My eighth End of the Road festival since 2016. As ever you look at the line up beforehand and think, a lot of the time, who are all these bands? Then you listen to the excellent EOTR playlist on Spotify and think, this is good, that’s great, and you have a long list of bands you want to see. You await the clashfinder that comes with the programme to see what difficult choices you will have to make. And then it’s all go: an evening and three full days of the best music.

There were lots of us this year. Jon, Shane and I made the journey in Jon’s car. On arrival Jon and I headed for the Tangerine Fields glamping and despatched Shane to the main campsite to pitch his tent with the youngsters: Louis, Connie, Callum, Tom, Fionn and others. It’s good to have their company: passionate about the music and bringing a different perspective. You get to see bands you might otherwise not have considered.

The lads had a gazebo this year

The weather forecast wasn’t great. We all know we need a decent slug of rain after such a dry summer, but couldn’t it start on Monday? The heavens’ answer was decidedly not! Rain jacket, walking boots, umbrella – let’s go!

Thursday 27 August

We started in the Folly tent with La Securité, a Montreal art punk band that reminded me a little of 80s post punk bands like Altered Images and A Certain Ratio musically. Sharp, jumpy rhythms and an engaging singer. We didn’t hang around for the whole set as we wanted to get over to the Woods stage for Westside Cowboy. We’d seen them play a great set on the Sunrise Arena at Latitude – I wondered how they’d translate to the bigger spaces of the main stage. The answer was, brilliantly. Their combination of Americana and grunge, with deft harmonies, went down really well with a good sized crowd, while their presence was enhanced by an orange backdrop against which they stood out. It certainly added to my appreciation of the drummer, who drove the music along. Louis and Tom knew all the words to their recent singles, which is a good sign. A band destined to join the list of Manchester’s finest.

Quite a contrast next as we returned to the Folly for some soulful modern samba from Brazilian artist Rogê. Not someone I was aware of until I heard his song Existe Uma Voz on the playlist, which I liked. The show was a joy – a more robust sound than I’d expected, but full of those lilting rhythms and danceable beats. A smile on everyone’s face. Some conscious lyrics, but essentially a party to which everyone was invited. Great fun.

We stayed on at the Folly for Anna Erhard, but the music didn’t grab us, so we wandered over to the Woods stage bar and got ready for Thursday’s headliner Sharon van Etten and the Attachment Theory. Long-time readers of this blog will know that I’ve loved Sharon van Etten’s music, especially the songs on albums like Tramp (2012) and Are We There (2014). Even with a band, she had a raw, stripped-back sound then. Over time her music has become more elaborate, fuller. I still liked her albums, with Remind Me Tomorrow (2019) featuring the anthem Seventeen, now the highlight of her live show. But this year’s eponymous album with the Attachment Theory was just too slick and bombastic on first listen, and I haven’t gone back to it. And the live show at EOTR? Rather the same, I’m afraid. I couldn’t really engage with it. It probably didn’t help that we were standing quite far back and EOTR has resolutely resisted having any screens, even on the main stage. Checking Setlist FM, I saw that half the set was from the new album, but the other half was tracks I should have recognised. But the only two that stood out were Only When the Sun Comes Up and Seventeen. And even they seemed a bit perfunctory. I’m probably being unfair – I imagine there were a lot of people who loved it. But it was one of those shows where half an hour in you think, oh God, I’ve got another hour of this.

Oh well, another old favourite bites the dust. We remember all their great stuff – and Sharon has a lot – and we move on.

Friday 28 August

I’ve already forgotten, but I think the weather was mostly ok today, after it rained incessantly overnight. And not too muddy – yet.

The day began for me with the only literature event that I went to this year. Jon had gone earlier and saw a bit more; I hung around the tent and had a bacon bap from the Tangerine Fields café. It was good!  The talk was with John Harris, the Guardian political journalist, one time music journalist. A trenchant observer of today’s society and the state’s inability to deal with its ills. He has written a book called Maybe I’m Amazed, which is the story of how important music has been in the life of him and his autistic son James. He spoke with great passion and humour about the transformative effect of music – and about the obstacles that government puts in place to get proper support for children with autism. And others with special needs. Moving and inspiring. Very sympathetically interviewed by another author, Holly Dawson. I bought a signed copy of the book later.

