music in near surround-sound. Allied to a lighting rig that formed a pulsing cage-like structure, Polygon – taking place at Crystal Palace Park, London – achieved its aim of creating a new and extra-immersive live experience.

The first artist to take the stage on the Friday of Polygon Live LDN (which was a three-day festival, May 2–4) was Arooj Aftab, a singer known for blending South Asian classical music with jazz. As someone who has only ever streamed the singer's ethereal performances, I was completely unprepared for her sheer force and comedic presence. Proclaiming that we were all going to have a “sad and sexy time together”, Arooj started by playing tracks from Night Reign, which, due to the nocturnal themes, was well-suited to be played in a tent that blocked out England’s May sunshine. As a prelude to the lilting yet discordant ‘Whiskey’, Arooj proclaimed that the crowd was “not sauced enough” and gave out whiskey shots to those clamouring in the front row. Joining her on stage was a double bassist, a drummer, a guitarist and an accordion player called Margot, whose quiet enthusiasm and anchoring presence nearly stole the show. Another highlight included Arooj’s overture to ‘raat ki rani’, a track which has since taken on a new life in a remix by Khruangbin. Stating that while she’d like to take after Bad Bunny and leave all the anglophones in the dark as to the meaning of the Hindi lyrics, they’re “too funny not to share.” A song in which her tender voice soars over minimalist instrumentation has always seemed majestic to me. Instead, it's about having an intense connection with someone across the room at a party and then running home to your partner. She states that her own partner isn’t a fan.

Next up was producer, composer and musician Nitin Sawhney. He was joined on stage by a full band, including violinists, backing vocalists and a tabla player. As someone who has been involved in over 20 studio albums, including film soundtracks and compilations, he had a lot of material to choose from. Because of this, his performance seemed slightly disjointed, with a track from Mowgli played against the darker, almost drum’n’bass influenced and politically coded ‘Because You’re a Woman.’ However, his performance ended with an incredible display of mouth percussion, with Sawhney and his tabla player embarking on a frenzied period of call-and-response, whipping the crowd into thunderous applause.

Tinariwen (photo by Erin Cobby)

The day ended with desert blues icons Tiniwaren. The group of guitarists, singers, percussionists and dancers began their set slowly, building up riffs with mesmerising methodology until the crowd was transfixed. Their set descended into funk-infused guitar solos and high-energy vocals, with the rotating dancers and players providing wordless encouragement to push the crowd towards an ecstatic finale.

In comparison, the grounds outside felt like a ‘day festival box-ticking’ exercise, complete with fold-out lawn chairs and a mushroom tea stall. But really, this had no bearing, as anyone who was spending any quantifiable amount of time outside would have been missing the point of the day altogether.

After a hugely successful 2025 edition, Polygon Live LDN has announced it will be returning next year, with early bird tickets already available