Our overview of the music side of the festival, from essential headliners to must-see newcomers.
English Teacher by Andy Ford | Words: Lloyd Bolton
Returning to Larmar Tree Gardens in almost exactly one month's time, End of the Road has long been a favourite of ours on the festival calendar. On an intimate scale with its capacity of around 15,000, the festival consistently brings together a classy collection of the best new alternative acts along with legends of the indie world. Its winding woods provide a magical party setting, the all-night games area as alluring as the various dancefloors, while its six stages bring a healthy variety of performances on a relatively intimate scale.
Breaking down the music side of the bill into some key categories, here's a quick guide to what's what at this year's festival.
Headliners in Detail
Topping the bill and setting the tone for the festival, this year's clutch of headliners set out stall for the festival commitment to promoting diverse and challenging music across styles. The weekend starts with Bonnie "Prince" Billy, a unique voice in the alternative world, his original writing style drawn largely from American folk and country traditions. His career-spanning can serve as a definitive run of classics for fans, or as an ideal introduction for new listeners.
Friday headliners IDLES are an entirely different prospect. The band come in off the back of the release of their fifth album 'TANGK,' which showed a new evolution to their sound. Their zeitgeist lyrics and furiously immediate musical hooks now sit alongside drones, waltzes, even something floor-fillers like their recent collab with LCD Soundsystem. Though we're not holding out for a guest spot from Danny Brown, as happened at Glastonbury, this will be an essential set for the weekend.
On Saturday, we see another shift in tone for shoegaze legends Slowdive. With more atmospheric than immediately energetic, this offers a more slow-burning catharsis, and under the stars should make a blissed-out peak to the weekend.
Sunday's headline is different again as Fever Ray brings their blend of electronic instrumentation and pop gleam. The Swedish artist, formerly one half of the Knife, presents 2023 album 'Radical Romantics,' which has truly captured the imagination of fans and critics alike. Their immersive and individual sound promises to provide a spellbinding close to the festival.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Key Must-Sees
The headlines at this festival of course only scratch the surface, and this weekend will as much be about the surprise discoveries and newer bands caught just at the perfect moment. English Teacher are a perfect example, hot off their Mercury Prize nomination for debut album 'This Could Be Texas.' Favourites at Hard of Hearing from their earliest releases, their Sunday night set at the Big Top catches them at the crest of a wave of an unforgettable year of successes for the band.
Sleater-Kinney's emotional return with their eleventh album 'Little Rope' has inspired some especially charged performances already this year, and their set ahead of IDLES' headline on Friday will be another must-see. Elsewhere, Joanna Sternberg makes their long-awaited debut at the festival having been forced to drop out in 2022 and 2023, the New York singer-songwriter's cult following having exploded with sophomore record 'I've Got Me' last year. Richard Dawson never offers anything short of indelible and is a key reason to get down in good time on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Cornelius' headline at the Big Top stage on Sunday night will be an interesting return from the artist whose latest record 'Dream in Dream' was his first in six years, and Lankum's Friday night set promises to be a vital demonstration of the group's relevance to 21st Century folk music.
Richard Dawson
International Imports
Festivals often provide rare opportunities to catch touring acts from overseas and their international offerings should always be paid extra attention. Some favourites from recent years make the trip over, including playful post-punks Gustaf and the wildly unpredictable and crushingly cathartic Water From Your Eyes, both from New York. Meanwhile, the West Coast's Ty Segall, performing a solo acoustic set, will be essential to the 21st Century psych heads among the crowd.
Nigeria group Mdou Moctar's relentless blaze of dazzling desert rock is perfect for festivals and always convert new listeners with their live sets. Expect the Big Top to get sweaty in their wake.
The festival has also always offered good selections from down under, and this year RVG will be a key Australian act to catch, their snarling brand of synth-coloured rock 'n' roll perfect in a hot live setting. Palehound is also an interesting prospect, American though they did release through Courtney Barnett's Milk! label for a time. Something of a hidden gem, at least among UK audiences, find out why they were ranked among Rolling Stone's Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
Palehound
Newcomers and Wildcards
It is not surprising to see so many exciting up-and-coming acts on this bill as End of the Road have always been great promoters of the next generation of British alternative artists. SOMOH is highlighted as the winner of the 2024 Play End of the Road competition, while elsewhere Speedy Wunderground's RAF-obsessed Heartworms headlines the intimate Folly stage on Friday night. Sarah Meth is a favourite of ours across a diverse range of live setups, and after the release of the intimately experimental mixtape 'Midnight Snacks Vol. 2,' is poised to bring something special to the Folly on Sunday afternoon.
Ebbb have fast become one of London's must-see bands, while Lip Critic have been one of the more intriguing New York imports of 2024. Holiday Ghosts, meanwhile, are also a reliably great watch, steadily in the amassing of their dedicated following down the years.
We'll take a closer look at some of the newer up-and-comers on the bill a little closer to the festival, but this is our starting point as we start getting our day-by-day schedules and pre-festival listening underway.
For tickets and more info, head to https://endoftheroadfestival.com/
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