First music of the day at twelve. A classic EOTR clash. Three artists I wanted to see. On the garden stage, a Texan guitarist called Hayden Pedigo. In the Big Top, Belfast noise rock band Makeshift Art Bar, and in the Folly, indie-soul singer Uwade. Left to my own devices I might have gone for Hayden Pedigo, as I enjoy starting the day at the Garden Stage. But the collective decision was the noise of Makeshift Art Bar – where did that name come from? And they were good. Of the slow-fast-slow variety, with slashing rhythms and a wall of sound in the fast bits. An ominous feel to it all. Not the most relaxing start, but worth the trip.

I got over the early ear-bashing with three mellow shows in a row afterwards. First, Irish folk singer Ellie O’Neill in the Folly. Beautiful, simple songs, gorgeously sung with just the acoustic guitar to carry them through. A warm glow infused all of us who were there. Then it was down to the Woods Stage for Rosali. She’s someone I’ve wanted to see for a while. I loved her song Mouth, which opened her 2021 album No Medium. It’s a classic Americana ballad, but with a guitar motif which gets me every time. Her music is already quite spare, but she stripped it down further for this performance. Just her and another guitar player. Slow-burning tunes with a JJ Cale subtlety in the guitars. Even Mouth was smoothed over to go with the flow. I enjoyed it, but missed the dynamism of a full band.

Ellie O’Neill

Rosali in double denim

While I was watching Rosali, most of the group were at the Big Top watching Man/Woman/Chainsaw – those names! The reports afterwards sounded good. More noise, but with a shoegaze element too. A few of us convened at the Garden Stage next for Florist, an indie folk band from Brooklyn, New York. If Ellie O’Neill and Rosali were mellow, Florist were positively soporific. It was nice, but it washed over me.

Some rock’n’roll was now essential. The Bug Club on the Woods Stage fitted the bill. I like this band whenever I hear them on the radio. Witty, upbeat rocking tunes. We saw them at Green Man a few years ago, and they’ve built quite a following since. On the way down to the Woods, we passed the Big Top and heard some rocking punk sounds. It was an Aussie band called C.O.F.F.I.N. After the Bug Club show, which was entertaining enough, but a bit slight, I rather wished I’d given the Australian punks a go. By the way, their name stands for Children of Finland Fighting in Norway. Don’t ask me why.

I had a break at this point, staying on site. A cup of tea from the double decker bus. A very nice couple joined me at my table and offered me a duck spring roll, which I declined, and then some chocolate tiffin, which I couldn’t resist. It was perfect with the tea. Suitably revived – all the standing is hard work these days – the next gig was the splendidly-named Horse Jumper of Love at the Folly. When I heard them on the EOTR playlist I thought of Radiohead, but Wikipedia gets it right, classifying them as slowcore, slacker rock, shoegaze. They are from Boston, Massachusetts and were cooler than your average shoegaze band. And better – I really enjoyed the performance, and I was at one with the crowd in that respect. A great atmosphere, a good band.

Horse Jumper of Love

We all headed down to the Wood Stage next for Swedish psychedelic rockers Goat. I quite like their recorded music – there’s a lot going on. But I found it a bit repetitive live and decided to head up to the Boat Stage, one in the woods beyond the Garden Stage, which I rarely visit. It’s quite small and it’s hard to see the band if you are at the back. The band I wanted to see were Mandy, Indiana. The singer, Valentine Caulfield is French; the rest of the band are from Manchester, I think. They are also based in Berlin, which feels appropriate. They make a hardcore noise, infused with pounding dance beats. I caught four songs at the end. Couldn’t see much of them, but found the sound really gripping. Valentine has a presence about her, though she ruined it a bit for the last song by disappearing into the crowd. I was left wanting more, and will be looking out for any shows in London.

I wandered over to the Folly after that for Chastity Belt. They are an all-woman band from Seattle, who have been around for a while. Jangly indie rock would describe them. I love a song of their called Lydia, which has a wonderfully simple, high-pitched guitar solo running through it. And they did play it, right at the end. The solo got a little lost in the mix, so I imagined it a bit, as sometimes you do at live shows. Overall, the performance was a bit samey – it’s in the nature of the music I guess. But I enjoyed it well enough.

