Festival Review: End of the Road 2025
There is only one place to go for the end of summer, and that’s to the End Of The Road.
Hidden away down near Dorset in the dreamy green space of Larmer Tree Gardens, is (in my personal opinion) the UK’s best music festival, End Of The Road. A small festival with a big heart, you’re guaranteed to leave the weekend both sleepily content and joyous and with an array of new music to listen to. This year’s festival was no exception.
Thursday saw festival-goers of all ages, sizes, families, friends, strangers yet to become friends, entering the grounds for what would be the final festival of the year for many. Despite the rain, the atmosphere was infectious, laughter heard around the campsite as people pitched, or struggled to pitch, their tents. A buzz of excitement in the air as the once empty fields quickly transformed into a colourful playground of tents, flags and fairy lights - Palestine flags were more than welcome here!
While the festival doesn’t officially start until Friday daytime, the organisers always have a solid line-up of acts to keep the early birds entertained on a Thursday. Manchester four-piece Westside Cowboy kicked things off on the main Woods Stage, the group seeming almost surprised by the crowd that had gathered to see them. Their set included most of the tracks from their recently released debut EP, playing songs such as Drunk Surfer, Alright Alright Alright, I Never Knew I Could Love Anyone (Until I Met You) and Shells, as well as unreleased tracks such as The Boys and Don’t Throw Rocks Through Windows. They’re impressive to watch live, an undeniable cauldron of talent, with all of them playing instruments while also sharing vocal responsibilities. When one member of the crowd shouted, “What a band, what a fucking band!” at the end of Westside Cowboy’s set, a chorus of agreeing cheers broke out. The perfect band to kickstart the festival, giving everyone a taste of what was lying ahead…
American singer, songwriter and producer, Youth Lagoon (aka Trevor Powers) provided the perfect first day soundtrack as the sun finally set behind the Woods Stage, the crowd continuing to grow as more people arrived at the festival. Youth Lagoon’s experimental pop sound rang out around the main stage as people danced together, bursts of laughter being carried by the wind, whilst others huddled together by the fires, clutching drinks to their chests.
A surprise to absolutely no one, except perhaps the band themselves and maybe the organisers, was the number of people wanting to catch Getdown Services on Thursday night. The Bristol duo were closing out The Folly that evening, and people started queuing for the mayhem over an hour and a half before they were due on stage. There was a proper, excited buzz coming from the queue, curiosity often getting the better of those walking past as they all ended up joining, keen to see what the hype was about. Those unlucky enough to not get into The Folly stood outside the tent in the rain, determined to enjoy the set, whatever means necessary. The rest of us packed in like sardines, ready for Getdown Services to release the chaos - and release it they did.
They were a clear favourite for most over the weekend, the crowd non-stop swaying, crowd surfing and dancing in unison with a finger in the air under Ben’s guidance. The set was nothing short of pure entertainment, as the duo performed tracks such as Get Back Jamie, which they dedicated to CMAT, Crisps, where they flung crisps out into the crowd, and a live debut of James Bay’s Hat. A moment of quiet and hush as Josh sang one of the duo’s quieter, more serious pieces I Wish It Didn’t Bother Me as rain fell down on those watching from outside. Eat Quiche, Sleep, Repeat and everyone’s favourite Dog Dribble, which they closed the set with, saw the crowd absolutely lose it. It was sweaty, glistening, beaming faces all around, band included, at the end of their performance, End Of The Road had well and truly been kicked off.
Friday, the official day one of the festival, saw the sun shining in between short bursts of rain, most of us naive enough to assume that that would be the worst we were going to get all weekend. Despite having an early slot, Makeshift Art Bar, a noise-rock four-piece from Belfast, brought in a big crowd at The Big Top. On a steady rise since the release of their debut EP earlier in the year, they brought a concoction of wailing guitars, a flurry of drums, heavy basslines and tense, biting vocals that would appeal to the fussiest of music listeners. With tracks like the skull-crushing Bedwetter and the almost eerie siren sounds of Notice Me, Makeshift Art Bar have a way of engraining themselves under your skin, their sound rattling around in your brain hours after you have seen them live.
