Set in the luxurious Larmer Tree Gardens, End of the Road is a lovely, magical festival where the best of the UK’s summer music scene comes together for one final festival tour of the year. Appropriately named then – as the End of the Road, it’s a mix between punk, folk, and has a wide range of events for families – even a cinema bill, curated by Andrea Arnold and boasting several David Lynch films in tribute to the recently departed director. It’s got it all – cinephiles, radio 6 dads, punkrockers, party-heads and even the Cranbourne 10k run on the Saturday morning – the perfect magical escape that when most bands say it’s their favourite festival, you can tell they really mean it.
You only need to look at past years to see bands like CMAT and Nation of Language light up the stage. It runs from August 29th through to September 1 and is currently sold out, however resale is available.
The Thursday is arrival day – tents go down and the buses; often with frequent delays, are navigated. First appointment band is shortstraw., who I’ve already seen twice – supporting Soft Play at the intimate War Child gig for Village Underground and at the Lexington as part of Five Day Forecast. There’s a good lineup of acts – but the rowdy, punkish shortstraw. get the ball rolling. This Coventry fronted band is led by mohawk sporting Erin West, and the band stands tall with acts like Bob Vylan and Amyl and the Sniffers, ready to serve as a staple in the UK punk scene. Joining them on The Folly is Canadian punk outfit La Sécurité – off-kilter energy combined with minimalistic melodic hooks for a unique, punky, raw sound.
Westside Cowboy have sold out appearances at Brixton Windmill under their belt and create a healthy dosage of Americana nostalgia that echoes the likes of The Heavy Heavy and Night Moves. They’re carving out a niche in the “Britainicana” genre – British people in small towns with no hope and no future. It’s for the kids in places like Weston-Super-Mare and other rundown, no-hope places struggling with employment prospects, perfectly able to connect with everyone. When Green Man and End of the Road both book an artist the same year you sit up and pay attention. Westside Cowboy is that act – opening early on the Woods stage.
Getdown Services are a riot and the most fun live act touring now. I saw them in Bristol earlier in the year and they’ve only gone from strength to strength – the brutal Wide Awake clash with BDRMM proved the hardest of the day. (BDRMM won out then – that clash avoided here.) They’re a party band, and End of the Road is a party festival – grungy British with a real case of “do whatever you can to see them live, worry about the rest later”. In the unthinkable that pairs them with Sharon van Etten as headliner, I’ll be devastated. They’ll be lighting up the Folly whilst Sharon takes to the Woods to open the festival.
The main festival starts on Friday proper with animated double features of Flow and Robot Dreams, and Robot Dreams will completely and utterly wreck you. It’s one of the most gorgeously animated films of the decade and the story about a dog who adopts a robot companion and becomes best friends with it; only to lose it – is heartbreaking in the best way possible. Flow’s unique storyline of a found family of animals surviving a flood is brilliant. Later on, in the day – audiences have the option of Paris, Texas, French masterpiece L’Atlante, Bong Joon-Ho classic Memories of Murder, the Haneke-depressive Funny Games. If the music wasn’t as good as it was on that day – you could quite easily head over to the cinema all day. But first and foremost, End of the Road is a music festival – and what a lineup Friday 29th has.
Man/woman/chainsaw is one of the first names that grabs attention out of the Big Top stage. A young, artpunk outfit that exercise in controlled chaos that’s joyous and raucous at every turn. Already one hundred gigs under their belt they’re never one to turn down a tour – influenced by the likes of Black Country, New Road and Black Midi they’ve taken the DIY experimental scene of London by storm. The noise and the chaos thrive head on – and together they operate in tandem. Ode to Clio is a highlight and they’ve already done a headline show at London’s iconic Scala – sure to only get bigger in fame and audit as they progress. Also down to light up the Big Top with strong Sextile vibes is Dame Area – a high-tempo electric group from Spain that have already played Primavera Sound earlier in the year and they like to cut a song that gets too popular from the setlist, so it always keeps it fresh. Their noise techno approach is kinetic and lively, fresh out of Barcelona and inspired by artists like Suicide, Sonic Youth and more. Their sound is nostalgia transcendent – immersive energy like no other.
Over at The Boat stage, Rubie won the Next Wave for 2025 – surely unmissable – and is a Glasgow-based artist who has been progressing beyond the Queer underground with her polymetric alt pop, and has been able to break out into the mainstream with a stellar mastery of lyricism that has to be witnessed to be believed.
Last year’s attendees will know what a disappointment it was to lose Lisa O’Neill once. The same can’t happen twice – surely? She’s back at the Garden stage – the mythically talented lyricist is ready to take End of the Road by storm – All the Tired Horses provided the perfect backend to BBC’s hit Peaky Blinders and has recently crafted a song that is a protest march – Homeless in the Thousands (Dublin the Digital Age) with vocals from Peter Doherty, a rallying cry about homelessness in Dublin. Her voice is lyrical and was named the winner of the Guardian’s 2019 folk album of the year – so you know you’re in good hands. Her work thrives off the natural world, embracing the old order – and if you’ve come to End of the Road for folk you can’t have found a better place to call home.
Saturday takes us into the main weekend and we’re experiencing one of the most stacked names of the festival season – if you’re looking for folk, you’ve come to the right place. The New Eves I first saw back in 2023 at Wide Awake (also there, an early Lambrini Girls set), and their cottagecore aesthetic stripped down saw the Guardian label them as the Verve scoring Midsommar. They look the part and the trees that call the woods home couldn’t be better placed for them. The aesthetic of Mary in the Junkyard is somewhat similar on Sunday hence the combination together – they’re the band that screams End of the Road and their witchy style has seen them recently elevated to support for Wet Leg. Their live shows are unlike few others, really – perfect fit for the tent of the Big Top.