It was headliner time now. Caribou on the Woods Stage or Matt Berninger of the National on the Garden? I favoured Matt Berninger, but Caribou started earlier, so I wandered down to see if I could find the others. We have an area we usually stand in, but in the dark I couldn’t see anyone. Caribou’s music is poppy electro-dance, backed with some colourful visuals. I enjoyed the bit I saw, but I think an hour and a half would have been too much. That said, the reports later were very enthusiastic. Louis said it was the best headline performance he’d seen at EOTR. Anyway, I went to Matt Berninger, unsure of how good he would be, parted from his usual band. But I shouldn’t have doubted – it was superb. He was animated – more than I remember him being with the National – and humorous. In a couple of early songs he was positively ranting, like a man at the end of his tether. He calmed down after that! Overall the music, drawn heavily from his recent solo album Get Sunk, wasn’t so different to the National, and his band were equally accomplished. At one point he said, “I’d like to play two covers of my favourite band… the National.” With a little joke about the Dave Matthews Band thrown in.  The songs were Gospel and a very powerful Terrible Love. They also played a cover of New Order’s Blue Monday, minus the electronics, which was great. So, yeah, I think I made the right choice.

Afterwards we convened at the Garden Stage bar and reviewed the day’s events and watched the silent disco down below with amusement. There seemed to be three separate songs being played at any one time, judging by the wristband lights. Meanwhile the DJs on the stage seemed to be belting out one tune. All beyond me!

Saturday 30 August

Today it rained, then it rained, then it rained some more. There was some variety – sometimes it was light, sometimes it was heavy. We assumed our stiff upper lips and carried on. The two main tents, Big Top and Folly, were unsurprisingly very popular and some of the artists on the Woods and Garden stages drew smaller crowds than they would have expected. Such is the lottery of the English weather. We knew the rain was going to end at some point on the evening – that gave us some hope. But it was a bit grim at times.

Jon went on a run in the morning and just about avoided the rain, which started around ten. He did have to run up and down some hills though. I chilled out at the tent and wandered over to the site around midday. The first band I saw was the Sophs in the Folly. They’re an LA band, who have recently been signed to the Rough Trade record label. Musically they’re quite varied – an accordion even appeared at one point – but at the core it’s indie rock’n’roll.  The singer, Ethan Ramon, was engaging and energetic. They got a really positive response from the crowd. An upbeat start to the day.

I stayed at the Folly for the next show – Lily Seabird. I’d not heard of her before I listened to the EOTR playlist. I really liked her track Grace. It combined country/folk with some wild guitars, her voice straining to hit the notes. And that combination translated to the live show. She’s an unassuming character who comes alive through her music. The ballads were poignant, with her voice sounding like she was about to cry. There were two towards the end of the performance. And then she said, “We’ve got three songs left and we’re going to go bonkers.” And go bonkers they did. A total guitar wigout – truly exhilarating. I felt really moved by the ballads – and then by those rocking guitars. My kind of music, totally. Made my day.

It was Mary in the Junkyard at the Big Top next. I like them – saw them play at the ICA in London last year. A woozy indie rock sound. I just got in, with all the people escaping the rain. There’s no way they would have filled the tent on a dry day – they are good, but not that well-known. I stood at the back, peering over and between heads, and soon thought, I’m not really enjoying this. So I left after three songs and went down to the Woods Stage to watch the ever-reliable Golden Dregs in the rain with most of our lot. Singer and band leader Benjamin Woods crooning, lovely harmonies, a mellow groove that reminds me of past bands like Lloyd Cole and the Commotions and Tindersticks. They’re a good band.

Next it was over to the Garden Stage for Tyler Ballgame. Recommended in a piece I’d read by Laura Barton, a music journalist I greatly respect. He has a voice like Roy Orbison, high-pitched with a sense of fragility. A contrast to Tyler himself, who is a big man. The music sounded good, but for this one we did stand by the bar and chat while we listened. So I can’t really do it justice. Further exploration required.

Tyler Ballgame

The Line of Best Fit article that included Laura Barton’s endorsement of Tyler Ballgame also featured a piece on a singer called Black Fondu, written by LOBF’s editor, Paul Bridgwater. He declared that the artist would be one of the most divisive at EOTR and suggested that the 6 Music Dads would “toss out Paddington-like hard stares and tut about ‘real instruments’ before retreating back to whatever Big Thief side project is happening elsewhere.” Naturally, Jon, Shane and I, as bona fide 6 Music Dads, took this as a challenge, and so wandered up to the Boat Stage after Tyler Ballgame to catch the show. The place was heaving, as usual. Black Fondu was leaping around to an electronic beat and rapping over the top. We didn’t tut about real instruments, but quickly concluded that it wasn’t for us and left. But there being no Big Thief side projects available I managed to entice Jon and Shane into the Folly to watch a real favourite of mine, Mabe Fratti. She’s a cellist from Guatemala, based in Mexico who plays music that combines the avant garde with a real sense of beauty. Search her name on my blog for more references – I’ve seen her a few times over the years.