Over at The Garden stage, which is a favourite amongst the festival-goers for being a chill-out haven, with chairs and picnic blankets laid out on the grass, directly in the sun, and an array of beer and cocktail bars close by, people gather to watch Daisy Rickman and her band. A large Palestine flag flies behind them as Daisy stuns with her ethereal vocals and intricate guitar playing, the scene made ever more otherworldly when the rain comes down and people gather closer together, hoods and umbrellas up, embracing the drops as Daisy continues to serenade.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw are nothing short of impressive, the six-piece from London stealing the show during their set at The Big Top. Intense, chaotic and joyful, they’re hypnotising to watch, particularly Clio Harwood on the violin, who adds another layer of depth and darkness to their tracks. Fierce, energetic tracks like MadDog and Adam & Steve are complemented nicely by the slower paces of tracks like Grow A Tongue In Time. It was clear they had left an impression at The Big Top, as a large crowd gathered less than two hours later for the band’s secret set on The Piano Stage, which included a cover of Lola Young’s Conceited and, according to them, was “the quietest” set they had ever played.
The Orchestra (For Now) stunned both at The Garden stage early in the day on Friday, and when they played a hilarious, chaotic surprise set in The Folly well past midnight. Their daytime set was heavy, a focus on violent keys, droning strings and angry vocals, playing tracks like Skins, Hattrick and Wake Robin. While their set in The Folly was a breath of fresh air and a testament to the seven-piece’s endless pool of talent as they performed a bunch of different covers, each member taking a turn on the vocals. The set included Nothing Else Matters by The Last Dinner Party (which was almost as good as the original?), Dreams by The Cranberries and The Smiths' Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now. Those who had not seen the band earlier in the day watched on in both awe and confusion, but it was clear that everyone in The Folly was having a good time, because who doesn’t love a giant version of karaoke really?
Friday’s Woods Stage headliner was, of course, Caribou. The Canadian musician, also known as Dan Snaith, played the perfect end-of-summer set. An array of visuals set behind him and his band as the crowd danced under the starry sky to Never Come Back, Can’t Do Without You, You and I and a number of other dreamy psychedelic pop tracks from the musician. In true End Of The Road fashion, where everyone is welcome, parents danced together as their children slept in trollies decorated by fairy lights, friends lifted one another onto their shoulders, and strangers clinked their pint cups together, embracing each other like lifelong friends. Caribou was the perfect first headliner, getting everyone’s blood pumping, energy flowing, because everyone knows the show isn’t over just because the headliner has finished…
And the night did not end with Caribou, because over in the Folly, as part of a surprise set, was everyone’s favourite podcast host, Adam Buxton, who, along with the boys from Metronomy, performed his first ever gig with songs from his debut album. Laughter bounced off the walls of the tent in between songs, as Buxton told the tales behind tracks such as My Feelings and Pizza Time. While it somewhat felt like a fever dream to walk into a tent to a group of grown men singing along to a song about Shorts…it also pretty much sums up exactly what End Of The Road is all about.
And that was only day one! Saturday brought the somewhat relentless rain and the mud, but neither seemed to slow anyone down, as people donned their wellies and raincoats, very much embracing the soggy weather.
Brighton band The New Eves set the day off nicely on the Woods Stage, and despite the rain, they still said it was “the biggest crowd (they’ve) ever played to.” A folk meets punk meets orchestra type band, with their droning strings and pulsing drums, they brought a spark of colour to the somewhat grey day, the crowd remaining transfixed, hypnotised by them despite the darkening skies. While the heavy rain forced a lot of people to change their schedule plans, pushing them into The Big Top and The Folly tents to seek cover, it also allowed them to discover their new favourite acts. The Sophs stunned the crowd with their first ever UK performance at The Folly, while the “quintessential End Of The Road band” Mary In The Junkyard, as they’ve been previously labelled, had a packed Big Top for their early set. The London three-piece were spellbinding, raw, moving, the crowd soaking up their angelic vocals and swampy guitars with bright, wide eyes.
Another surprise for many on the weekend was perhaps Moonchild Sanelly, who had an absolutely packed-out tent due to the rain, but because of it, she quickly became many people’s weekend highlight. High energy, electric, joyous, her set really had it all. In between the crowd dancing, completely possessed by Sanelly’s vocals and infectious beats, the singer provided hilarious background stories to her tracks. How she refused to accept someone trying to break up with her, so wrote Undumpable, or how she wrote To Kill A Single Girl (Tequila) when the breakup did happen, or how she’s good in the “kitchen”, which is how In My Kitchen was born. Ultimately, Moonchild Sanelly stole the weekend for a lot of the festival-goers, a highlight they never saw coming.