The high tempo dance energy of Sofia Kourtesis offers a kinetic Woods welcome. The Peruvian DJ producer based in Berlin wraps house music around an ambient coil to create a danceable, high techno love letter to the LGBTQ+ community – her latest EP Volver after all, was inspired by Pedro Almodovar’s film of the same name. It’s a long awaited follow up to her outstanding debut Madres, and she’s an intimidating force to be reckoned with that holds your attention long after you’ve gone.
Moin are regular London tourers and the chance to catch them live remains unmissable at the Big Top. Less of a band and more a free-flowing experimental project that can’t really be tied down, their dynamics owe inspiration to an industrial salvo of Detroit techno that remains increasingly lively. They never stay to one formula for long and can change, evolving and staying fresh at every turn. If you think you’ve seen them live once before, think again – they’re an entirely different beast.
The double pairing of BDRMM and DIVV is perfect for anyone looking to get their shoes gazed and the fact that they are not clashing suggests for some overlap between the Big Top and The Folly. BDRMM are at their best on an intimate stage – embracing the semi-darkness that overtakes them and racing off their new album Microtonic with the skills of an artist that it’s impossible to be bored by. John on the Ceiling and Infinity Peaking keep the energy flowing – and followed up by DIVV they have a fascinating pairing of two of the best of the genre. Shoegaze legends’ Frog in Boiling Water is a titanic success of an album that helped bring the genre back to the forefront kicking and screaming – owing to a sturdier grasp than most their genre-mates revelling in the My Bloody Valentine comparisons.
I really like Kassie Krut – End of the Road’s strength is in its depth and Krut has become a name to watch over the last few months. The former math rock outfit Palm have reformed, and they’ve been opening for names like Kim Gordon already. Perfect for fans of experimental dance and the transition into a new age being as well received as it has been testament to the longevity that has surpassed many a band – and before they head to End of the Road you can check them out at Rally Festival in Southwark Park.
Part of the Windmill Scene that is also worth looking at is Black Fondu, a rapper from South London who emerges with experimental twang and a tour-de-force of untapped nature. His blend of punk and hip hop/avant-garde can combine multiple genres and win fans supporting the likes of Fat Dog and Shame – surely one to keep an eye out for. For a run of three great acts on The Boat look no further than RIP Magic – exciting music that has earned them fans in Tyler the Creator. Based out of London with a fusion of 2010s indie rock and Nine inch Nails; this band have emerged as a titanic tour de force that need to be seen before they inevitably blow up – not much music is available to stream out there right now; but the Boat will surely be packed that day.
For more rowdy, chaotic affairs look at Geordie Greep – after a weekend of bands influenced by Black Midi where better to head than to the frontman of the band himself, the maverick responsible for The New Sound, one of the most unhinged, brash records of the decade so far? Boundary pushing and chaotic revelry occupy this unhinged setlist, abrasive and raw at every turn. It’s the perfect build up to the chaos that’s sure to take up Viagra Boys, dubbed “Punk Rock Losers” by The Hives, only to turn around and write a song about themselves called Punk Rock Losers and call them corporate punk. Distant cousins of IDLES in genre, the loud, shouty Swedes have a tall act to follow – but they certainly live up to the bill with one of the most maverick, high-tempo pits of the last few years – expect an equally rowdy Garden stage.
Sunday is the Andrea Arnold Q&A day and the films she’s curated are the best of the bunch. Noir black and white vampire thriller A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is one of the best – look out for the White Lies needle drop – and don’t be afraid to rule out a trip to Ryan Coogler’s sensational vampire western Sinners or the frantic train zombie horror movie Train to Busan. Late night sensation The Wailing is sure to bring on the scares.
Artist wise – the Sunday has a lot of good names. I’m intrigued by the mystery surrounding Theatre on The Folly, a limerick band – who have mixed rock and shoegaze for a trance-like atmosphere that remains wholly unknown given they haven’t released any music yet and don’t have any online presence. They let their music do the talking – and if Ireland’s output is anything to go by in the last few years – it’s sensational. Also on The Folly is Fabiana Palladino is one of my favourite live performers and her self-titled record was my favourite debut of 2024. To get to see her in The Folly would be amazing, after she tore up Cross the Tracks back in May. The 80s William Friedkin-esque vibe of her music is brilliant, Stay With Me Through the Night and I Can’t Dream Anymore are heavy hitters as she asks the audience to Give Me a Sign. Utterly sublime pop that turns a table on the genre and synthesizes it with a banger of a fresh new sound.
I’m also very keen to try out Gina Berch and the Unreasonables at the Boat stage – last minute replacements for Merce Lemon, but what a name End of the Road were able to source for replacements! Gina Birch of The Raincoats fame is alive and kicking and very much a cult hero, defying expectations with a raucous, raw sound. Art punk and edgy alternative delightfully mixed as one.
The festival has plenty acts to offer up no matter your genre and like Primavera, Wide Awake and more five different people can go to the festival for one day and have five different bands. It’s a perfectly magical experience – and I could’ve gone through the entire lineup here. If you’ve spent the summer at barnstormingly big, loud festivals – look no further than End of the Road for a quieter, relaxed, but no less rowdy affair.
End of the Road Festival is happening from August 28-31st.
Learn more about the festival, including how to get tickets, at the official website for the event.
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