The band that Mabe was playing in on this occasion is called Titanic. It’s a collaboration between Mabe and her partner, guitarist Hector Tosta. They were supported by saxophonist Nat Philipps and drummer Friso van Wijck. The music is pretty angular and discordant – more so than her solo work – with rushes of guitar and sax that blow you away, but Mabe’s vocals shimmer over it. Beauty and the beast. She mostly used her cello to provide basslines, but occasionally got the bow out to add to the cacophony. It’s a challenging but intriguing sound and was really well-received by the capacity crowd. A demonstration of the openness of the EOTR audience to unfamiliar music. As indeed was the packed tent for Black Fondu.

Defying the rain, our next call was Peruvian DJ and producer Sofia Kourtesis. She combines electronic dance sounds with an infectious Latin groove. Perfect for dancing to on a balmy summer’s evening. Or how about standing in a field under a mass of grey cloud and an insistent downpour which whipped into your side when a gust of wind came from an unexpected direction? Well, it kind of worked! Sofia performed heroically on stage, which was all the more notable when you consider that she’d lost her mother only a couple of days before. And the crowd, while diminished in size, responded in kind – there was a lot of dancing under the umbrellas and the raincoats. The upper lips were stiff, but not the limbs!

Sofia’s show finished at 6.30 and still the rain fell. Jon and I decided to take a break and sit in the tent for a while and Shane joined us. We drank some white wine – Jon had brought a box – and waited for the rain to stop. It was forecast to relent around at 8.30 and so it did. Time for some more music.

We started with our favourite modern shoegaze band bdrmm in a very busy and steamy Folly tent. They put on a lively and rather joyful show – much more expressive than when we saw them at the Scala in November 2023. I haven’t listened to the 2025 album Microtonic yet, but the reviews suggest that it’s more electronic and upbeat than previous efforts. That showed in tonight’s performance.

That left us with a choice of headliners: Self Esteem on the Woods stage or Viagra Boys on the Garden stage. We opted for the latter – the attraction of some straightforward rocking and a more sheltered space, just in case the rain returned. I’m not a huge fan of Viagra Boys, who hail from Sweden, but Louis and his friends are, and they were somewhere near the front, I assume. Shane, Jon and I stayed at the back, near the bar and enjoyed the show, which was as rumbustious as expected, with a wailing sax adding an extra dimension to the sound. The singer had some amusing patter in between songs and, more seriously, announced that the band were donating their appearance fee to Doctors without Borders, in Palestine. Unsurprisingly there were quite a few gestures of support for Palestine during the weekend – credit to the Viagra Boys for giving theirs some substance.

Sunday 31 August

We were hoping for some dry weather today, but it didn’t materialise until mid-afternoon. Through the morning and early afternoon the heavens taunted us with alternating sunshine and showers as the clouds raced overhead. It was fine though – much nicer than yesterday. As for the music – just fantastic.

We began at the Garden Stage with Shovel Dance Collective, a folk ensemble whose musical range was impressive. The songs ranged from angry protests at injustice through the ages to atmospheric instrumental pieces, a beautiful love song and a spine-tingling piece in which the violinist was let loose on what sounded like an Irish jig, but was probably an English equivalent.  There was something very powerful and moving about the whole thing. This was roots music made relevant to the modern age.

Next was Floodlights, an Australian band described as post-punk and political in the programme. In the event, it sounded to me like pretty orthodox rock and I couldn’t tell what they were singing about. But it was alright. After that Shane and I wandered up to the Garden Stage to see American folk singer Jake Xerxes Fussell. I saw him on the same stage in 2022 and he was a revelation, as he mined the traditional American songbook. This time was just as good – more modern, perhaps, with a gently flowing electric guitar sound as much as acoustic. There were elements of say, JJ Cale in his playing, and he had that ability to lay down two or three rhythms at the same time – without a loop machine. He was accompanied by some subtle drumming for the majority of the songs. Once again, I felt moved by the sheer quality of it all. Jake is a modest character but performs with an obvious love for the songs. l was delighted too when he played Nick Lowe’s I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass in a country style. Not a cover you would have expected, but it worked really well. Maybe it was always a country song at heart.

