End of the Road festival review

End of the Road 2024 | The magic of multi-hyphenate music festival sparkles brighter than ever

Even several significant lineup setbacks can’t dispel End Of The Road's uniquely inclusive and inquisitive atmosphere: it’s a musical festival like no other.

by Tom Curtis-Horsfall |

Amid the meandering peacocks of Larmer Tree Gardens, and flora and fauna of its verdant surrounds, the final weekend of the British summer evolves into one of the finest festival experiences you can imagine. Yes, it’s the ever-lauded End Of The Road – and everybody’s festival experience is likely a parallel universe distinct to themselves due to the multitude of music at one’s disposal.

Getting lost in a sweaty hotbox of socio-political punk, dazzled by harmonic folk singers, or venturing on a journey of various geographical sounds are all within the realms of possibility. 

A cursory glance at the festival’s lineup for 2024 might not have seemed too alluring for those who haven’t been to End Of The Road before. But the festival’s very purpose is getting lost in its gentle ebb and flow of exploration, on an accessible site that wraps you in a comforting embrace of warmly-lit forests and cosy green fields. 

Thankfully, the gods of good weather favoured this particular weekend on the Wiltshire/Dorset border, offering an ideal sort of serenity for the opening Thursday’s mellow acts. Though it was Friday where the festival truly kicked into gear. King Hannah brought a smoky desert rock menace to the Big Top, whilst Holland-based Indonesian psychsters Nusantara Beat incited a hip-swinging sundance on the Woods Stage moments later.

End of the Road Festival review IDLES
Joe Talbot of IDLES

It was CMAT – the Irish country-pop superstar-in-the-making – that served up one of the festival’s outstanding performances. Her joy to be playing at End Of The Road again was infectious, having been booked several years prior as a virtual unknown. Dishing out empowered sing-a-longs, high-kicks, and a bold but pitch-perfect cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ had tears flowing and hearts pounding. 

ML Buch’s sumptuously ethereal art rock saw punters swarm to the Boat Stage for a glance at the hotly-tipped Scandinavian, before IDLES – an evident favourite of the weekend given the sheer quantity of ‘BBC Radio 6 Music Dads’ donning their t-shirts – brought brute force to their headline set. Spitting out platitudes along the lines of “Fuck The Police” every so often and failing to truly rouse the crowd beyond the first front rows, the hard-working Bristolians seemed a little tired. 

What a way to wake up on the Saturday however, as Julia Jacklin was revealed as the secret act opening the gorgeous Garden Stage, on her birthday no less, but her presence was her present to the festival. 

End of the Road Festival review Julia Jacklin
Julia Jacklin is presented with a special surprise for her birthday

New York’s face-melting electro-punks Lip Critic blew away the hangover cobwebs from the previous night, before The Lemon Twigs held the festival’s hand as they skipped back to the seventies, Camera Obscura swooned, and tousled US singer-songwriter Jeffrey Martin gave the enclosed Talking Heads stage an intimate, thought-provoking set of personal songs as dusk settled in. The same arena wasn’t quite as intimate the following morning, as the queue to see comedian Stewart Lee wrapped around nearly a mile of the festival’s site 

Slowdive truly soared that same night however. The Saturday night headliner’s nocturnal shoegaze illuminated the Woods Stage with eyes throughout the main arena fixated firmly in their direction. Tracks from their recent album, everything is alive, went down as smoothly as greatest hits like ‘Alison’ and ‘When The Sun Hits’ – and the festival’s alcoholic beverages, of course. Ending on an encore of Syd Barrett cover ‘Golden Hair’, paying tribute to the mercurial Pink Floyd co-founder set the tone for the late night adventure that would unfold among the trees and starry canvas of nighttime immediately after. 

Props have to go to the festival’s stage and set designers, who immaculately tailor the lighting to emphasise the Larmer Tree Gardens’ wonderland of natural beauty. Equally, the sound techs job is paramount, given the lack of big screens on any of the festival’s stages which puts a particular onus on immersive audio. 

The festival wasn’t without its setbacks however – several absences meant itineraries needed to be shifted on-the-go, with Mdou Moctar, Mozart Estate, Upchuck, and even Sunday night headliner Fever Ray all pulling out, with the latter reportedly coming down with pneumonia. 

End of the Road Festival Jockstrap
Georgia Ellery of Jockstrap

A hair-pulling headache for festival curators became a masterstroke however, as Yo La Tengo were bumped up to the Woods Stage instead, with Floating Points capping off the final day with an awe-inspiring electronic music odyssey on the Garden Stage. A Sunday which already saw stand-out performances from whistler Molly Lewis, Gibson SG-wielding French doom-rockers SLIFT, fist-pumping synth-pop trio Nation Of Language, and Anatolian day-trippers Altin Gün.

Praised for not upping capacity beyond 15,000 festival-goers, End Of The Road retains an inclusivity and inquisitive ethos seldom experienced at other music festivals. The feeling of basking in its warm glow once again can’t come soon enough. 

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