Similarly, Jasmine.4.t also had a full tent over at The Folly, both in part because of the never-ending rain and because her debut album You Are The Morning is undoubtedly an album of the year for many of the festival goers. The crowd were slow to gather for Mount Kimbie, who had a rainy slot on the Woods Stage. A dedicated few stuck it out hiding under umbrellas and hats, but as the clouds finally began to lift, the late evening sun peaking through, the field began to fill up as people emerged to catch a glimpse of the English group. A fusion of indie and electronic beats and melancholy vocals, Mount Kimbie had the crowd dancing through the once grass, now mud, embracing the possibility of a dry evening ahead of Saturday night’s headliners.
Perhaps the toughest clash of the whole weekend was between Saturday’s headliners, Self Esteem and the Viagra Boys. Debates between different groups about who they were all going to see could be heard all over the festival site in the lead-up. Those looking to fling themselves around a mosh pit, sweating, fists in the air, all veered toward the Swedish group, Viagra Boys. Hilarious, hectic, fiery are just a few of the ways to describe the Viagra Boys set, which they opened with the teeth-rattling Man Made of Meat. There is something cathartic, almost spiritual, about watching a group of men singing about the Pyramid of Health while inhaling cigarettes and downing drinks on a stage. It’s a hilarious form of rebellion. Their set isn’t all jokes and chaos, though, as they slam the British Government and call for a Free Palestine, as well as informing the crowd that they’ll be donating all of their money from the festival to Doctors Without Borders. Everyone, the band themselves, and the crowd, are clearly having a good time, and while their latest album viagr aboys might be the best album of the year, if not the next decade, the crowd still fully loses it when they play Sports. The world seems to heal itself somewhat as dads and their teenage sons scream out a load of different types of balls to each other.
To round up the night, legends of the shoegaze genre DIIV took over the Big Top. Dream-like vocals, hazy, distorted guitars and startling, confronting visuals, DIIV had a constant queue of people waiting outside the tent, eager to catch a glimpse, keen to enter the ethereal underworld that had been created in the Big Top.
Sunday was a slower, slightly drier, albeit muddier, day for many. The final day of a festival is always a funny one; there was a sense that the end of summer, the end of the road, was now firmly, and sadly, in sight. Some people were packing up tents early and heading home, others were sipping slowly on coffee and avoiding beers, and others were still bringing the day one energy.
Sunday was a particularly big day over at the Folly tent. One of Ireland’s best-kept secrets, Theatre, took over the stage early in the day. Their ethereal, swampy sound is fully hypnotising. Haunting vocals and grungy guitars, the Limerick band are truly something you need to see to believe, considering they are completely offline. However, word of mouth is clearly working for the band, as the tent was full for their set, one that definitely gained them a bunch of new Theatre fans. The New York group Slow Fiction followed them, with a sound nostalgic of early 00s indie-rock, the five-piece kept everyone’s attention as they played tracks such as Apollo, When and 99. The Leeds-based six-piece Adult DVD dominated the Folly with infectious, chaotic beats and catchy hooks. Their mix of synth-pop and rock gave people the energy boost they needed, bodies surfing across the crowd during Bill Murray and Dogs In The Sun.
Later that evening, Squid, a band who have grown up playing different stages at End Of The Road over the years, packed out the Woods Stage for an energy-fuelled set. Squid, who are a band that bends the rules between post-punk, electronic beats and jazz, had the EOTR crowd in the palm of their hands as they played an array of tracks from their discography, background vocals being provided by the crowd for the duration of their set. Everyone seemed to have been given a new lease of life watching Squid, a new buzz in the air as people readied themselves to see the final evening of the festival out in style.
Father John Misty and Black Country, New Road were the final headliners of the weekend. Father John Misty putting on his sultry, dark folk-rock set on the Woods Stage, while the experimental post-punk orchestra Black Country, New Road held a captivated crowd over at the Garden Stage. One of the many bands firmly standing with Palestine over the weekend, they had the flag draped behind them while their bassist sported one as a t-shirt. The talent pouring out of the band was evident throughout their set, the speed and intensity at which they played their instruments during tracks such as Besties and For the Cold Country ignites a rush throughout the crowd. Although perhaps the real standout is the silence of the crowd during Turbines/Pigs as those watching soaked up the magic of not only Black Country, New Road, but the magic of End Of The Road in general.
It goes without saying that End Of The Road is a special place, there is simply no festival quite like it. Full of magic and surprises, it’s a gathering place for people who love music, the weird, the whacky, the wonderfulness of it all. Whatever the weather, spirits are always high at End Of The Road, the perfect place to soak in the best that music has to offer as well as the last of summer.
Words by Angela English