Floodlights

Jake Xerxes Fussell

Buoyed by Jake Xerxes Fussell, we went back to the Woods Stage for Ryan Davis and the Roundhouse Band. With a name like that it could only be Americana. The band came recommended by Simon Taffe, founder, director and curator of EOTR in that Line of Best Fit article. We had to give it a go. Thought it might be for 10-15 minutes until Slow Fiction started in the Folly, but it was so good we stayed for the whole show. Rumbling American epics, which you’ve heard before, but rarely done this well. Ryan Davis wasn’t just a good singer (and guitarist) but brought a bit of story-telling to the songs, which started to remind me of early Bruce Springsteen. Inevitably I heard a bit of War on Drugs too, though a closer resemblance musically would be to the Aussie band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Americana at its best – thanks for that one Simon!

So we were on a roll – three great shows and it was still only three o’clock. We tried Miso Extra in the Big Top – she sounded good on the playlist – but it seemed like rather predictable pop-dance, so we moved onto the Folly for another recommendation from the Line of Best Fit article, Dutch Interior. With a name like that they were nailed on to be a rather clever group, probably from New York or LA or another big city. And so they were, but in a very good way! They are an LA band: versatile musicians, preppy-looking, singing songs that often sound like they’re straight out of Laurel Canyon in the late sixties, until they lurch into a couple of minutes of wild guitar. Because they can… They had a great song near the end, which could have been the Allman Brothers, complete with duelling guitar solos. I loved it. I’ve listened to a couple of their recent albums at home since and they were a bit disappointing, a bit subdued. They need to translate the verve and fun of the live show onto record. But I’ll give them more of a go.

We hung around the Folly for the next show, the much-anticipated Adult DVD. I missed Mabe Fratti’s solo show in the Big Top for this one! Jon and Louis both thought the band were the best they saw at Green Man recently. When I listened to their top tracks on Spotify, I thought they sounded a bit like Depeche Mode, but live the sound is a lot harder, very muscular. Working Men’s Club would be one recent comparison, but Adult DVDs’ songs are shorter, more danceable. The band are from Leeds. Singer Harry Hanson prowls around the stage, looking menacing, occasionally tweaking a console. The rest of the band pump out the pounding beats. They already have a number of anthems, including one called Bill Murray. And they went down a storm in the Folly, with a lot of moshing, front and centre. Lots of air punching, shouting. I suspect they’ll attract rather laddish audiences, but there’s no denying the power of their performance. I felt rather beaten up after it, my senses thoroughly assaulted.

I went back to the tent for a breather afterwards and returned for Sorry at the Garden Stage at eight o’clock. They’re an indie band from London who cover a lot of musical bases. I think I’ve seen them a couple of times in the past – once at Latitude and then supporting Wolf Alice at Ally Pally. I can’t say they made much impression on me then; nor tonight, as I found myself by the bar in conversation with Sean and Fliss, Fionn’s parents (and Green Man and EOTR regulars) during the show. Jon, who was somewhere in the crowd, loved them, as did Louis, so I had better concentrate better next time!

And so we came to the last show of the festival – for us, anyway. Black Country New Road on the Garden Stage. Father John Misty was headlining the Woods Stage. I like his music well enough, but an hour and three quarters would have been an endurance test. BCNR were a concise hour and a quarter. The place took a while to fill up and we found ourselves quite close to the front, on the right hand side. A perfect viewing position. BCNR are constantly evolving musically and I hadn’t listened properly to their latest album, so the music was all new to me. But it didn’t matter, because their invention and musicianship is so good that you get completely engrossed in it. The weather was dry, the night was still, the lights illuminated the stage and shone into the darkness, and the music was sublime. It’s ever more prog – not bombastic, but like the gentler sounds of Genesis in the early 70s. The singing was mostly by bassist Tyler Hyde and keyboard player May Kershaw. Georgia Ellery – she of Jockstrap fame – kept a fairly low profile at the side, playing violin and singing quite sparingly. A team effort, and really captivating. Even when they all got their recorders out at the end and formed a circle it was good! It was like nothing else I’d heard all weekend, and yet the perfect ending, an encapsulation of all that is good about End of the Road.

We had a drink afterwards and enthused about the concert and the whole festival. Then Jon and I went back to the tent and finished off the wine, continuing the discussion. Every year now, I wonder if this will be my last festival, because it does take its toll a bit physically, mainly the legs and feet with all the standing. But the music comes to the rescue – as does the company.

Ok, one more time then!

A few more photos from around the place.

Shane and Jon head for the Folly on Sunday